Graduate Student Research and Travel Support Request Form

Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

Graduate student departmental research and travel support 

The department has committed resources so that each student can receive $800 to support them while they complete their graduate studies.  The amount is available for research or travel.  The student can also split the award between research and travel in a way that best supports their needs.  We encourage students to reserve some support for travel, so they can present their work at a meeting before they graduate.  Students are responsible for their awards (i.e., the funds are not released to an advisor), which allows students to practice managing research funds.

Procedure for requesting funds

Students that have their proposal accepted by their committee and on file with the department manager:

  • Fill out this form. The submission will be automatically forwarded to your advisor. Once your advisor approves of the submission, they should forward it to the chair of Graduate Program, stating that they approve. The chair of the Graduate Program will look over the request and forward it to the department manager if approved. The department manager will send you instructions about receiving the funds.

Students requesting funds before their proposal is accepted by their committee:

  • Fill out this form and attach an additional 2-page proposal in the proper field below. This proposal should include all the information requested in Supporting Details (below), but with a more thorough description of how the activities for which funds are requested support your thesis work. The proposal should be written in language suitable for a general biologist (i.e., avoid jargon and acronyms specific to your biology subfield, unless explained in the proposal text). Your proposal must include the signatures of all committee members to demonstrate the committee supports the request.  The submission will be automatically forwarded to your advisor, who will then forward it to the chair of Graduate Program. The Graduate Program chair and the Graduate Committee will review the request and determine whether to award the money before the thesis proposal is accepted. The student will need to make a strong argument for why they need the funding early.
Thesis proposal accepted by thesis committee?

Supporting Details

Include:

a. Short (2-3 sentences) description of how this work fits with your overall thesis activity (required);

  • If research funds, give: project title and short description of key measurements or activities to be funded (research travel is allowed). 
  • If meeting travel, give: anticipated talk or poster title; meeting to be attended + dates and location; where you currently stand in the grad program and when you anticipate finishing; whether presenting preliminary or final thesis results.

b. Budget justification (required):

  • What are the cost estimates that lead up to the requested amount?
    • If research supplies, please check with the stockroom for educational pricing and include both sales tax and shipping.
    • If meeting travel, think about registration, poster printing, airfare, ground transport, food, and lodging. Please pay attention to applicable per diem rates: https://www.perdiem101.com/conus/2019/washington
  • If the total cost estimate is greater than $800, what other sources of funds will the student be using?
  • Any steps the student is taking to reduce total costs (e.g., at a meeting: booking double, triple or quad rooms; volunteering at the meeting in exchange for registration fees (an option available at some conferences); etc.).

c. Justification for request if thesis proposal has not yet been accepted by thesis committee (required if applicable).