The GSA has a Grants Program that provides funds for reimbursing graduate students for certain expenses incurred while engaging in professional development or thesis-related research.
In order to provide more and better opportunities for intellectual, professional, and social development, there are two types of grants available from the GSA: Professional Development Grants and Research Grants.
Professional Development Grants can be used for costs directly related to one’s professional development up to $900, such as attending or presenting at the conference or event relevant to your discipline, traveling to workshops, symposiums, or internships.
Research Grants can be used to fund costs incurred through performing or conducting thesis or dissertation-related research up to $1000. This includes research materials not available on campus or through other campus means, traveling to interview participants or collect data, research participant incentives, and most other things directly related to performing research.
GSA GRANTS TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- Applicants are required to submit a travel pre-approval form after their grant application has been approved. Pre-approval forms are not required at the time of application.
- All grant applications are due by the 15th of each month and will be reviewed by the Grants Review Panel (GRP), which requires approximately two weeks to complete reviews. For example, if your travel date is March 20, you must apply by the February 15 deadline.
- Students will be notified within 3–5 days after the 15th if their application is incomplete.
- Final application decisions will be emailed by the GRP Chair or Treasurer within five (5) business days after the first day of the following month.
- Students must apply at least one full month prior to their travel date. Late applications will not be accepted with no exceptions.
- If you are awarded a grant, you must completely use that grant first before applying for further grants in the future.
- Purchases made prior to grant approval are generally not reimbursable. However, if a student submits their application by the stated deadline and their travel occurs during the decision notification window (the first five business days of the month), necessary travel purchases made during this window may be conditionally eligible for reimbursement, pending grant approval. Reimbursement will only be issued if the application is approved. However, it is recommended that you do not rely on the reimbursement path.
- If an application is approved, the applicant mustsubmit a travel pre-approval form within five (5) business days of the approval notice. Failure to submit the form may result in forfeiture of the award.
- Any research materials or supplies that are not fully expended must be retained within the recipient’s department or coordinated with the GSA.
- YOUR APPLICATION AND TRAVEL PREAPPROVAL MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE THE TRAVEL DATE.
- Graduate students are eligible to receive up to two (2) grants per academic year. The academic cycle resets every 1st of July.
- Only one Professional Development (PD) grant may be awarded per event. Applicants may not apply for multiple PD grants for the same event within the same grant period or across multiple grant periods.
- Please read the FAQs carefully as your question may already be answered.
- By applying for any GSA grant, you agree to the above stated terms and conditions.