Graduate Travel Funding

SPSIA graduate students in good academic standing can request funding for travel related to conference presentation or other scholarly endeavors. The yearly SPSIA funding available to students is limited and “first come, first serve” . Your funding request will be reviewed by SPSIA leadership to ensure it aligns with program standards and there will then be a determination as to whether you travel will be fully or partially funded.

The fiscal year ends on June 30th but due to end of year close out processes, most of the requests, purchases, and reimbursements need to be completed well in advance of that date. Travel requests for the current fiscal year must be submitted no later than April 30th. Travel requests should be submitted at least 6 weeks in advance of planned travel, especially if you would like to have the university prepay for any items. It is okay if your travel takes place in the month of June but all purchases will need to be made in advance of June 1st . You will have access to the next year’s travel fund pool beginning July 1st.

To initiate a request you will need to complete a COS Travel Pre-Authorization Form. Please be sure to indicate in the Funding source box that you are requesting 2024-25 PhD travel funds. You will have Dr. Baggio (Jacopo.Baggio@ucf.edu), Graduate Program Coordinator, sign the form first. He will review the request and make sure the conference and planned presentation meet the standards of the program. This also ensures he is aware of your travel plans and that your plans don’t conflict with other program obligations. The form then goes to Dr. Wilson (Bruce.Wilson@ucf.edu) who, as Director of SPSIA, will review and approve the budget. From there you will work with Tamara Vassallo (tamara.vassallosoto@ucf.edu) who is our Travel and Procurement Coordinator. She will take that form and create a spend authorization. After that is approved, she, or another member of the COS Business Center, can assist you with purchases.

 

Additional Funding:

Below is a list of  some additional funding opportunities available to graduate students. All funding sources should be noted on your COS Travel Pre-Authorization Form and in most cases the various funding entities will need to work together to complete the travel request. Your total awards cannot exceed the total cost of the trip. Be sure to submit your applications early.

  • Student Government Association (SGA) Activity and Service Fee Travel Funding
    • Travel funding can be provided for both individuals and RSOs through UCF Student Government Association. Information and forms can be found at https://studentgovernment.ucf.edu/funding/rso/ . Direct links can also be found on KnightConnect under the SGA Forms page. To procure funding, individual graduate students should make funding requests at least four weeks in advance of their planned travel. Please e-mail inquiries to the Senate Pro Tempore at sga_pro@ucf.edu or the Deputy of Senate Operations at sga_dsop@ucf.edu or sga_crt@ucf.edu.
  • College of Graduate Studies Presentation Fellowship
    • The Presentation Fellowship is a great opportunity for students who plan to present a research paper or comparable creative activity at a professional conference. This fellowship provides funding for enrolled master’s, specialist, and doctoral students to share their research at a professional meeting. Students must be the primary author and presenter. See here for further requirements, deadlines, and award amounts visit: https://graduate.ucf.edu/presentation-fellowship/

 

Step by Step Guide

Before travel or any buying takes place:

  • Fill out the COS Travel Pre-Authorization (TAR) form.
  • Get Dr. Baggio’s signature on TAR
  • Get Dr. Wilson’s signature on TAR
  • Send the signed TAR form to cos.financebusiness@ucf.edu. This will ensure the TAR gets completed in a timely manner in case Tamara is out of town or sick.
  • Once the TAR is completed and returned, Tamara will create a Spend Authorization in Workday.  You will have a chance to review the Spend Authorization (if any changes are needed, let her know) and you must then approve the Spend Authorization.
  • Once the Spend Authorization gets through the full approval process, you will be sent an email to let you know the trip is approved.
  • You are now approved to start buying tickets, hotels accommodations, registration ,etc. Tamara can either pay for some of these expenses with her expense card or you can pay for it and get reimbursed after travel is completed.   
  • **Note, if you are traveling out of country, there are extra steps that need to be taken.  You can contact Tamara to get information on those extra steps.**

After travel takes place

  • Send all receipts to cos.financebusiness@ucf.edu.
  • Receipts should include the following (most receipts already have this information so there is nothing you will need to do, just more FYI):
    • Registration – receipt should show the name of the organization/association and the payment amount and type of payment (CC – last 4 digits, etc.)
    • Airfare – receipt needs to show the name of carrier, the day/time of departure and arrival and payment information (CC – last 4 digits, etc.)
    • Hotel – receipt should be an itemized receipt with daily room rate and daily taxes shown.  Note:  UCF will not reimburse for room service or food charged to your hotel room.
    • Mileage –a copy of the map to/from UCF to location (airport, hotel, etc.) needs to be included. If help is needed, let Tamara know.
    • Tolls – receipts are required for any tolls $25 or more.  If under this amount, a copy of the toll calculator needs to be included.  If help is needed, let Tamara know.
    • Meals – do not include receipts – meals are done per diem or meal allowance based on flight information or the time you left and came back if driving.
    • Car Rental – please ensure if you are getting a car rental, you are getting one from an approved vendor (Avis/Budget and Enterprise/National).  For more information regarding vehicle rental booking guideline, please visit https://fa.ucf.edu/travel-payables-useful-links/
    • Taxi/Shuttle – receipts are required for all taxi, rideshare, shuttle charges.  Please keep in mind UCF will only reimburse up to 20% of the fare (rounded up to the nearest dollar.)