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Travel Guidelines - Graduate Handbook
- Ph.D. students are encouraged to present their research at scientific conferences and meetings. Examples of meetings include Experimental Biology, PittCon, Institute of Food Technologists, American Chemical Society, American Oil Chemists’ Society, American nutrition Society, Gordon Research Conferences among many others. Deadlines for abstract submissions vary and must be sought out by the student. Students must give their advisor ample time (~1 week) to review their abstract prior to approval and submission.
- Travel to a conference is considered part of work – you must behave professionally and participate in the conference beyond your individual presentation. It is not a paid vacation.
• Guidelines for what research can be presented (ie: published? submitted? about to be submitted?) must be agreed upon with your advisor. - Guidelines for what type of presentation is supported must be agreed upon with your advisor. Generally, junior graduate students can present posters, but senior graduate students are encouraged to present oral presentations (except at conferences that don’t have an oral option, e.g. Gordon Research Conferences).
- Forms: Prior to travel, fill out a pre-travel authorization form at least 2 weeks in advance: https://travelregistry.umasscs.net/
- Funding: The Department of Food Science will support Ph.D. student travel for accepted abstracts in the amount of ~$300-400 per student per year. The student’s advisor is expected to fund an additional $300 toward the travel costs. Travel costs exceeding $600 are expected to be covered by the student – it is therefore recommended to be thrifty. All receipts must be submitted to Mary immediately after the trip.
- Travel Scholarships: Many national conferences offer travel grants to students who are finalists in graduate research competitions (IFT, ACS, and others). Students are encouraged to seek these out. In addition, there are limited funds by the Graduate School to support student travel. Your advisor may nominate you for one of these awards, usually $300 per award, with preference to students who are finalists in a competition, near the end of their program, and who have not yet received a Graduate School travel award.