Travel Awards

Terms of Reference

1. The purpose of this award is to support the travel and/or research component of the student’s graduate degree. 
2. The maximum award amount is $7,000 but individual award values will vary, depending on the expenses being submitted, academic unit approval and budgetary restrictions.
3. Master’s students must hold the award within 3 years (9 terms) of the beginning of their program; Doctoral students must hold the award within 5 years (15 terms) of beginning their program. These times may be extended for students who have taken an approved leave. Students who did not complete a Master's program before transferring into a PhD are eligible to hold the travel award within the first 15 terms of their PhD, from the PhD start date.
4. While holding this award, the student must be registered full time, regular (not on leave or part time), in good standing in a master’s or doctoral program. Students cannot hold this award while on a co-op or practicum term.
5. If award is being used to cover travel expenses:
   
   1. Students travelling to Northern Canada, the Northwest Territories or the Yukon are also encouraged to apply for the Northern Studies Training Program (NSTP).
   2. Students holding a Tri-agency CGS award, including Vanier CGSD awards, are also encouraged to apply to the Tri-agency Michael Smith Foreign Studies Supplement (MSFSS)
   3. Awards may be paid before or after the travel takes place. In the event of travel cancellation or changes, any award payment must be reimbursed to Graduate Studies. 
6. Students apply/are nominated through the graduate awards application system. The application should include documentation relevant to the expense. This might include: 
   1. Most recent transcript (unofficial SFU transcript for current students; previous university for new students) 
   2. A description of the travel and/or expenses and how they are relevant to the research
   3. A letter of support from the supervisor confirming the expenses
7. Awards are approved by the Senate Graduate Awards Committee Chair on the recommendation of the Graduate Program Chair. 
8. Examples of ELIGIBLE travel expenses include travel for research purposes, travel to present at or attend a conference, workshop or seminar related to research. 
9. Examples of ELIGIBLE research related expenses include direct costs of doing research such as interpretation services, paid data sets, computers/laptops, reasonable computer peripherals (keyboard, mouse, microphones), art supplies. This award may also be used to reward research excellence.
   
10. Examples of expenses NOT eligible include travel to practicums, co-ops, internships, job fairs or interviews, business or first class travel, course related travel or supplies (such as textbooks or journals). 

1. Check to ensure your expense is eligible
   
2. Search and apply for the award in the Graduate Awards Application System
3. Can’t find the award in the system? Check with your academic unit - not all units hold competitions for this award

Terms of Reference

1. The purpose of the Indigenous Graduate Travel Award is to provide financial support for Indigenous graduate students for the travel and/or research component of their research. Students can only apply for the Indigenous travel award once per academic year. Indigenous graduate students may apply for this fund before their travel to pay for costs in advance.
2. To be eligible for this award, the following criteria must be met:
   
   1. This award is for Indigenous graduate students attending Simon Fraser University.
   2. Indigenous or “Aboriginal” is defined by Canada’s 1982 Constitution as people identified as First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of Canada.
3. Disbursements of up to $1000 each may be applied for in each academic year (starting September 1 of each year).
4. The funds will be given out on a first come / first applied for basis. The fund will be considered used for the year when the $5,000 limit for the year has been reached. Once the total fund has been distributed for the year, a message will be sent out through the Indigenous graduate student listserv.
5. Repeat applications will be allowed from year-to-year. Preference, however, will be given to students who have not yet received money from this fund (this is at the discretion of Graduate Studies).
6. Application includes:
   1. A completed budget which accounts for the requested amount;
   2. A letter of support from the applicant’s academic supervisor or a faculty member familiar with your work (to verify the student’s academic status, intent, and need).

Travel Report

Upon completion of travel, successful applicants will need to submit the following within two weeks to the Graduate Awards Assistant: gpsaward@sfu.ca

A concise Travel and Activity Report, written in language suitable for the general public. Contents and/or quotes from the report may be published in Graduate Studies promotional material. If you do not wish for your travel report to be published, please indicate so.

The following could be included in your report:

• The activities that were carried out, in respect to how the travel contributed to your research and/or scholarly activities
• Any unanticipated benefits derived from the travel, including those in relation to your current research objectives an/or to your general experience as a graduate student
• Any special issues or problems you encountered

1. Read about the award to ensure you and your research travel/expenses are eligible.
2. Search for the award in the Graduate Awards Application System (GA3). Deadlines to apply are November 30^thand May 30^th of every year.
3. Students need to submit a travel report after completion of their travel.

