Student Travel Requests

Travel grant opportunities for Engineering graduate students

 

  • There are travel grant opportunities that students can avail of in order to participate in conferences within and outside Canada. The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) offers travel assistance to masters and doctoral students who are presenting papers/posters at conferences outside of Memorial. The guidelines for this are reflected in this link: https://www.mun.ca/sgs/current-students/tuition-funding-and-employment/travel-funding/.
  • Aside from the SGS, and depending on student’s eligibility, the Engineering Graduate Office (EGO) and the Graduate Student Union (GSU) will also contribute to the student’s conference expenses. If the student has been a Teaching Assistant at any point in the preceding year (i.e., Fall, Winter, and Spring/Intersession), the Teaching Assistants’ Union of MUN (TAUMUN) will also chip in for the expenses.
  • On top of the generic travel request form, and depending on one's preference, students can request for a travel advance or, if they decide to cover their own expenses independently, they may also request for a travel refund (claim) later after they participate in the conference. A corresponding travel advance form or travel expense claim form will also be required in this case. The link to the forms is https://www.mun.ca/finance/online-forms/. 
  • When submitting a Travel Request Form along with a Travel Advance Form or Travel Expense Claim Form, kindly enclose the supporting invoices/receipts for the expenses you want to get reimbursed – i.e., registration fees, plane tickets, hotel accommodation, and local transportation. Students can’t claim personal expenses. They also don’t need to submit receipt for meals; they can claim per diem and incidentals (i.e., $60/day) – just ensure that they have a copy of the agenda of the conference attached, as well as the abstract/full version of their conference paper and acceptance letter from organizers. Please note that expenses can only be claimed for the days students travel to and from the conference and on the actual days of the conference. The full schedule of reimbursable expenses can be reviewed at https://www.mun.ca/finance/our-services/travel/schedule-of-reimbursable-expenses/#Incidentals.
  • When accomplishing the Travel Expense Claim form, please itemize your expenses according to the receipts you will have available. Only use the Travel Claim B section of the form if you don’t have enough space to itemize your expenses in Travel Claim A.
  • Students can send the Travel Request Form along with a Travel Advance Form or Travel Expense Claim Form with the supporting invoices/receipts in one PDF file to the Office of the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, through engrdoffice@mun.ca, to facilitate approval with the different funding offices, submission for review to the Finance unit of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS), and processing by MUN's Financial and Administrative Services (FAS). MUN's FAS will facilitate the reimbursement by direct payment deposit through the student's banking information on file.
  • Please note that it takes approximately 4-6 weeks for travel advances or travel claims to be processed and paid to students' bank accounts. Accordingly, please plan ahead the timing of your requests relative to the schedule of the conferences and the associated costs that you might need to pay for (e.g., registration fees, flight bookings and/or hotel accommodations).
  • For further inquiries, the Engineering Graduate Office's number is (709) 864-8901. The email address is engrdoffice@mun.ca.