Graduate Student Summer Education Funding

The Linguistics Department is currently able to fund attendance at a summer school/summer institute or for summer fieldwork for Ph.D. students, up to the amount of $2000.

Policies

  1. This funding is independent of your annual conference travel allowance.
  2. You will be funded (up to the $2000 limit) for one summer school/institute or one summer of fieldwork for the entirety of your graduate student career. This includes costs for fees, travel fare, lodging & food.
  3. The eligibility period begins the summer preceding your 2nd year (your MA year) through the summer preceding your 5th year. (For budgeting purposes, we must follow the fiscal, not academic year which begins in July.)
  4. This funding is available only to students in good standing (satisfactory time to degree progress). This means, among other things, that you will not be eligible for funding at the end of your second year (MA year) if you have not submitted your MA paper to the department.
  5. Funding is subject to the annual departmental budget (viz., we cannot fund 30 summer education applications in one year.)
  6. You will need a faculty advisor to approve and support the application.
  7. It is strongly recommended that you apply for funding that the Division of Graduate Education makes available for the summer sessions prior to applying for Department funds and provide evidence that you applied.
  8. The deadline to apply to this program is two to four weeks prior to travel, preferably earlier.
  9. If there is overwhelming demand for summer education funding, or any other financial emergency, there may have to be funding cutbacks. However, the policy is definitive as a statement of the Department’s goals for summer school/summer fieldwork.
  10. The Division of Graduate Education’s policy requires that travel reimbursement be made during the same fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) the trip occurred.
  11. The Department will not approve retroactive travel funding requests.
  12. We strongly encourage you to purchase the lowest fares possible. Only economy class is reimbursable. This will allow us to fund more travel reimbursement requests.
  13. For summer, students must be enrolled in the preceding spring quarter.
  14. In general, queries about summer education funding and travel policies should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies, with CC to the Graduate SAO. Procedural queries should be directed to the Graduate SAO.

Reimbursable Expenses 

The following items are considered allowable expenses for reimbursement:

  1. Summer School/Institute Registration
  2. Airfare: Economy/Coach class only. “Premium Economy” and “Economy Plus” are not allowed. Regular or “Basic” Economy only.
  3. Domestic Lodging*: University max $275/night
  4. Domestic Meals*: University max $79/day (no alcohol)
  5. Transportation (for ground transportation, such as a train, Economy/Coach class only. “Premium Economy” and “Economy Plus” are not allowed.)

*Foreign Meals and Lodging per diem maximums are set per location/country and can be found here.

Application Process

You will need a faculty advisor to approve and support the application. Please consult with your advisor before making any decisions. If your advisor supports your plan, you may proceed with the application. The deadline to apply is two to four weeks prior to travel, preferably earlier.

Before initiating the application, please prepare the following information and documents:

  • 2-3 sentences explaining why travel (summer school/institute or fieldwork) is necessary for your research and/or training.
  • Budget proposal: Please provide a proposed budget for your trip. Reimbursable expenses are listed above. Keep in mind to stay within all travel limits listed above. The format can be a table that lists estimated or actual expenses.
  • Funding request documentation: Please upload confirmation that you applied for other funding, such as funding opportunities from the summer school/institute.

After the required information is prepared, please use the online form to initiate the application. A preview of the application document may be viewed here.

  1. On the online form, you will need to enter/upload:
    1. Your name and email address
    2. Your faculty advisor’s name and email address
    3. Your UID
    4. Indicate whether the application is for a summer school/institute or fieldwork
    5. Location of summer school/institute or fieldwork
    6. Dates of travel
    7. Justification for travel
    8. Budget proposal
    9. Funding request documentation
  2. Follow the steps on screen to complete your portion of the application. DocuSign will populate the entered information into the application document.
  3. Please review the information on the application document, upload the required documents, and check the uploaded documents are correct.
  4. Click the “Finish” button either at the top right or bottom of the page.
  5. After clicking on the “Finish” button, the application will be automatically emailed to your faculty advisor to obtain their signature.

After your faculty advisor signs, the application will automatically route to the Graduate SAO. The Graduate SAO will then review your application and will send an email with further information and instructions.

Reimbursement Procedure

Once you have returned from travel, submit your receipts and documents following the instructions from the Graduate SAO. Receipts MUST be submitted within two weeks of the conclusion of your trip and reimbursement cannot be processed until after you return, per UCLA Travel Accounting policy.

Caution:  If you submit your receipts more than two weeks after the conclusion of your trip, it may be impossible for the Department to reimburse your travel.

If receipts do not clearly state the amount paid and method of payment (i.e., the last four digits of your credit card), then a credit card/bank statement listing the charge is also required. Such statements should be redacted of all personally identifiable information with the exception of the account holder’s name, statement date, and the charge(s) in question.

Submit the relevant documents below:

  1. For applications for Summer School/Institute:
    1. Summer School program which includes your name and presentation details.
    2. Summer School registration fee receipt.
  2. Lodging receipts: The maximum that UCLA will reimburse for domestic lodging is $275/night. Must be itemized with amount and method of payment indicated. Lodging expenses that include personal expenses (i.e., room service and entertainment) will not be reimbursed.
  3. Meal receipts: The maximum that UCLA will reimburse for domestic meals is $79/day. Receipts must be itemized with amount and method of payment indicated. Alcohol is not reimbursable.
  4. Foreign Meals and Lodging: Foreign per diem maximums are set per location and can be found here. Receipts must follow the same requirements as domestic lodging and meals (see #3-4).
  5. Transportation receipts: Receipts must be itemized with amount and method of payment indicated.
  6. Arline tickets: Receipts must include your name, flight itinerary, airfare amount, method of payment/billing information, and class of travel (Regular or “Basic” Economy only. “Premium Economy” and “Economy Plus” are not allowed.).
    • For paper airline tickets, submit the ORIGINAL airline passenger receipt (last page in your paper ticket stub).
    • For electronic airline tickets, submit either the email e-ticket receipt or the e-ticket receipt printed from the airline website.
    • UCLA charges a mandatory carbon mitigation fee on all airfare paid by or reimbursed by the University. The fees are $9 for domestic and $25 for international. This fee will be included as part of your grant (the Department cannot cover this fee in addition to the grant) and is reimbursed directly to the University.

Please note that UCLA will not reimburse travel packages (i.e., package deals of airfare and hotel, airfare and car, etc.). You must purchase these expenses separately to be reimbursed.