Frequently Asked Questions

If you submitted your abstract to present your research work at a conference or professional meeting and you received notification that your abstract has been selected for presentation, you may apply now. Due to limited funding, we recommend you apply as soon as you receive notification. This will help you secure funds before they are depleted.

Under the new GSTAA policy, students are only eligible to apply for funding once during their Graduate career. If you received funding prior to July 1, 2017 or any time after, you are not eligible to apply.

Yes. When a student cancels for any reason, the funds they had been awarded are then distributed to the students on the waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis.

Yes. If you did not use the funds awarded to you and you have not received funding previously, you are eligible to reapply.

The GSTAA and ECPDP can cover up to 50% of the actual airfare, car mileage in lieu of airfare, ground transportation, lodging, meeting registration, and abstract fee, not to exceed the awarded amount. Meals, per diem, poster expenses, and membership expenses are not covered.

If you are attending a professional development workshop, you will not be eligible for GSTAA funding. Instead, you might be eligible for the Early Career Professional Development Program (ECPDP).

If your application shows “Pending Coordinator and Chair Approval,” you may contact your department’s travel coordinator to inquire about the status. If the application shows “Pending GSTAA Approval,” then you can contact the GSTAA Coordinator, Sabrina Smith, at sabrina.d.smith@utah.edu or by phone at 801.213.2250.

The VCA is offered to postdocs and students who are actively enrolled in a graduate program. The recipient of this award must also have their abstract accepted by the conference for presentation.

Receiving the VCA does not make you ineligible for other Graduate School travel awards including the GSTAA and ECPDP. However, students are only allowed one award per year. A student or postdoc cannot receive multiple awards from the Graduate School within the same year.

If you would like to attend a virtual conference or meeting where you are not presenting, you will want to look into applying for the ECPDP, as this award is for professional development purposes.

As of right now, the VCA is temporarily offered for fiscal year 21 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021) to allow for students to present at conferences that have adapted to a virtual platform due to COVID-19. At the end of the fiscal year, this award will be re-evaluated to determine if it will still be offered in the future.

If the student/postdoc requires $200 or less to present their abstract, the department will pay for the necessary fees, the Graduate School will then reimburse the appropriate Chartfield. The Graduate School will require a copy of the receipt in order to approve the reimbursement.

If the student/postdoc requires more than $200, there are two (2) options for reimbursement.

1. If the department will cover the expenses over the awarded amount, the department will pay for the necessary fees and the Graduate School will reimburse the appropriate Chartfield for the awarded amount. The Graduate School will require a copy of the receipt in order to approve the reimbursement.
2. If the department will not pay for the expenses over the awarded amount, the student/postdoc will be responsible for paying for the expenses. In this case, the Graduate School will complete an Electronic Payment Request (EPR) in order to reimburse the student/postdoc for the awarded amount. The Graduate School will require a copy of the receipt in order to approve the reimbursement.