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Office of Undergraduate Research
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Conference Presentation Travel Awards

The Office of Undergraduate Research provides funding to undergraduate researchers to travel to off-campus conferences and present their work. Funding for registration fees, lodging costs, travel, and meals will be awarded to undergraduate researchers (up to $500) who have been accepted to present at a conference. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but must be received at least four weeks before the travel date.   

These funds will be dispersed to the student’s home department. The Office of Undergraduate Research recommends that all students and their faculty mentors applying for these funds first speak to their department travel coordinator to learn about the travel process in the department. 

Questions regarding conference presentation travel awards should be directed to OUR Coordinator, Kaitlyn Minnicks at k.minnicks@unf.edu

Eligibility

There is no GPA requirement for funding, but students must be an enrolled undergraduate at UNF and registered for classes during the semester in which they apply and must be in good academic standing. 

Only works completed under the supervision of a faculty mentor (at UNF or another accredited institution) are eligible for funding. 

Applications will be accepted from individual undergraduate researchers who have been accepted to present at an off-campus conference. Only two students per presentation will be able to receive funds. 

Students are eligible to receive one Conference Presentation Travel Award per academic year (summer, fall, spring). 

Requirements

Proof of acceptance to present at the conference must be submitted with the application. 

All student travel must be documented through Concur, and a Concur Travel Authorization request should be submitted prior to applying for funds. Contact your department's office manager or travel coordinator for assistance with this. 

Funds awarded will be dispersed to the home department. 

Students who do not use their funding must coordinate with their mentor’s department to have funding returned to the Office of Undergraduate Research as soon as possible 

Students awarded a Conference Presentation Travel Award will be required to sign an acceptance letter prior to disbursement of the funds to their home department. 

Students awarded a Conference Presentation Travel Award must present their data at an annual UNF SOARS (Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship) conference. 

Guidelines

Applicants will submit: the name of the conference, travel dates, the title and abstract of the presentation, the acceptance letter, budget, and Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation. After submission of the requested components by the student, the faculty mentor will be contacted to submit the Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation. All application materials must be received at least four weeks prior to travel. 

Conference – Provide the full name and location of the conference. 

Travel dates – Provide the dates travel will begin and end.  

Title and abstract – Provide the complete presentation title and abstract.   

Acceptance letter – Save the email as a PDF and upload the file.  

Budget – Provide an itemized budget for the travel. Consult the Budget Guidelines before submitting the budget section of the proposal.  This can be provided as a table, as bullet points, or in paragraph form. 

Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation – Provide comments on the importance of the student’s attendance at the conference for the student’s professional development and how the university will benefit from the activity. The letter should be signed and dated. Department letterhead is preferred. 

 

Budget Guidelines

Funds awarded to students will be transferred to the home department. It is important the students discuss travel procedures for their department with their faculty mentor and the travel coordinator for their department prior to submitting the application.  

Examples of allowable expenses: 
  • Hotel – provide the cost per night and expected total cost for the trip. 
  • Flight – provide the names of the airline, airports, and total cost of the flight. 
  • Mileage – if a personal vehicle is being used, determine the miles for the round trip (to/from UNF) and multiply by $0.445 to calculate the mileage reimbursement.  
  • Local transportation – if flying to the conference (cannot be requested if using a personal vehicle) 
  • Meals – if you have room left in your budget, you may request funding to cover meals, which is reimbursed on a per diem basis.   
Examples of non-allowable expenses include, but are not limited to: 
  • Costs associated with memberships for professional meetings or conferences. 
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