UIC Graduate Student Council

The UIC Graduate Student Council (GSC) Travel Award is available to students actively participating in academic or professional meetings. To eligible applicants, the GSC gives awards of up to $300, which may be used for reimbursement of transportation, lodging, registration, and meal costs.

To be eligible for a GSC Travel Award, the following conditions must be met:

• The applicant must not be eligible for a Health Professions Student Council (HPSC) Travel Award.
• The applicant must be currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at UIC.
• The applicant must be presenting their own original work, chairing a session, or leading a discussion at a recognized meeting or conference.
• The applicant's department must have a currently active GSC departmental representative. An active GSC departmental representative is one who attends all of the regularly scheduled GSC departmental representative meetings in a given fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). In the event that a GSC departmental representative cannot attend a meeting, an alternate may attend in their place. If one meeting is missed by both the representative and the alternate, the absence may be "made up" through service to the GSC in a manner determined by the GSC executive officers. Such an absence at more than one meeting may result in that department's loss of active status for the reminder of that fiscal year.
• Applicants may only receive one (1) GSC Travel Award per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).

To apply for a GSC Travel Award, follow these steps:

1. Collect the following documentation:
   • An abstract describing the applicant's work or presentation/activity.
   • Proof of acceptance at the meeting/conference, indicating the applicant's primary participation.
2. Fill in the online application form at the bottom of this page.
3. Print the one-page PDF form automatically generated by the system. Sign the form, and have it signed by your Advisor and by your Department Head or DGS. Notice that three different signatures are required. For example, if your Advisor is also the Department Head, you will need the signature of the DGS on your form.
4. Fax the whole documentation (application form, abstract, and proof of acceptance) to the GSC officers, at (312) 355-5101. The documentation should be faxed as soon as possible. Awards are granted first-come, first-served by completed faxed application. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Notification of award status and instructions for processing a GSC Travel Award will be sent as applications are reviewed and approved by the GSC Travel Award Committee. A fixed number of GSC Travel Awards are disbursed on a quarterly basis, with consideration of eligible applicants based on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no guarantee of funding. Eligible applicants who are not granted funding during the quarter in which their event occurs will still be notified and are encouraged to retain their receipts since additional award monies may become available at the end of the fiscal year. Additional awards are contingent upon unspent GSC monies and will be dispersed via a lottery system.

Applications must be received within the quarter during which the last day of the conference occurs.

• Quarter 1: May, June, July.
• Quarter 2: August, September, October.
• Quarter 3: November, December, January.
• Quarter 4: February, March, April.

The GSC encourages all applicants to apply for other travel support as well. Support is often available from departments as well as professional societies and associations. The UIC Graduate College grants travel awards as well. Application information and forms are available on the Graduate College website.

Please Note: Applicants should never send receipts to the GSC. Original receipts must be presented to the Office of Student Affairs, 3030 SSB, in order to process reimbursements. The GSC cannot assume responsibility for receipts sent to them.

Warning to GMail users: Sometimes, emails sent from our Travel Award System get caught into the spam folder of GMail users. This includes notification of acceptance emails. If you use GMail, make sure to check your spam folder. The GSC is not responsible for missed notifications due to this problem. We suggest you use your UIC account, that does not classify our emails as spam.

Your GSC departmental representatives are your primary sources of information. Make sure you contact them first. For any remaining questions or comments, please contact the GSC Travel Award Committee at gscawards@gmail.com.