About the WEC Grants
Apply for a 2022-2023 Wildlife Graduate Student Association Grant!
To encourage graduate students to participate in their professional and academic arenas, each year the Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation (WEC) makes funds available for graduate students to attend conferences/symposiums for presenting research and for other professional development opportunities. Any travel undertaken by a student with departmental funds should serve a purpose linked to the mission of the department in a research, educational, or extension context. However, these are NOT research grants (i.e, to fund travel to your field site to conduct your field research). These funds are administered by the Wildlife Graduate Student Association (WGSA). Further matching funds may also be provided by other UF organizations (see end of page).
To encourage graduate students to participate in their professional and academic arenas, each year the Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation (WEC) makes funds available for graduate students to attend conferences/symposiums for presenting research and for other professional development opportunities. Any travel undertaken by a student with departmental funds should serve a purpose linked to the mission of the department in a research, educational, or extension context. However, these are NOT research grants (i.e, to fund travel to your field site to conduct your field research). These funds are administered by the Wildlife Graduate Student Association (WGSA). Further matching funds may also be provided by other UF organizations (see end of page).
WGSA travel grants can be used to support:
1. Conference registration fees (in person and virtual) and associated travel expenses;
2. Professional development (in person and virtual) and associated travel expenses; and
3. Academic publication fees
The maximum award from WGSA is $250 per student per fiscal year.
The Application Process: |
Are you Eligible? |
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To apply for a WGSA travel grant, read the instructions below and then click on the link above to submit an application.
Grant application important dates: Fall 2022 cycle (expenses from August 2022 – December 2022) September 19, 2022: grant applications open at 6am EDT October 14, 2022: grant applications close at 5pm EDT Spring-Summer 2023 cycle (expenses from January 2023 – July 2023): February 13, 2023: grant applications open at 6am EDT March 17, 2023: grant applications close at 5pm EDT All applicants will receive an e-mail notification from the travel grants committee within 2-3 weeks after the final deadline notifying you of the decision on your application. |
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Information for applicants:
- Make sure to read instructions on the application form fully and fill out every field of the application. Blank responses will not be awarded any points.
- Make sure to select "Send me a copy of my responses" at the bottom of the form. Upon submission of your application, you should receive an automatically generated e-mail from Google Forms---do not delete this email! If you do not receive this confirmation email within 24 hours, please contact the current WGSA Travel Grants Committee Co-chairs (Pat Dumandan, pdumandan@ufl.edu and Priyanka Hari Haran, phariharan1@ufl.edu) to make sure your application was received.
- If you have made an error in your submitted application, you can edit your response using the link provided in your confirmation email from Google Forms at any time until the application deadline.
Application scoring:
Submissions will be reviewed by at least 2 members of the WGSA Travel Grants Committee using a rubric that scores applications in the following categories:
- Type of conference or event: e.g., invited symposium, international, national, or regional
- Type of presentation: For conferences: oral, poster, or other. For professional development events: workshop, demo, or other activity. (See more details in "Information for Award Recipients" and on application form)
- Non-technical abstract
- WGSA participation
- Budget
Reviewers’ scores will be averaged to rank the applicants and determine the awardees.
Applications will be scored in 4 special pools and 1 general pool: (1) first-year students, (2) students graduating this year, (3) students applying for professional development opportunities, (4) students applying for publishing fee waiver, and (5) all other applications. If an application fits into more than one special pool (e.g., a first-year student attending a professional development opportunity), the application will be scored with other professional development applications. If an application in a special pool does not receive a high enough score to receive one of the special pool awards (distributed based on applicant demand), it will be added into the general pool for consideration and distribution of remaining awards. In the case of a tie, determination of the award recipient will be made based on another evaluation of the applications that received the same score, with the scoring of abstracts as a tiebreaker.
