Travel and Research Funds

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.  – Miriam Beard

Binghamton University encourages student travel for research and conferences. The list below represents a step on that journey:

• Graduate School Travel Fund
• Rosa Collecchio Dissertation Research Fund
• Minorities in Science, Math, and Engineering
• GSO Travel Fund
• Clark Travel Grant

Foundation Travel Grant

For Doctoral Students

Doctoral students may apply for travel funding to the Graduate Council’s Budget Advisory Committee, which oversees distribution of travel grants. Applications frequently exceed available funds. Therefore, the committee rates applicants on the following criteria:

Graduate Level

Although all doctoral students are eligible, preference is given to doctoral students who are advanced to candidacy. Support amount limitations are:

• $500/year for ABD students - students who have been advanced to doctoral candidacy

• $250/year for non-ABD doctoral students

Travel Purpose

• Travel to conferences where the student's name appears on the program -- funding priority is given to featured presenters. A student applying for funding should include documentation of conference participation such as a letter from the conference organizers attesting to acceptance of the student’s work as a contribution to the conference program, a copy of the conference program or other conference materials containing the student’s name as a participant.
• Travel for dissertation research is a second priority and should be accompanied by a clear, brief explanation of no more than 250 words, detailing the need for and purposes of travel. This application should be accompanied by a short statement of support by the student’s graduate advisor, the graduate director of the student’s program, or the chair of the student’s department.
• Travel for other purposes will be considered at a lower priority.

Other Selection Criteria

• priority is given to applicants who have not received travel grants the previous two semesters
• visibility/significance of conference
• type of presentation: preference is given to papers over posters
• departmental support, demonstrated through letters of support and/or additional funding
• additional grant support, such as faculty grant or start-up funds

Other Details

• Awards will be coordinated as fully as possible with the graduate student conference, travel or research funding support available through the GSO. Students may apply for both; amounts received will depend on the funds available and the number of applicants.
• Expenses covered include billed travel or mileage
• Reimbursement ($0.585 for 2008), conference registration and lodging. Meals are excluded. Please provide original receipts for all eligible expenses.

Timelines

The Graduate Council's Budget Advisory Committee meets to review applications once each semester. Applicants will be notified of the results of their application following that meeting. Grants will be made, if possible, before student travel takes place. Students may apply for expenses related to travel if travel occurred within the time periods specified below and if original receipts are provided.

Application

Each applicant must clearly explain the purposes of travel and provide a detailed budget or expense account. Applications must be typed or word-processed. Graduate directors or dissertation advisers are requested to sign the application, indicating their endorsement of the proposal. The completed form must be submitted to the funding secretary, Office of the Graduate School, AD-134.

Application deadlines for travel within the following time periods:

*If this date falls on a weekend, applications are due the previous Friday.

The Rosa Colecchio Travel Award

For Dissertation Research Enhancement

Programs are invited to encourage students to apply for the Rosa Colecchio Travel Award for Dissertation Research Enhancement when travel enhances the student’s dissertation work in a way that could not be accomplished otherwise. Only doctoral students who have been admitted to candidacy are eligible to apply. Student travel is encouraged to obtain access to otherwise unobtainable:

• library materials
• archival materials
• other original source materials
• techniques, equipment and methodologies not available on this campus
• opportunities to carry out extraordinary field research

This program cannot be used for travel to a professional meeting.

Applicants may request up to $300. One or more awards, depending on availability of funds, are made each year. Requests are reviewed by an advisory committee of faculty and graduate students appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. Awards are based on consideration of well-presented and justified need, and the merit of the project.

Applications are due in the Office of the Assistant Dean for Degree Process (AD-134) by March 28. Awards are announced April 20.

This program is funded through an endowment established through the Binghamton University Foundation by the family of Rosa Romano Colecchio.

Increasing Diversity of Graduate Students in Science, Math and Engineering

Binghamton University promotes diversity on campus, conscious that students comprise the future of every profession.  Binghamton participates with other SUNY University Centers and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in a commitment to this mission in to increase the diversity of graduate students studying the sciences and mathematics. The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program strives to significantly increase the number of domestic students receiving doctoral degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM disciplines), with special emphases on those population groups underrepresented in these fields. These groups include, for example, African Americans, Hispanics, peoples indigenous to the United States including the 48 contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii, and other Pacific Islanders. The NSF-AGEP is particularly interested in increasing the number of minorities entering the professoriate in these disciplines. Specific objectives of the NSF-AGEP program are to develop and implement:

• innovative models for recruiting, mentoring and retaining minority students in STEM doctoral programs.
• effective strategies for identifying and supporting underrepresented minorities who want to pursue academic careers.

This is not a fellowship program. Instead, NSF-AGEP funding supports a variety of activities that promote the recruitment, mentoring and retention of minority students in STEM doctoral programs.

At Binghamton University, funds are available for:

• recruiting expenses incurred by faculty or graduate programs.
• visiting speaker travel/honoraria and hosting expenses.
• graduate student travel to professional conferences or other research travel.
• textbooks, lab materials, software and other supplies.
• other special projects that will enhance students’ academic progress.

Students seeking funding support for travel or other academic expenses use a brief application form, which must be endorsed by the graduate director of the student's academic program and submitted to the associate dean of the Graduate School. For activities undertaken by departments or faculty, a special form is not required. In all cases, requests must include an explanation of the benefits of the proposed travel and a detailed project budget. Availability of matching funds from other sources is encouraged but not required.

As per the grant, students seeking support by the AGEP program must be:

• U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents
• enrolled in a graduate degree program in the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science or any department in the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math and Sciences
• a member of one of the following demographic groups:
  • American Indian/Alaskan Native/Native American
  • Black /African American
  • Hispanic
  • Pacific Islander

For more information, contact:
Associate Dean
Office of The Graduate School
Binghamton University
PO Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
(607)777-6955
email: gradsch@binghamton.edu

Steering Committee

• Nancy Stamp, vice provost and dean, Graduate School
• Fernando Guzman, Department of Mathematics
• Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program Description NSF 04-575

Contact Info: Graduate School, Binghamton University, PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000