Joan M. Arias Graduate Student International Conference Travel Fund

This fund is made possible by the generous contributions of Joan M. Arias, an alumna of the Spanish & Portuguese department. Explore her biography here.

Eligibility: For the 2024-2025 academic year, The department will award three travel grants of up to $1,750 each to help defray the costs of traveling to an international conference to present a paper preferably related to the dissertation topic. Graduate students at the second stage of the program (Ph.D. level) have priority. In exceptional cases, applications for travel conference support for students at the M.A. level will be considered. The grants are available for travel completed by June 30, 2025.

If applying to the Joan M. Arias Graduate Student International Conference Travel Fund, application requirements are as follows:

TWO SUBMISSION DEADLINES AVAILABLE: OCTOBER 18, 2024 & JANUARY 6, 2025. Please submit this application form to Gloria Tovar at gtovar@humnet.ucla.edu including

  1. Acceptance of paper for presentation.
  2. Abstract of the paper to be presented.
  3. A statement from the student explaining how participation in the conference is representative of and will be beneficial to the student’s research.
  4. A signature from the student’s dissertation advisor approving the student’s conference travel.

Applications will be reviewed by the department’s Graduate Affairs Committee.

Students may use the Joan M. Arias grant in combination with the regular departmental graduate student conference travel fund.

Funds may not be used for the following purposes:

  • Expenses of food and beverages not incurred during actual dates of event/conference
  • Expenses not directly related with conference travel (i.e. multicity trips)

(The department reserves the right to disallow any expenses that are excessive or inappropriate to the professional goals of the trip)

AFTER YOUR TRIP

Please turn in the following documents to the front office coordinator within 15 days of the return date listed on your plane ticket:

  1. reimbursement form with original receipts for airfare, hotel, and registration.
  2. a copy of the conference program, showing the title of your talk/poster, if applicable.
  3. a copy of the bank statement, credit card statement, and/or transaction details of the purchases mentioned in the original receipts. (All irrelevant information can be blacked out for privacy).
  4. a 1-2 page report on the academic conference and how the conference impacted your academic goals (be specific), if applicable.

Remember to submit the documentation mentioned above within 15 days of your return and do not wait until the last minute, since late submissions will not be reimbursed.

Reimbursement will be processed within 7-14 business days of receiving all completed paperwork. The turnaround for your reimbursement is at least 7-14 days from submitting the request to UCLA Travel Accounting.

POLICIES

  • The department will not approve retroactive travel funding requests. Reimbursements will only be made for travel during the current fiscal year.
  • The department will not approve applications or process reimbursements if the student submits the Application for the Joan M. Arias Graduate Student International Conference Travel Fund after the dates of travel.
  • The department will not fund any pre-trip expenses. All expenses must be reimbursed after the trip has been completed.
  • Conference travel funding is not guaranteed. If there is an overwhelming demand for travel money or another financial emergency, there may have to be funding cutbacks. However, the policy is definitive as a statement of the department’s goals for conference travel.