APSA is pleased to provide travel grants to U.S. graduate students, international students in the U.S., international scholars, unemployed members, and community and contingent faculty members for attendance at association events, specifically the Teaching and Learning Conference and the APSA Annual Meeting. A travel grant can cover the costs of travel to the meeting, such as lodging and meals.
For questions about the travel grant program or applications, contact [email protected].
Eligibility
To be eligible for grant, you must:
- Maintain your APSA membership through the date of the conference for which you are receiving travel grant funding
- Reside more than 30 miles from the conference location - you are not eligible for a travel grant if you live within 30 miles of the conference site
- Submit all itemized receipts for expenses, an APSA-provided expense form, and your attendance badge as proof of attendance
- APSA will not cover expenses that are not submitted without an itemized receipt
This grant money is reportable income and treated as non-employment compensation by the IRS. To accept the award, APSA requires that all recipients complete and return a W-9 or W-8BEN tax form.
Travel Grant Use
A travel grant from APSA can cover the following costs:
- Ticket and cab fare: Economy bus, train, and plane tickets are covered, conference related cab fare around the conference city is also covered
- Mileage: Mileage to the conference is reimbursable with a document showing the distance of your trip, should you travel to the conference by car
- Mileage is reimbursable at the IRS standard mileage of 56 cents per mile traveled
- You must also demonstrate that the cost of your mileage is less than the cost of a flight
- As proof, APSA accepts a printed copy of the cost of a flight to the conference city on the days that you plan to travel and printed directions from sites like Google Maps as documentation
- Hotels: The cost of a stay in a hotel, hostel, or other rented lodging such as Airbnb during the conference is covered
- Meals: The cost of meals during the conference is covered
An APSA travel grant does not, however, cover any of the following costs:
- Business or first-class tickets
- Rental cars
- Gasoline: Receipts for gas are not accepted - for APSA to cover the cost of a car trip to the conference, you must provide your mileage using the instructions above
- Alcohol
- Registration or APSA Membership: APSA cannot apply grant funds toward the cost of a membership or registration for the Annual Meeting