Guidelines for Graduate Conference Travel Awards, '12

The Graduate Committee has drawn up with the following guidelines about disbursement of funds for graduate student travel requests. While we feel that conference travel is crucial for all students in the program, it does make sense to extend more support to students who are further along in the program, when conference presentations are closely related to their dissertation work and to job market activities. Students who are not in good standing or not making good progress will not be considered eligible for conference travel funds. (Students should note that the Rice fiscal year runs from July 1 – June 30.)

1. Conference travel funds can be used to cover the following: conference registration, airfare, lodgings, transportation, and meals. Students must be presenting a paper at a conference or interviewing at MLA to be eligible for funds.
   
   
2. All students wishing to avail themselves of travel funds for the Fall 2012 & Spring 2013 semesters must write out a budget and fill out a travel fund request form and turn these in to the English Department by March 1, 2013. If the request is approved, students will receive a travel advance in the form of a check two weeks prior to their departure date. All original receipts must be submitted to the English Department within 2 weeks of the return date for the student to continue to be eligible for travel advances. Any discrepancies between the receipts and the budget could result in students owing the difference to the department--to avoid this, budget accurately and save all of your receipts.
   
   
3. Students in their first, second or third year are eligible for up to $500 travel money to one conference in a fiscal year (June 1 -July 30) if they are presenting a paper. 
   
4. Students in their fourth, fifth and sixth years are eligible for up to $700.
   
   
5. Students availing themselves of travel funds to the Dickens project will not be eligible for additional money for conference travel in that fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The Dean’s Office funds the two student trips in July to the Dickens Universe, and the English Department funds the succeeding trip to the Winter Conference in January. Any additional travel costs for that year will be the student’s responsibility.
   
   
6. Students interviewing for jobs at the MLA may be eligible for up to $700 of travel money, but these students will not be eligible for any additional funds during the year.          

 
You can request funds online here: Conference Travel Request Form.