Travel Grants

ORC Faculty Travel Program

The University Travel Award committee has revised the criteria and eligibility for faculty travel awards for the fiscal year 2018.

In direct support of UCF’s Collective Impact Strategic Plan and the charge to “Double the number of faculty members receiving national and international recognition in their fields,” this award will support travel for faculty that are being recognized for a distinguished achievement or having a significant honor bestowed upon them in addition to supporting travel for faculty presenting their research or creative work.

Revising the criteria in this manner would allow us to additionally support travel for faculty who are being recognized for excellence in their field but are not being required to present their research or creative work. Such recognition may be in the form of a plaque, certificate, or monetary prize. Recognition for distinguished achievement during a televised interview or radio show necessitating travel would qualify as well. The goal of the TARFE is to support activities which would allow faculty to achieve international prominence in graduate study and research while increasing the national and international recognition of the University of Central Florida.

Being selected to receive a prestigious award and being recognized for excellence in your field brings credit to the department while positioning UCF in national and international scholarly arenas increasing UCF’s reach and visibility.  Full time regular faculty (not visiting) may apply for TARFE to reimburse travel and accommodation expenses purchased with E&G funds. Awards given will match E&G support up to the levels noted below. Award levels are determined by the University Travel Award committee based on the application information submitted.

Eligibility and Criteria required:

•  Only full-time regular faculty members are eligible to apply.
• Only one application per faculty is allowed per cycle.
• The travel must be for the purpose of presenting the faculty’s research or creative work OR being recognized for a distinguished professional achievement in research, teaching or service (being bestowed upon a significant honor). Examples include but are not limited to: travel to a conference to present a poster or give an oral presentation, travel to receive a certificate/plaque/monetary prize for significant contributions of their work in the field, travel to a society/organizational meeting to be given an honorary title, travel to a prominent society event to deliver an invited keynote address, travel to a radio or TV show for the purposes of being interviewed as an expert in their field.
• Funding support is required from the department or college. This must come from E&G money. Education & General money is state appropriated funding and does not include any contract & grant funding.
• Funding may be used for any necessary travel expenses and is not limited to transportation.
• In the event of “Team” recognition only one faculty member may receive this award. This decision is left to the Department head.
• Appropriate documentation of travel related expenses must be provided.

Documents must be scanned to: facultytravelawards@ucf.edu

• A completed application form signed by the applicant and Director/Chair/Head of  Division/Department/College
• Please supply one of the following based on the purpose of travel: a.) a copy of the conference program indicating the schedule and title of the applicant’s oral presentation, b.) pages from the abstract book for the applicant’s poster presentation, c.) a letter of invitation from the awarding body or organization referencing the recognition being received (plaque, honorary title, expert panelist at an interview etc).
• Documentation of travel-related expenses paid with E&G funds (a copy of the reimbursement voucher with purchase order number, or a DataMart snapshot verifying payments)
• For travel awards to receive a recognition or honor, additionally include verification of the honor being bestowed (documentation such as a picture and/or recording).

Additional Information on TARFE:

It is encouraged that applications and supporting documents be submitted immediately following the end of the trip as TARFE funds are limited. The deadline for submission of applications is April 16, 2018. Receipt of the application will be acknowledged immediately. However, committee review and award decisions will be made on or before May 1, 2018. Notification of awards will be sent via email to faculty and supporting signatory on the application. TARFE will be provided by Journal ID to E&G account that supported the travel.

COS Faculty Travel program

The college will provide limited matching funds to support faculty travel to present a research paper or comparable creative activity at a professional meeting.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and funded first come, first served. A total of $5,000 of college overhead funds per fiscal year will be set aside for this purpose.

The college will match departmental travel funds up to $250 per trip. Awarded funds will be transferred to the department overhead account.

The college program is similar to the ORC faculty travel program. Faculty are encouraged to seek matching funds from both programs. There are two differences between the programs: the college-provided travel funds are not restricted to only transportation costs, and they may be requested either before or after travel.

The criteria are similar to the ORC faculty travel program:

• Only full-time tenured or tenure-earning faculty members are eligible.
• No more than one trip per person may be funded each fiscal year.
• The trip must be to present a research paper or comparable creative activity at a professional meeting.
• Funding is for any costs associated with the trip (unlike the ORC program).
• The college will match departmental E&G funds expended on the trip up to $250.
• If two college faculty co-author a paper, funding will be provided only to one author.
• The following must be submitted with the application:
  • A 60-75 word abstract of the presentation; and
  • Documentation of the presentation’s acceptance (e.g., a copy of the program).
• Applications may be submitted before or after travel. A copy of planned trip costs (if applying before travel) or a description of actual costs (if applying after travel) must accompany the application.

Use the COS Travel Funds application found on this page. If you prefer (but only for post-travel applications that seek reimbursement only for transportation costs), you may instead use the ORC form available at https://sciences.ucf.edu/admin/procedures/accounting-finance/travel/#Funds.