The Undergraduate Research Program offers up to $750 in funding for Presentation Travel Grants (T Grant) at UNC Asheville for both students and Departments/Programs.
Students may apply for the Undergraduate Research Presentation T Grant for attendance to present at discipline-specific and undergraduate research conferences/meetings. While Departments/Programs wishing to take several students to a conference/meeting, may apply for travel funding by documenting the total number of students attending and the total number of students presenting.
Applications may be submitted at any time throughout the year, but must be filled out a minimum of four weeks prior to the intended travel. Funding is on a first-come basis, so it is a good idea to apply early. Please note that funding for travel associated with doing the research/creative activity project should be requested under the Academic Year Research Grant Program.
Important: Receiving monetary awards to support undergraduate research travel and conference attendance may necessitate a reduction in other financial aid the student receives. Such awards may also be reported to the Internal Revenue Service in the recipient’s annual Tuition Statement (Form 1098-T). It is the responsibility of the recipient, in consultation with his/her/their tax advisor, to determine how much, if any, of the awards are taxable income to the recipient.
Students
The Undergraduate Research Presentation Travel Grant (T Grant) is available for students traveling to present research results at discipline-specific and undergraduate research conferences. Funding for travel associated with doing the research should be requested under the Academic Year Research Grant Program.
Total grant award maximum per year is $750. Documentation of an accepted abstract is needed for final reimbursement, but students may apply in advance and supply the documentation at a later date. Applications must be submitted at least four weeks in advance of travel and receipt reimbursement must be submitted within two weeks of student’s return from travel. For applications to be considered, the student’s Faculty Mentor must also provide a recommendation of support. The T Grant award may go towards ground and air travel, lodging, per diem, registration, and poster printing.
Eligibility
Any currently enrolled UNC Asheville student is eligible to apply. Preference is given to full-time students.
Students who have been past grant recipients may reapply; however, priority will be given to first-time applicants. Also, although faculty occasionally sponsor more than one student at a time, it may be necessary to limit the number of awards per faculty member in the interest of distributing funding as much as possible.
New Travel Policy – No travel grant will be awarded to a student mentored by a non-UNC Asheville faculty or staff member.
T Grant Application
The application for a presentation grant consists of a description of the conference/meeting for which the student is requesting funds, an estimate of the travel cost, and an abstract of the research to be presented.
The following criteria will be used to assess a student’s travel request:
- The contribution the research makes to the field
- Did student submit a web link to the conference site?
- Did student notify faculty mentor to submit a recommendation of support?
- Whether or not the applicant is the actual presenter of the paper.
- The completeness of the proposal, and the extent to which it follows the guidelines specified on the application form.
- Is the student seeking additional funding from other sources? If yes, it must be described in the budget paragraph and include detailed information.
Complete the Undergraduate Research Presentation T Grant Application
Faculty Mentor Recommendation Form for Presentation T Grant Application
Travel Reimbursement
As a final report, the student is required to submit a request for travel expenses reimbursement and a copy of the program or abstract book in which the presentation is listed.
Your travel reimbursement is only valid for 30 days after your travel. If 30 days has elapsed, when you request your travel reimbursement, you will not be reimbursed. Example: If you travel from Aug. 30 – Sept. 3, 2023, your travel reimbursement is valid until Oct. 3, 2023. If you turn in your travel reimbursement on Oct. 4, 2023, you will not be reimbursed.
Departments/Programs
Departments/Programs wishing to take several students to a conference/meeting may apply for travel funding, documenting the total number of students attending and the total number of students presenting. The total request must not exceed $750 x the number of students presenting. This funding would be in lieu of presenting students applying individually.
For example, if two students are presenting and three non-presenting students want to attend a conference/meeting, the Department/Program may request $1500 from URP ($750 x 2 students presenting = $1500), but the presenting students will NOT also receive $750 for their travel via a T Grant application. Please note that URP will not consider any applications that do not have any students presenting at the conference/meeting.
Requests must be made, at minimum, four weeks prior to travel by applying. If your Department/Program T Grant is accepted, then URP will arrange a fund transfer to the Department/Program Fund Number that will be used to pay for this travel. URP will NOT manage the Chrome River process for any T Grants awarded to Departments/Programs.
Complete the Department/Program Travel Grant (T Grant) Application