Human Development and Family Sciences

Graduate Student Travel Funding 

The department is pleased to be able to support travel to conferences and training/workshops (annual budget permitting) to present your research. Funds are also available from the Graduate School https://www.depts.ttu.edu/gradschool/financial/travel.php for presenting authors. 

Funds approved for academic year 2021-2022 are as follows: Doctoral students (including Post-bac PhD students) may apply to 2 conferences (presenting and/or only attending; max $2000 each) and 1 virtual training/workshop (max. $2,500). Master's students (including ABM students) may apply to one conference (max $2000). Conferences and trainings/workshops must be identified in consultation with the student's advisor. Conferences should be academic, research and/or focused on human development and family sciences and related to the student's research interests. The department will pay for new membership fees (not renewal) for students attending virtual conferences (does not apply to in person conferences). If for any reason you do not attend the conference after receiving funding, you must notify the Graduate Program Director and Graduate Program Coordinator immediately. This is necessary to stop payment on awarded funds and any costs that are not refundable may become the responsibility of the student. All travel funding is on a first come, first serve basis and applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received.

The Procedures for applying for funding for conferences and trainings are as follows:

1. Student meets with their advisor to discuss potential conferences in their area of research and receives approval from their advisor to apply for travel funds.

2. At least 45 days prior to the conference, the student submits their completed HDFS Graduate Travel Application Form via email to the Graduate Program Director and copies the Graduate Program Coordinator. Only emailed forms will be accepted.

3. The Graduate Program Director or Coordinator will notify the student that their application has been approved after departmental review/approval. Student may begin booking airfare and lodging at this time, if they have not done so already.

4. Once approved, the student checks out the p-card from Graduate Program Coordinator for registration, registers for the conference, returns p-card and receipt of registration to the Graduate Program Coordinator. *Please do not register using your own credit card.*

5. Once registered, student emails receipt of registration to Graduate Program Coordinator.

6. Travel application is submitted in Travel system by Graduate Program Coordinator.

7. If attending a conference in state, a tax-exempt form will need to be completed by the hotel at time of check out to turn in with receipts. Please see Program Coordinator prior to departure when needing a tax-exempt form.

 Upon Return: 

1. Student submits ALL individual itemized travel receipts (original and electronic scanned-receipts) to Graduate Program Coordinator within one week of return. If travel occurred in state, a tax-exempt form also needs to be submitted. See note below regarding receipts.

2. Graduate Program Coordinator will submit to the Travel System at which point the student will receive a link to electronically sign their voucher.

3. Once the student signs the voucher, Graduate Program Director electronically signs voucher for approval and voucher is routed to the Travel office for processing.

4. Student is reimbursed for travel generally 7-10 business days after the Travel office receives the voucher, unless further documentation is needed by the Travel office.

Receipts and Documentation 

In order to be reimbursed, all itemized receipts must be turned in. Meal receipts should always be itemized and turned in for each traveler separately and not turned in as a group receipt with a breakdown of those expenses. If receipts are not turned in, then it is the traveler's responsibility to obtain the receipt or they will forfeit that expense. When sharing a room, the lodging receipt should be submitted as two separate receipts denoting the charge for each student. When staying at a conference hotel that exceeds the per diem lodging rate, the traveler must provide documentation that the hotel was in fact a conference hotel. This is typically done by providing the conference program or by printing out that information from the conference website denoting where the conference will be held. Failure to submit this information can cause delays and non-reimbursement for the overage. If a conference hotel is sold out, documentation will be needed stating that it was full and what hotel(s) are taking the overflow of guests. Refer to the conference website to check and see if multiple hotels will be considered conference hotels due to the size of the conference. If attending a conference in state, a tax-exempt form will need to be completed by the hotel at time of check out. Please see Program Coordinator prior to departure when needing a tax-exempt form.  

Advances

An advance can be requested by the students for confirmed pre-paid expenses (i.e. airfare) which will be reimbursed to the student within 2-3 business days with supporting documentation submitted of the purchase. 

All other non-prepaid expenses (i.e. lodging, fuel, meals) can be advanced and will be disbursed within 5 days of the travel taking place. Non-prepaid expenses are reimbursed at a cap of 90%, but if the amount advanced should be less than what was actually spent by the traveler, then the traveler will be required to pay this overage back to the university.