CPS Departmental Travel Grant

CPS Departmental Travel Grant

The Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences (CPS) provides graduate students funding to support travel to attend and present research results at academic conferences.

Student Eligibility

The travel grant is open to all research stream graduate students (Masters and PhD) who are affiliated at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and are supervised by a CPS faculty member.

To be appropriately identified in ROSI as 'UTM affiliated', students need to complete and submit the Campus Affiliation form on the Provost website.

Eligible students must satisfy the following departmental requirements:

  • all of your TA duties/hours as per your graduate funding package - the expectation is that all of your TA duties are met at CPS; however, in some special cases, exceptions can be made
  • attend the CPS colloquium series (at least 15 seminars per year)

Grant Purpose & Timing

Travel grants are provided to fund graduate student travel to attend and present at scientific conferences, summer/winter schools and workshops. Other research travel purposes, such as off-site data collection or collaboration, are not eligible purposes.

The granting year runs from May 1st - April 30th and students may be awarded more than one travel grant up to a combined maximum of $2,500*^ annually. Any unused balances will be returned to the funding pool at the end of each granting year. In special circumstances, when the timing of the events is close to May 1st,  students may request a carry forward or an advance. All such requests are at the sole discretion of the Chair.

*If your travels will cause you to incur costs for child care, and you are in need of assistance with these expenses, please contact Marek Velits, CPS Manager. If you wish to explore and review all available child care support programs at the university, visit this Child Care Resources page.

^Given the current circumstances due to COVID, we are allowing graduate students to use the CPS Travel Grant to fund alternative research opportunities and professional development activities. Grant requests must align with your current degree program and studies. As per the existing process, your grant request submission requires your supervisor’s review and approval before it is submitted for the internal approval process. 

Once approved, expenses can be claimed using the expense reimbursement form found at the bottom of this page.

Application Process & Deadlines

The CPS Travel Grant Application Form must be completed with appropriate details. The conference/workshop MUST be relevant to your current degree program as well as bring scientific value to your research studies. Results of the application will be sent via e-mail to the student. If you have any question about the application form/process, contact Michelle Bae at cpsgrad.utm@utoronto.ca.  

All applications must be submitted at least 1 month in advance of the intended travel. Travel must be completed within six (6) months of the submission.

Adjudication

Travel grant requests are subject to Chair's approval. Travel grant requests will be awarded to all eligible applications if the allotted funding for the granting year has not been exhausted. If the total sum of grant requests exceeds the allowable funding, priority will be given to:

1.       Applicants who have not received CPS travel grants in previous years;
2.       Applicants who are close to the end of their degrees; and
3.       Applicants who have obtained external travel support (UTM, SGS, conference organizer, etc.)

CPS Travel Grants have no matching fund requirement.

Safety Abroad Registration

Students planning to participate in conferences/research activities held outside of Canada MUST complete below BEFORE THE TRIP by visiting UofT’s Safety Abroad Office’s website - http://safetyabroad.utoronto.ca:

Expense Eligibility & Reimbursement

Expense reimbursement claims must be in accordance with the Travel and Other Reimbursable Expenses - Policies and Guidelines at University of Toronto. For a quick reference list for expense reimbursements, please follow this check list

Upon trip completion, students must submit an expense reimbursement claim for the eligible expenses incurred. The claim must be supported by original receipts/proof of payment (itemized and in the order of presentation on the claim form), boarding passes and the conference program. The expense claim form and detailed instructions on how to claim an expense reimbursement are available on the UofT Financial Services website. 

Please submit your completed expense reimbursement claim form and the supporting documents (i.e., original receipt/proof of payment) to the Financial and Administrative Coordinator, Gigi Shen (gigi.shen@utoronto.ca), for processing.