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 conferences, 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]. 

Travel grants to the Annual Meeting are made possible by the APSA Annual Fund. To contribute to the Annual Fund and support travel grants for scholars, you can make a donation here.

2019 Annual Meeting travel grant decisions have been made and all grantees have been notified.

To be eligible for an APSA travel 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 does 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-8 BEN.

• Ticket and cab fare: Economy bus, train, and plane tickets are covered. Conference related cab fare around D.C. is also covered.
• Mileage: Mileage to the conference is reimbursable with a document showing the distance of your trip, should you travel to the Annual Meeting by car. Mileage is reimbursable at the current IRS standard mileage of 58 cents per mile traveled.

• APSA accepts printed directions from sites like Google Maps as documentation of your mileage.
• You must also demonstrate that your mileage is less than the cost of a flight. As proof, APSA accepts a printed copy of the cost of a flight to D.C. on the day that you plan to travel.

• 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.

For a downloadable copy of APSA's travel grant policy, please click here.