Introduction

The Faculty Graduate Research Assistant Award provides faculty with research assistance for their scholarly endeavors leading to publication/extramural funding and provides institutional financial support to graduate students within the context of a mentored project experience.

Award

• The program supports GRA/GTA positions at current tuition rates.
• The award is made for two semesters, and a faculty member may re-apply for subsequent awards.
• Assistantship time is restricted to research or teaching activities and the expected workload is 150 hours per semester.
• Faculty shall, when appropriate, share authorship with the student, and at all times, shall acknowledge the student's work in publications that report research to which the student has contributed.

Eligibility Criteria

Full-time faculty from all schools are eligible to apply for the award.

Awards are for collaborative or individual scholarly projects at any stage of the project.

Previous year’s awardees are eligible to reapply in consecutive years only if they have submitted the awarded project’s final report to the ORGS Office of Research. 

Contact Us

The ORGS would like to thank you for participating and we welcome you to contact us anytime with questions, comments, or concerns.

Phone: (210) 805-3555 Email: research@uiwtx.edu

You will find further instructions and file templates on our Internal Funding website.

All applications must be submitted by the student's faculty mentor.

Background

The ability for sponsored programs to permit the use of funding for conference attendance and travel is changing.  Executive Order 14222 and proposed OMB 2 C.F.R Part 200 updates eliminate the presumption that professional conferences are standard grant expenses for Federal grants. These forecasted restrictions will require diverse funding streams to allow for monetary coverage of professional conferences, especially for trainees. As UIW Principal Investigators and Trainees navigate these changes and pivot to diversify extramural monetary support, intramural funding opportunities are limited but are present for the current academic year. 

The Student Travel Award is for UIW students who have been accepted to present at a professional conference. Presenting includes the reporting of research results, exhibiting or performing creative works or otherwise disseminating results of scholarly activity. 

• Student Travel funds are provided as reimbursement after travel has been completed, except for airfare, which can be purchased directly through our office.
• To provide the most opportunities to the community, no requests over $800.00 will be accepted. 
• Applications are for one applicant. Please submit separate applications for multiple applicants.
• Proof of mentor and or departmental cost-share to support travels and conference attendance is mandatory. Communication of the use of fundraising does not replace this requirement. 
• Faculty mentors who can demonstrate recent (past 2 years/pending) attempts at extramural funding (Federal, State, Local, Foundation, Industry/Commercial Sponsor) will be provided five additional points. Mentors may be co-investigators/ key personnel on submitted grants or upcoming opportunities, status as PD or PI is not required.    
• Student must be the primary presenter of the project and personally accepted by the conference.
• Accepted students must present their research at the annual Excellence Summit. 

Award

The max award amount will be reviewed annually (currently $800). The number of available awards will be dependent upon annual funding for the program. Mentors will have applications evaluated and provided weighted scores on departmental cost-sharing and mentor and/or student attempts at external funding to include extramural grants, travel grants, and recent awards.

• The tax-free award is fully managed and tracked by the ORGS. 
• The amount awarded is up to $800 toward expenses incurred during the approved travel. 
• Any unused funds will be returned to the STA to provide funding opportunities for other students. 
• Awarded funds must be used within the fiscal year (June 1-May 31) in which it was awarded.

Eligibility

To be eligible, at the time of travel, the student must be:

• The primary presenter of the project.
• Personally accepted to present at the professional event.
• Regularly admitted to a UIW degree program.
• Full time student in good academic standing.
• Not previously awarded within same fiscal year (June 1 - May 31); one award per student per fiscal year.
• Enrolled in the semester during which the travel takes place. Students who maintain a current enrollment status from Spring to Fall may apply funds for travel during the Summer semester. 

Reimbursement Guidelines

Expenses and receipts must be submitted for reimbursement within ten days after travel.

Allowable Costs:

Below are items/categories that can be covered by the award, however, this does not mean that all of them will be paid for. 

San Antonio (in-town) conferences

• Conference Registration Fee (excludes membership fees)
• Parking fee

Out-of-town or out-of-state conferences

• Airfare and/or Mileage 
• Conference registration fee (excludes membership/organization fees, field trips, etc.)
• Lodging (students of the same gender attending the same conference must share a room.)
• Meals 
• Transportation costs from the airport to the hotel and vice versa, if no courtesy shuttle is available.

Unallowable Costs:

Below are the items/categories not covered by the award.

• Alcohol
• Entertainment
• Room service 
• Cash advances
• Lodging beyond the event dates
• Membership fees
• Rental vehicles
• Non-event related travel (e.g. taxi from hotel to restaurant) 

Airfare Guidelines

If awarded, the ORGS invites you to purchase airfare through our office. For consideration,

• Applications must be received at least two months in advance to ensure affordable rates.
• Airfare will not be booked in advance if the trip is less than 3 weeks away.
• Airfare is the only travel arrangement our office can provide at this time. 

Expectation of Student

If awarded, you are expected to adhere to the following:

• UIW Student Code of Conduct
• Have received all research compliance approvals through our office, as applicable (IRB for human subjects research and IACUC for animal research) 
• Students are strongly encouraged to have some vested interest in attending by paying for some of their travel.

Deadline

Continuous

Contact Us

The ORGS would like to thank you for participating. To contact us you can call (210) 805-3555 and Press 0, or email research@uiwtx.edu.