Graduate Student Travel Funding

Updated October 21, 2025

Conference Travel Application

TIMELINE OF DEPARTMENT TRAVEL APPLICATION

 

Please see “Application Process” for full details.

Basis of Our Policy

The Department has budgeted funds to subsidize graduate student travel to major conferences for giving talks and presenting posters. This is money that, in principle, the Department wants to spend, since giving conference talks is part of professional training and might help you in a job search. Therefore, the Department strongly encourages you to submit abstracts to major conferences in your field, as soon as your research program has developed to the appropriate point.

Funding Levels

The number of trips taken per year is at the student’s discretion. However, please be aware of the funding limits (by grad year) below. These are the maximum possible total funding amounts per student (maximum funding not guaranteed):

  • Year 2 Maximum: $1000
  • Years 3-5 Maximum: $1500
  • Years 6+ Maximum: $800

Reimbursable Expenses 

For detailed information on Travel Reimbursements and Policies, please visit the “Documents Required for Travel Reimbursement” section of the Departmental Guidelines for Travel & Entertainment Expenses/Reimbursements.

The following items are considered allowable expenses for reimbursement:

1. Conference Registration

2. Membership Dues (if required for registration) 

3. Airfare: Economy/Coach class only. “Premium Economy” and “Economy Plus” are not allowed. Regular or “Basic” Economy only.

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.

4. Domestic Lodging*: University max $333/night

5. Domestic Meals*: University max $92/day (no alcohol)

6. Transportation

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

If you need handouts for your conference presentation, the Department can assist you in making copies using the Campbell Hall copier, at the Department’s expense. Students may also utilize the Department’s poster printer to print conference posters at no cost. Contact our Front Office Student Workers in our Main Office, 3125 Campbell Hall, for assistance.

Application Process

Conference and research travel falls under the scope of the UCLA Division of Graduate Education’s Doctoral Student Travel Grant (DTG), through which every UCLA PhD student is allotted $1,000 that can be used within the first seven years of entering their doctoral program. We ask that you please apply for the DTG before using Department funds for travel. Your conference travel will be considered once you have used your allotted $1,000 or if the university denies your application for whatever reason.

The application window for the Department’s Conference Travel Funding starts after receiving abstract acceptance for a conference. The last day an application and receipts/documents will be accepted is two weeks after the end of your travel for that conference.

  1. You must speak with your advisor (or the relevant faculty) prior to submitting your abstract to a conference you are considering and provide them with a copy of the abstract you are planning to submit. This is to ensure you have an advisor willing to do the usual advisory task of providing input and polishing the paper. Please give the faculty sufficient time to read and consider the abstract.
  2. If your abstract is accepted, the application may be initiated. Use the online form to initiate the application and upload a copy of the abstract acceptance. A preview of the application document may be viewed here.
  3. Follow the steps on screen to complete your portion of the application. DocuSign will populate the necessary information into the application document.
  4. Please review the information on the application document, sign, then 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. Their signature confirms that they read and approved the abstract prior to you submitting it the conference.
  6. After your faculty advisor signs, the application will be routed to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer (SAO) and the Graduate SAO will send a follow-up email shortly after receiving the signed application.

Policy-compliant receipts and documentation must be submitted within two weeks of the conclusion of your trip, see Reimbursement Procedure below. Please note that the Department will not send a reminder for receipt and document submission.

Reimbursement Procedure

Once you have returned from the conference, you MUST submit your receipts and documents to the Department Coordinator and Fund Manager within two weeks of the conclusion of your trip. Reimbursement is based on actual expenses and 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. Copy of funding application signed by your faculty advisor.
  2. Conference program which includes your name and presentation details. 
  3. Conference registration fee receipt. 
  4. Domestic lodging receipts: The maximum that UCLA will reimburse for domestic lodging is $333/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.
  5. Meal receipts: The maximum that UCLA will reimburse for domestic meals is $92/day. Receipts must be itemized with amount and method of payment indicated. Alcohol is not reimbursable.
  6. 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 #4-5). 
  7. Transportation receipts: Receipts must be itemized with amount and method of payment indicated. For ground transportation, such as a train, class of travel must be Economy/Coach only. “Premium Economy” and “Economy Plus” are not allowed.
  8. 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.).
    1. 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.

Policies  

  • Division of Graduate Education policy requires that travel reimbursement be made during the same fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) the trip occurred.
  • The total reimbursement amount for a year cannot exceed a student’s maximum amount for that year.
  • The Department will not move forward with travel funding requests if the application is not signed by the faculty advisor and/or if policy-compliant receipts and documentation are not submitted on time.
  • The Department will prioritize requests from students who have already used their $1,000 as part of the UCLA Division of Graduate Education’s Doctoral Student Travel Grant (DTG) program.
  • Conference travel funding will not be approved for students who have missed major Department deadlines for progress in the program.
  • 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.
  • Students must be registered in the degree program during the quarter the travel takes place. For summer, students must be enrolled in the preceding spring quarter.
  • It is to be understood that conference travel funding is not guaranteed. If there is overwhelming demand for travel money, 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 student conference travel.
  • In general, queries about conference travel policy should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies, with CC to the Graduate SAO. Procedural queries should be directed to the Graduate SAO. Queries about reimbursable expenses should be directed to the Department Coordinator and Fund Manager.