Graduate Student Travel Support

Effective July 1, 2019

The Office of Engineering Research and Graduate Programs (ERGP) supports graduate student travel to professional events for engineering M.S. and Ph.D. students. Participation in these events provides students with opportunities to advance their research, network with colleagues and enhance the graduate student experience at K-State, as well as promote visibility of the university as a whole. This funding is done in conjunction with the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Travel Award process, with additional funding being provided by the supervising faculty member and his or her department. These travel awards are intended for engineering students who do not have research funding that covers the expense of the trip to present their research findings at a professional conference.

Starting in FY20 and subject to annual review by the associate dean for research and the dean, ERGP will allocate $18,000 annually for the entire college in support of engineering graduate student travel to professional events. This funding will be done in conjunction with the GSC Travel Award process with any additional funding requirements to be provided by the supervising faculty member and/or department. Cost-sharing will be 2:1 from GSC Travel Award and ERGP, i.e., for every two dollars received from the GSC Travel Award, ERGP will provide the recipient's department up to one dollar for the travel. If a student from a department would receive a total allocation of $400 for a trip from the GSC, ERGP will provide $200 (depending on the total amount for the travel) with any remaining amount to be covered by the supervising faculty and/or department. The cost-share from ERGP for the entire college will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis with a cap of $18,000 for the fiscal year. When all allocated funds have been awarded, cost-share from ERGP will no longer be available for that fiscal year. Please note with this new policy, the student will no longer need to apply for travel support from ERGP.

Deadlines for applying for the GSC Travel Award are always on the first of the month two months prior to travel, e.g., June 1 for August travel. Students traveling over an interval of time that falls within two months must submit their application for the month the travel begins. For example, a student who will be traveling from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2 must submit his/her application for the August month of travel with a deadline of June 1. View more information for the GSC Travel Award process.

It is required students travel as economically as possible to be good stewards of university funds; this also allows the maximum number of students to participate in the program.