Information for Award Recipients:
ALL award recipients are required to provide a WGSA Activity in the semester of or after their conference. Award recipients may choose one of the following activities based on your needs and personal interest in education and outreach:
Teaching
- Provide a hands-on workshop to fellow WEC graduate students*
- Provide a demo to fellow WEC graduate students*
*Professional development applicants who choose one of these options will receive a higher score for the Type of Presentation than a non-teaching option; a hands-on workshop will receive a higher score than a demo
Writing
- Write a blog post for the WGSA Facebook page (facebook.com/wgsauf), WEC Facebook page (facebook.com/UFIFASWildlife), and/or WEC website blog series (http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/wecdept/)
- Write a UF/IFAS EDIS extension publication (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/faq/pubfaq.html#header1)
- Write an article for The Independent Florida Alligator, the largest student independent newspaper in the nation (http://www.alligator.org/app/advertising/WhoWeAre.pdf)
Social media
- Take over the WEC Twitter account for a week (check out @realscientists on Twitter for examples)
- Develop a video for the WEC YouTube channel (youtube.com/channel/UChdnn-IJ2qIlzLyXLhxaTnQ)
- Do a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) interview (see Adia Sovie's here: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/89r29d/iaman_ecologist_i_have_studied_pythons_and_marsh/)
Speaking - scientific audience
- Give a EcoThink Tank talk to fellow WEC graduate students
- Give a talk to undergraduates at a UF Wildlife Society meeting
Speaking - public audience
- Give a poster presentation at Suds and Science (an annual WGSA event for the public at a local brewery), typically in the spring semester
Please review these instructions carefully before taking your trip. It is important that you have all of the necessary forms signed and processed PRIOR to your trip in order to receive reimbursement. DO NOT WAIT! Once you receive a notice of award, contact the front office for assistance.
Before your trip:
1. As soon as possible, submit a WEC Travel Authorization Request (TAR). One TAR must be submitted for your WECTravel Award and UF/IFAS Travel Grant. TARs must be approved in advance of the travel. A second separate TAR must be submitted for your Graduate Student Council Travel Award. Your GSC award letter will explain where to submit your TAR. You will receive a copy of the approved TAR. Keep this for your records. The TAR number must be included on your request for reimbursement.
2. International travel is processed manually. Allow 30 days before your departure date for your TAR to go through the approval process. International travel requires that you get a Medex Card. Applications are available in 368 N-Z Hall.
3. International travel will not be approved without the Medex Card. If you are renting a car you must use AVIS Rent-A-Car or be prepared to justify your alternate choice. With an approved TAR, you can avoid an out-of-pocket expense by requesting an ACTO form for your car rental. Make your AVIS car rental reservation before you request the ACTO form.
During your trip:
1. Keep ALL receipts [i.e. registration, hotel, airline ticket, car rental, taxi, tolls, banquet (you must have a receipt and verification that the banquet was an organized event with a speaker), etc.]
2. UF meal allowance is $36/day. The first and last day of travel will vary according to your departure and arrival times. Receipts are not required to receive your meal allowance. Banquets are the exception as stated in #2.
After your trip (within 10 days of your return):
1. For reimbursement of the WEC Travel Award and the UF/IFAS Travel Grant: submit a WEC Travel Reimbursement Request within 2 weeks of returning from the trip. Paperwork and receipts for travel must be turned in to WEC by June 15 of the respective fiscal year, otherwise you forfeit your reimbursement.
2. Include all receipts associated with your trip (See During Your Trip). Missing receipts will delay your reimbursement.
3. For reimbursement of the Graduate Student Council Award refer to your award letter for reimbursement instructions. Original receipts are required for reimbursement of your Graduate Student Council Award. Meals are not paid by the Graduate Student Council Award.
4. If not previously submitted, include your acceptance letter from the conference.
5. IMPORTANT: If travel is occurring during the summer, submit receipts of prepayments to WEC Fiscal (on or before June 30).
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the current WGSA Travel Grants Committee Co-chairs: Patricia Dumandan (pdumandan@ufl.edu) and Priyanka Hari Haran (phariharan1@ufl.edu).