1. Check eligibility here or contact our office at gpsaward@sfu.ca.
2. Each agency has its own application form, instructions, and consent forms.  Please make sure to choose the correct form.
3. Request a letter from your current supervisor detailing their support for your research study period abroad and confirming that your proposed research aligns with the research from your CGS award (maximum one page).
4. Request a Host Supervisor Letter detailing their support for your research study period abroad and the resources they have available to support your planned research activities (maximum one page).
5. Submit your application form and required supporting documentation as one PDF file via e-mail to gpsaward@sfu.ca. If the deadline falls on a weekend or on a federal statutory holiday, application must be submitted by the following business day.
6. COVID-19: All MSFSS candidates need to adhere to SFU Covid-19 policy as well as provincial (if applicable) and national guidelines, and have approval to travel. Please visit the SFU FAQ Page and SFU Travel Safety for the latest SFU-specific information.

Terms of Reference

1. The Dossa Graduate Student Travel Award is supported by the Dossa Endowment Fund. It supports a graduate student award for a student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences who has undertaken research on Muslim societies and cultures. To be eligible for this award, students must be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral thesis program in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
2. The criteria for this award are:
   1. full-time registration at Simon Fraser University in a graduate program
   2. completed at least one term in a graduate program in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
   3. a program which requires travel abroad to undertake research on some aspect of a Muslim society or culture
3. This award may be held in any term in conjunction with other awards made by Simon Fraser University or other agencies where permitted by those agencies.
4. Application must include:
   1. current, unofficial SFU transcript
   2. a research proposal concerned with Muslim societies and cultures
   3. a letter from the student’s supervisor attesting to the quality of applicant and supporting the need for research abroad for the applicant’s research
5. The award will be made by the Dean of Graduate Studies, on behalf of the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee, upon the recommendation of the Chair of the Steering Committee, Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies (CCMS), Department of History.

1. Read about the award to ensure you and your research travel/expenses are eligible.
2. Search and apply for the award in the Graduate Awards Application System.
3. This award is usually part of the Donor Awards – Centres competition with the application deadlines falling in June/July.

Eligibility

Students are eligible for consideration if they are:

• doing field research in Northern Canada or northern regions of other circumpolar countries (see below for definitions)
• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• enrolled in a graduate program at SFU; or
• a third year undergraduate student who intends to undertake an honor's thesis based on northern field work.

Definition of the North

For the purposes of this program, the term `North` is understood to include the part of Canada which lies north of the southern limit of the discontinuous permafrost zone in Canada (arctic and subarctic):

See NSTP Geographic Boundary Map (Electronic Version)

The ‘Circumpolar North” refers to the eight countries of the Arctic Council (Canada, Finland, Greenland [Denmark], Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States [Alaska]).

Refer to NSTP Information Manual (2024-2025)

Circumpolar projects in Russia

Due to the sanctions imposed in response to the gravity of Russia’s violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and grave human rights violations that have been committed in Russia, POLAR will be unable to fund projects taking place in Russia or involving collaborations with Russian organizations for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. For more information, please visit the Government of Canada’s - Canadian Sanctions Related to Russia.

Eligibile Expenses

Use the following as a guide for eligible expenses/budgeting purposes. Note that there is no budget required within the application form, but the University Northern Studies committee may require an explanation of your request.

1. Read about the award to ensure you and your travel destination/expenses are eligible.
2. Read through the Student's Information section (P.11-17) of the NSTP Information Manual (2024-2025) for instructions.
3. Checklist for Applicant (P.17-18)
4. Complete and submit the full application on the NSTP Survey Monkey System by Friday, November 10, 2023 (20:59 PT). Note that the application has a supervisory portion that needs to be completed prior to submission. An incomplete form may result in a refusal of application for funds. 
5. Applications are reviewed internally by SFU’s University Northern Studies committee prior to being sent to NSTP for approval. 

See Frequently Asked Questions or contact our Graduate Awards Team by email at gpsaward@sfu.ca

Updated: October 3 2023