The Catholic University Department of Psychology provides a limited number of Conference Travel Awards for graduate students in psychology. Funds are awarded to students to attend research conferences where they are presenting a poster or a paper, with preference provided to students who are first authors. The number of awards granted will depend upon the number of applications and available funds. Awards can be applied to travel (other than personal vehicles), lodging, and conference fees. Special circumstances for other expenses may be considered. The average award is expected to be approximately $350. There are 3 deadlines each year for applications for the Travel Award: March 1, July 1, and November 1.

Eligibility

To be eligible, students must:

  1. Currently be enrolled in a graduate program in Catholic University’s Department of Psychology.
  2. Have had a paper or poster accepted at a research conference.
  3. Have applied for conference travel support from Catholic University’s Graduate Student Association (GSA). For information, see gradstudents.cua.edu.

Application

To apply, students should submit 1 electronic copy of the following:

  1. A completed Conference Travel Awards Form. (leave top chartfield blank)
  2. Copy of the abstract for the paper or poster presentation.
  3. A completed and signed Travel Expense Report detailing how these funds will be used. If there are any special circumstances affecting the budget, please describe them briefly.  The form can be found on the Catholic University Treasurer website, under the Travel and Other Expense Forms header.

Students should submit 1 electronic copy of all of the application materials to Vince Bunuan, Academic Specialist, by 4 p.m. by the above listed deadlines.

Awards

A department committee will review applications and announce awards within 1 month of the submission deadline. To receive reimbursement, awardees will need to provide to the following to the Department Chair within 10 days of the completed conference or the announcement of the award:

  1. A completed Travel Expense Report Form that details the actual expenses. The form can be found on the Catholic University Treasurer website, under the Travel and Other Expense Forms header.
  2. All original receipts that document funds associated with this travel. It is highly suggested that you make copies of these receipts before turning them in. Printed copies of electronic receipts are acceptable in cases in which there were no original paper copies.

Please note:
The Office of Accounts Payable will NOT process Travel Expense Reports that are submitted more than 15 days after completion of travel.

Students should plan to apply BEFORE attending a conference, allowing enough time for the department committee to review applications and for awardees to meet submission dates designated by the University.

Also, because the Catholic University fiscal year ends April 30, please be mindful to plan accordingly so that all reimbursement materials are submitted prior to this date.