Conference Travel Funding

The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy provides funding for ELP students who are making presentations (either papers or on a panel) at conferences or have been invited to participate in a competitive workshop or seminar. Funding is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Available Amount of Money: The maximum amount of funding is $200 in a budget year, subject to the availability of funds. For conference travel 300 miles or less from Buffalo it is $100, and for travel over 300 miles it is $200. If a student has received only $100, they may apply for an additional $100 for a total of $200 in one budget year.

Procedure To Apply: You must be an ELP student to apply. ELP students must submit a Student Travel Authorization Form and a letter to the department chair accompanied by either a copy of the program with the student’s name listed or a copy of the letter accepting the student’s paper for presentation. Upon returning from the conference, the student must submit original receipts in at least the amount approved (either $100 or $200), a copy of the program cover and the page with the student’s name to the department for processing. Contact ELP for forms or questions.

The Graduate Student Association supports graduate students who present at and attend workshops at conferences. Since conference funding will be allocated into equal periods in a year, pre-approval for these periods will be determined by the following hierarchy of categories:

1. Graduate students presenting at a conference who have not previously been funded
2. Graduate students presenting at a conference who have been previously funded
3. Graduate students attending a conference who have not previously been funded
4. Graduate students attending a conference who have been previously funded
5. If requests in a category exceed the funds available, the funding will be distributed among the earliest applicants in that category

Available Amount of Money: Students may receive a maximum of $150 in their graduate career. Funding will only cover the conference registration fee and transportation expenses up to the maximum of $150. No food or lodging expenses will be funded. After returning from the conference, a copy of the cover page of the conference program and the page where their presentation is cited, original receipts and proof of payment must be submitted.

Procedure To Apply: Applicants must have previously applied for funding from their academic advisor, department and GSA departmental club. (There is a form for the advisor and department to sign, and the request and response from the club must be documented in the club minutes.) Applications for funding must be prepared for the funding period in which the conference falls.