OUR Research Travel Awards

Students working outside in a science/lab class at Avery Point campus.

Program Overview

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) will provide up to $500 to undergraduate students for travel to conduct research, such as travel to consult materials in an archive or work with equipment in a national lab. Students may use these awards to pay for travel, parking, meals, and lodging, where permitted by University policy, while away from their home UConn campus. Travel costs incurred as part of UConn coursework are not eligible for this award.

Note: Research Travel Awards do not fund expenses associated with conference presentations. For such support, OUR Conference Presentation Awards are the appropriate funding source.

The most updated travel guidance is available at travel.uconn.edu. International, university-sponsored travel by students to destinations with a Level 3 or 4 travel advisory requires an approved waiver from Global Affairs. Information on international travel and access to the travel waiver application is available here. OUR will not fund a student to travel internationally unless the student has secured all necessary travel registrations, waivers, and approvals.

It can take up to 6 weeks for a Travel Award to be approved and for funds to be disbursed, so early application is encouraged. You must apply a minimum of 4 weeks before you travel.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and awards are made until funds are exhausted. (In other words, apply early!) Travel awards will not normally be made in support of travel to conduct research over the summer, but applications related to summer travel will be considered if funding remains after the application deadline. Please note that funding for this program, which is intended to support students across the university, is limited. Multiple students applying for support for the same project may receive smaller awards.chevron-up-thick

Eligibility

To apply for these awards, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be an undergraduate enrolled full-time at any campus of the University of Connecticut. Eligibility for funding through Office of Undergraduate Research award programs is restricted to students currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UConn. This includes students pursuing Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
    Note: Part-time undergraduate students enrolled at any campus of the University of Connecticut may apply for these awards if they have completed at least 60 academic credits (including at least 12 credits at UConn). 
  • Must complete the travel associated with this award before graduating from their bachelor's degree program.
  • Must be in good academic standing.
  • Must have their faculty advisor on the project submit a recommendation form on their behalf as part of their online application.
  • May receive no more than one OUR Research Travel Award during any given academic year.

Award Conditions

To apply for these awards, students must meet the following conditions:

  • Students engaging in international travel for academic purposes must register with UConn Global Affairs in accordance with the UConn Student International Travel Policy. Students will be automatically enrolled and covered by Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) Health Insurance for the duration of their trips upon their completion of the Global Affairs undergraduate student travel registration form. Learn more about registration with Global Affairs.
  • OUR Research Travel Award recipients must present at the Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition in the fall or spring of the academic year in which the award was received.
  • Recipients must submit the Research Travel Award Research Experience Completion Form by the deadline specified in their award letter.

Application Deadline

The 2024-25 OUR Research Travel Award application will open on Monday, August 26, 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The deadline to apply for OUR Research Travel Award funding for the 2024-2025 academic year is Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Research Travel awards will not normally be made in support of summer projects, but applications related to summer research will be considered if funding remains after the April 1, 2025 application deadline. Updated information regarding the availability of funds will be posted here.

How to Apply

The OUR Research Travel Award application is now open. Apply here. The OUR Research Travel Award Application Outline provides a list of all the questions you will need to answer in the online application.

For guidance on how to use the application management system, please review the Quest Portal User Tips. A complete application consists of the online application, an uploaded Budget Worksheet (complete and upload in PDF format), and a recommendation form to be completed by the faculty advisor of your project.

Please use the Research Travel Budget Worksheet to generate an itemized budget for your travel; you will be asked to upload this in PDF format as part of the online application. Students applying to conduct research internationally must also complete a Supplemental International Travel Questions form as part of the online application. You will request that your faculty advisor complete a recommendation via the Quest online application system by entering his/her name and email address in the application. The system will send your faculty advisor a personalized link to complete the recommendation form.

We encourage you to share your application - including your project description and budget - with your faculty advisor so s/he can refer to them when completing the recommendation.

It is advisable to review the OUR Research Travel Award Application Outline prior to completing the online application. The outline lists all the questions you will need to answer and the types of information you will need to provide in the online application.

Please note that the final question on the application will ask you to certify that you have prepared your application materials in accordance with University standards for academic integrity. Learn more about academic integrity.

