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College of Science Student Travel Award

College of Science Student Travel Award

Support for travel

The College of Science Student Travel Fund (COSSTA) awards are for students in the College who need financial support to attend professional conferences to present their research findings and will help cover certain costs associated with presenting their scholarly work at academic conferences and meetings. These funds are intended to help undergraduate and graduate students take advantage of presentation opportunities to highlight the outstanding academic work of our scholarly community, and ultimately support student success

Award details

Students may receive up to $500 in Professional Development Award funds per academic year. COSSTA funds are awarded quarterly AND a departmental or grant match is required.

Funds may be used only for valid OSU business travel expenses. Travel expenses may be paid directly from these funds via OSU travel booking systems or purchasing card, or may be used to reimburse OSU business travel expenses. Please include your award letter along with documentation of your expenses (e.g.: hotel bill, airline purchase) when requesting travel reimbursements with these funds, along with any accounting information (e.g.: indexes and activity codes) provided to you with the award.

See OSU fiscal policy 03-140-401 for more information on university business travel expense policies.

Please Note: If there are a high volume of requests and limited funds, we will unfortunately not be able to approve every application, and, in this case, will apply preferential criteria as detailed below. Students are advised to also try other avenues for funding provided by their departments and the Graduate School.

Eligibility

COSSTA funds may only be used for student travel as indicated below:

Graduate Students

The following guidelines will apply

  • Travel must be to an international conference or workshop hosted outside the United States for the purpose of making a presentation.
  • The student must be listed as the sole author/presenter, first or lead author/presenter, or serving in a capacity whereby they are responsible for significant leadership for the overall session. Materials must have been accepted by the conference/meeting at the time of the request.
  • The student must be a current master’s or doctoral student at Oregon State University and be making satisfactory academic progress as determined by the student’s graduate program.
  • The student must be enrolled in at least 3 graduate credits at OSU at the time of the conference/meeting, or in the case of a conference/meeting occurring between the end of spring term and the beginning of fall term, the student must be registered for at least 3 graduate credits of enrollment in fall term following the award.

Undergraduate Students

The following guidelines will apply

  • Travel can be academic travel for undergraduates for the purpose of attending a conference or workshop and making a presentation (poster or talk). Preference will be given for international travel, in case of a high volume of applications.
  • The student must be a current student at Oregon State University and be making satisfactory academic progress as determined by the student’s program/ academic advisor.
  • The student must be enrolled in at least 3 credits at OSU at the time of the conference/meeting, or in the case of a conference/meeting occurring between the end of spring term and the beginning of fall term, the student must be registered for at least 3 credits of enrollment in fall term following the award.

Eligible Costs

Examples of qualifying costs for reimbursement include:

  • Conference/meeting fees
  • Professional organization membership fees
  • Poster printing costs
  • Transportation costs (flights, ground transportation)
  • Lodging, and food expenses
  • Other expenses that are specific to this travel (please justify)

This award is intended to provide funding that would not normally be available from other sources.

Application

The COSSTA Application is an online form linked below. In addition to basic information about you and your travel, please prepare the following materials before filling out the form:

  1. Statement - 1 page maximum
    A detailed statement from the student describing in their own words (a) the importance of the meeting/conference relative to their academic field of study, (b) how the proposed activity contributes to their academic and professional goals, and (c) an overview of the research they will be presenting.

  2. Biographical sketch - 2 page maximum
    A copy of the student’s résumé or curriculum vitae in a format similar to this template.

  3. Proof of Presentation
    A copy of the listing of the presentation in the schedule of events in pdf format.

  4. Endorsement - 1 page maximum
    Signed letter on OSU letterhead from the student's academic/research advisor, department head, program director, or unit chair/head that (a) relates the importance of the particular meeting/conference, (b) describes the student’s scholarly contribution to the presentation, (c) confirms that the student has made satisfactory academic progress and meets the eligibility requirements above and (d) an index number for matching funds.

  5. Estimated Budget
    Please add estimated budget items on the Cover Page

Apply now through Qualtrics

Selection criteria and proposal evaluation

Proposals will be judged primarily on the basis of scientific merit and potential impact. Reviewers will also consider the prestige of the conference and the potential for broad, positive impact on the research enterprise of the College of Science and Oregon State University.

Proposals will be evaluated by an ad-hoc Student Travel Fund Review Panel.

Deadlines

Requests are accepted quarterly throughout the academic year; subject to funding availability per term. The quarterly proposal deadlines each year are:

  • February 1 for travel between March and May
  • May 1 for travel between June and August
  • August 15 for travel between September and November
  • November 1 for travel between December and February

Please Note: Applications may be submitted after these deadlines, but may not receive consideration. All funding awards are subject to availability of funds.

Reimbursement

All reimbursements must be submitted through our travel and expense system CONCUR. Please see the Travel and Expense Office site for details and training videos on how to use the Concur system and email travel@oregonstate.edu with any questions.

Reporting

The COSSTA scholarships are made possible by the generosity of our donors, and it is incredibly meaningful for donors to learn about the students their gifts support.The Office of the Dean requires that students who receive a COSSTA award submit the following within 30 days of completing the travel

  • A thank you note to donors at the time of award. Submit your note here.
  • A one page report (pdf or word format only) on project accomplishments after the travel/conference.

Please note: Reporting that is not completed may affect future consideration of any COSSTA awards.

Undergraduate students, please submit your one page report to the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Jessica Siegel (jessica.siegel@oregonstate.edu) 30 days post-travel.

Graduate students, please submit your one page report to the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Virginia Weis (virginia.weis@oregonstate.edu) 30 days post-travel.

Need help?

Please send any questions to the following people

Graduate Students please contact College of Science Research Development research.development@science.oregonstate.edu or Virginia Weis (virginia.weis@oregonstate.edu)

Undergraduate Students please contact Jessica Siegel (jessica.siegel@oregonstate.edu)