Travel grant

Awards

The amount of the award will be based on the following:

  1. The significance of the travel.
  2. Transportation and associated costs.

*This award will normally provide only a portion of the total travel expenses. Evidence of partial support from other sources is highly desirable.

Restrictions/conditions

  • Travel grants support participation in conferences in locations outside the continental United States if the individual is to make a presentation significant to their professional growth.
  • Travel that is part of a research project, either domestic or foreign, and travel expenses that are part of a research leave should be submitted under the Research Grant category.
  • Funding will only cover per diem costs for up to seven days.
  • Only one proposal may be submitted per proposal cycle, and a faculty member is limited to one travel or research grant per year. 
  • Endowed chair holders and administrators with access to other funds are not eligible for these awards.
  • Grants are available to all full-time research active faculty both tenure track and non-tenure track, as well as active faculty emeriti. 
  • Documented evidence of prospective participation is required. The impact of the conference/meeting will be taken into account as part of the decision process, as will the nature of the presentation (Keynote address: high priority. Poster presentation: low priority).
  • Salary is disallowed.
  • Faculty who received URC funding, either travel or research, may not apply in the following URC funding cycle (e.g., the next term) to ensure fair distribution of resources among all faculty. (i.e., faculty are not eligible to receive URC funding two terms in a row). 
  • The URC will look at the applicant’s restricted accounts to assess the applicant’s ability to help support the proposed travel. Please justify the amount of your contribution or match in your proposal.
  • The applicant should make clear if there is current or pending funding for the project.

How to apply

Proposals are required. Requests with insufficient information will be rejected.

All URC Grant applications are now online. Please submit all supporting documents as a single PDF file through the online application, including a brief proposal (see format below) and a short curriculum vitae. The entire application should not exceed five pages including appendices, if any. If you need assistance combining your documents into a single PDF, please contact the help desk (8-HELP).

Proposal Text Format (The proposal should be one page or less within the PDF application.)

  • A detailed budget - Budgets should be very detailed with sources for all expenses (e.g., airfare, hotels, conference fee, per diem).
  • Significance and relevance of the faculty member’s research program.
  • Articulate the significance of your presentation to committee members outside of your field of study.
  • Nature of presentation (invited, contributed, panel, etc., with supporting documents such as letters of invitation).
  • Benefit to the University (Be sure to articulate the importance of the conference).
  • The impact of prior URC funding on your research program (i.e. outcomes, resulting proposals, publications and progress).
  • Efforts made (or to be made) to secure funds from other sources.
  • The applicant should arrange for a confidential letter of support written by the department chair or the dean and emailed to orurc@smu.edu, by March 6 at 5:00 p.m. (spring submissions) or October 11 at 5:00 p.m. (fall submissions) addressed to Suku Nair, Vice Provost for Research and Chief Innovation Officer. 

Dates for spring application

  • Deadline for application and letter of support: March 6 at 5:00 p.m. 
  • Notification of action: Week of April 24

Dates for fall application

  • Deadline for application and letter of support: October 11 at 5:00 p.m.
  • Notification of action: Week of November 13

Post-Award reporting requirements

A report summarizing how the funds were spent and what products were produced must be reported (as detailed in the original award letter). 

Submissions by email or hard copy will not be accepted.

The application is now closed