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Funding

We know that doing research and presenting can get expensive. We want to help further your education and get your research out there. To do that, we offer funding for travel, research, and select thesis, dissertation, and project costs. All of our funding is given as a reimbursement to help defer the cost, meaning that you will need to spend money before we can fund you as well as the funds provided may not (and likely will not) cover all of your expenses. Funding is approved on a first come, first served basis as funding may run out before the end of the semester.

 

Funding Categories

Application for Financial Support complete the webform application

 

Maximum Funding per Semester

Graduate students are eligible for up to $400 in funding from GSO, per semester. (Exception: up to $500 for Tier 4 Travel with Academic Duties). This amount can be split between the funding categories.

 

What GSO Does NOT Fund

  1. Photocopying or duplicating costs unless deemed to be a research supply (i.e. you can't get GSO to pay for copying your dissertation)
  2. Basic supplies that should be provided by the Department (pens, pencils etc.)
  3. Any further funding during a given semester once the personal limit of $400 worth of appropriations have been reached during that semester ($500 in the case of Tier 4 Travel with Academic Duties).

 

Special Problems and Situations:

If driving a personal car or a rental car, you must provide a photocopy of your driver's license and proof of insurance for yourself and any other drivers.

Graduate students not enrolled during the summer semester are not eligible to receive funds at a summer meeting. These applications may be heard in the subsequent fall semester and treated as a regular fall application. All funds received in the fall, regardless of the semester (FA or SU) in which the receipts were generated, will count toward the student's Council Determined Funding Limit of $400 ($500 if Tier 4 Travel with Academic Duties).

 

How do you get paid?

For funding for either travel or supplies, the process is almost the same with a few key differences. Approximately two to three weeks after the meeting where your application is approved, you will be contacted by the Graduate School Office with instructions on submitting a Check Request Form.

Follow all instructions that accompany the Check Request Form to submit for your reimbursement. You have until two weeks into the following semester to submit it, regardless if you are a student or not. For example, if you get approved for funds in the Spring and fail to return the Check Request Form by the second week of the Summer intersession (even if you are not enrolled), then you forfeit the funds. After two weeks to a month, you should receive a check in the mail to the address listed on your University account. The process is slow due to the amount of regulations needed to request funds and get them to you. 

Your receipts must show that YOU paid for the expense(s). For example, receipts need to be itemized, including a total amount paid, payment method, and balance due if any. A “reservation”, or just the registration page, is NOT ACCEPTABLE: it must show a charge to and payment by the student.

For Supplies, you additionally need an itemized list of the items you have purchased. 

 

What if I do not receive a Check Request Form within two weeks of GSO's approval of my application?

If after three weeks, you still do not have your Check Request Form, simply contact the GSO (gso@louisiana.edu), and we will help you.

A complete set of guidelines on funding can be found in the Constitution and Bylaws.