Travel funding is awarded by the Department of Art History to assist graduate students with travel to conferences, exhibitions, and/or to conduct research during the academic year or the summer break.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Award information, including requirements and deadlines, is available here.
Graduate students submit proposals for various travel awards, along with an appropriate justification and budget. Graduate students should also contact advisors to discuss their proposals (sharing justification, budget, and work being presented at conferences or planned for research trip) and request a letter of support from the advisor for the proposed travel and budget.
Applications are considered for approval by the Graduate Committee, according to award requirements and deadlines.
TRAVEL GUIDELINES
1) Travelers should be aware of and adhere to the Rice University policy for travel:
POLICY 806: https://policy.rice.edu/806
2) Students are expected to apply for outside funding whenever possible to defray costs to the department. Outside funding support received after submitting the travel request must be reported to the Graduate Program Administrator. The amount of outside funding may be deducted from the amount provided by the Department of Art History.
3) Once travel funding and trip budget is approved, if travel dates or logistics change, or the trip is cancelled, the student must notify the Graduate Program Administrator as soon as possible and may need to resubmit to the Graduate Committee for reconsideration. If the Graduate Committee is not informed of alternate plans prior to the travel, funding will likely not be conferred. Additionally, documentation of comparable costs should be submitted when extending or rerouting trips for personal travel.
4) Payment of award
Students approved for funding may choose to be paid directly via check request (direct deposit) or cash advance, or a combination of both options.
For check requests, please allow up to 30 days for deposit to your account. Taxes may be removed so please allow for this in your budget. Receipts are not required.
For a cash advance, you cannot request this until 3 weeks prior to travel. Receipts are required for reconciliation after your return.
5) Students who travel internationally on Rice funds are required to register their trip with International SOS and the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). Information and links for both programs are located at https://abroad.rice.edu/travel-registration.
6) Allowable expenses:
For exhibition, conference, and summer research travel, students can apply to use funding for the following:
- flights (coach only, no seat or cabin upgrades)
- 1 checked bag each way
- ground transportation to/from airport at home and at destination
- local transportation
- lodging
- conference and entrance fees
- per diem to cover meals and incidentals - according to policy below.
7) Per diem for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) is calculated as 50% of the per diem rate for the travel destination, with a minimum of $25/day and a maximum of $100/day.
Domestic per diem rates can be found here.
Foreign per diem rates are here.
8) Mileage is reimbursed per the Rice University Rate which can be found here.
9) Rice travelers do not pay state hotel tax in Texas. Please contact your Graduate Program Administrator for a hotel tax-exempt form.