Graduate Student Conference Travel Grants

Starting July 1, 2023, GSCT funding will be administered by SoSS departments and no longer by SSRI. Students are encouraged to inquire about funding within their home department for travel commencing July 1, 2023, and beyond. However, students may still apply to SSRI if their conference takes place BEFORE July 1, 2023.

Before submitting your travel grant, please verify with your department's administrator or review Rice's Crisis Management Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) website (coronavirus.rice.edu) for any sponsored travel restrictions.

Graduate Student Conference Travel Grants (GSCT) up to $1,000 are available to graduate students in the Social Sciences at Rice who are presenting a paper or a poster at a conference or meeting. Travel grants may be used in defraying conference or meeting travel expenses such as domestic or foreign airfare, lodging, transportation, mileage, and registration fees. Travel grants may not be used for subsistence costs, and each student is limited to only one GSCT grant in an SSRI funding cycle (July 1st - June 30th).

Application Deadline

GSCT applications with all supporting materials must be submitted at least 30 working business days prior to the conference start date by using SSRI's online application form (weblink to the application located at the bottom of this page).

Award Information (FY23)

Estimated Number of Awards: 15
Anticipated Funding Amount per Award: up to $1,000

Eligibility

  1. The student must be a currently registered Rice University graduate student in a Social Sciences discipline.
  2. Students must be listed as an author and selected to present/exhibit their research paper or poster presentation at a professional conference or meeting.
  3. Please note that students may only receive one GSCT grant in an SSRI funding cycle (July 1st - June 30th).

Application Preparation Instructions

The online GSCT application can be found at the bottom of this page. Incomplete proposals WILL NOT be considered for funding. Questions related to the preparation of the application packet should also be directed to Chris. Please note that the application narrative should be prepared using 12-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced, and have one-inch margins all around, and be uploaded in Portable Document Format (PDF).

  1. Completed online application form.
  2. Upload a narrative (two pages maximum excluding references/bibliography, and as a single PDF file) summarizing the research being presented, including the overall conclusions. Please make clear in the narrative how the research represents a departure from the current literature and the significance of the research to the investigator's discipline. Include a list of References/Bibliography (if applicable). Appendices or other supplementary documents will not be allowed.
  3. Upload a letter of support (in PDF) from the applicant's faculty mentor explaining the nature of the meeting and why it is appropriate for the applicant to attend and present at the conference or meeting. The faculty mentor may send their letter of support directly to Chris at carod@rice.edu, but it must be received within three business days of submitting the complete application.

Award Terms

  1. SSRI will not provide any retroactive reimbursements.
  2. Students who receive GSCT awards will have 10 working business days from the award notification to accept the award. If SSRI does not receive confirmation of acceptance within 10 working business days, the student will automatically forfeit the award.
  3. All requests for travel reimbursement must be prepared and submitted via Rice’s ImagineOne (iO) expense reporting module. SSRI is not responsible for preparing and/or submitting student reimbursement expense reports, therefore the student should work with their department administrator or coordinator on preparing and submitting their reimbursement request.
  4. Students who receive an award will have 30 working business days starting from the conclusion of their conference or meeting date to complete and submit their travel expense report for approval. Any expense report submitted to the SSRI after 30 days from the conference or meeting conclusion date WILL NOT be reimbursed.
  5. Awards are intended for the conference or meeting for which the student applied; therefore, awards are non-transferable and may not be applied to other conferences or meetings other than what was listed in the awarded GSCT proposal.
  6. The student will adhere to Rice University’s Travel, Business Meeting, and Entertainment Policy (#806) and provide all required itemized receipts for each applicable expense transaction in Concur. The student must include/attach the official invitation, notation (agenda with conference track), or certificate of completion as part of the backup documentation SSRI requires to receive reimbursement.