Information for Recommenders

Faculty advisors are asked to complete an online recommendation form; you will not be asked to upload a recommendation letter. Your assessment of the quality of the student's work to date and the necessity of this funding for the achievement of the student's goals are critically important to the review process. Students will request recommendations via the online application system (quest.uconn.edu). Once the recommendation has been requested, UConn faculty should go to the main Quest Portal page, click “Log In” in the top right corner, select “UConn Single Sign-on” and log in with your netID and password; you should then see the recommendation task to complete.

Please note that award funds are typically disbursed directly to the student. Under limited circumstances, funds may be transferred to a ledger 2 account associated with the faculty supervisor or his/her department to cover travel expenses in the student's award budget for which the faculty or department has already paid. Note that OUR cannot transfer research travel funding to ledger 4 accounts.

Criteria for Review and Selection

OUR Research Travel Award applications are reviewed by the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research based on the following criteria:

  • The project description is well written and clearly explains the project and the need to travel to execute the research or creative project.
  • The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
  • The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the proposed travel (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
  • The student has secured research compliance approval(s) if necessary for the project. No award will be issued until documentation of these approval(s) is received.
  • The proposed travel conforms to University policy.
  • The advisor is familiar with the student's project and rates the student's work to date highly.
  • The student could not accomplish all the goals associated with the research/creative project without this funding and the advisor recommends funding.

Please note that funding for this program, which is intended to support students across the university, is limited. Multiple students applying for support for the same project or related projects may receive smaller awards. Students who have previously received support from OUR for their projects may receive smaller awards or lower priority for funding.

FAQ


How are OUR Research Travel Awards disbursed?

OUR staff will be in contact with you to gather all the information needed for UConn's travel pre-approval process. Once all approvals are in place, the award funds will be posted to your fee bill. Once posted to your fee bill, you will be able to request a refund from the Bursar's Office. Learn more about requesting a refund. Under limited circumstances, funds may be transferred to a ledger 2 account associated with the faculty supervisor or his/her department to cover travel expenses in the student's award budget for which the faculty or department has already paid. Note that OUR cannot transfer funding to ledger 4 accounts.


I am conducting research at UConn Health. Am I eligible for this award?

You may apply for a Research Travel Award to cover expenses associated with travel to the UConn Health campus, provided that (a) you provide an explanation of why you cannot use CTtransit services (free with a U-Pass), and (b) that you are not a current participant in the Health Research Program (as travel support equivalent to an OUR Research Travel Award is made available to HRP participants). Please note that these applications will have lower priority for funding given the availability of free or low-cost transit options.


I will be driving my own vehicle as part of my travel to conduct research. Is that an allowable expense?

If you will be driving, you can request that the expense be covered using the prevailing IRS standard business mileage rate multiplied by the round trip mileage. See the IRS Standard Mileage Rates website for the current rate.


I am planning international travel. Are there any restrictions on international locations to which I can travel?

International, university-sponsored travel by students requires additional approvals by Global Affairs and remains subject to COVID restrictions. Information on international travel and access to the travel waiver application is available here. OUR will not fund a student to travel internationally unless the student has secured all necessary travel registrations, waivers, and approvals.

Under normal circumstances, the University will not permit or support travel to any country with a U.S. Department of State Travel Warning or Travel Alert except pursuant to a Waiver approved by the Vice President for Global Affairs under the Policy for Education Abroad and Related Activities in Sites with a U.S. Department of State Travel Warning/Travel Alert.


Can I pay for summer research travel expenses with this award?

The OUR Research Travel Awards program is focused on supporting research and creative projects pursued during the academic year. Awards will not normally be made in support of summer projects; however, applications related to summer work will be considered if funding remains after the application deadline. A summer Research Travel Award cannot be held in conjunction with another summer award from OUR (i.e., UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship, Health Research Program stipend, UConn IDEA Grant, SURF Award). Updated information about the availability of funds will be posted in the Application Deadline section above.


Is my OUR Research Travel Award subject to taxation?

For questions related to taxation, please refer to the UConn Tax & Compliance Office's Student Taxation page and Student Tax FAQs.


I have questions about OUR Research Travel Awards. Is there someone I can speak with?

If you have questions about OUR Research Travel Awards or the application process, contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at our@uconn.edu, 860-486-7939, or schedule an appointment with an OUR Advisor via Nexus under “Enrichment Programs.”