Travel Grants

Mentors from any campus discipline are eligible to apply. The mentor must submit applications to support students traveling to a conference to present research or for a travel-study course that includes a research component. URiCA does not set research priorities; therefore, we will review applications from all disciplines. The faculty member must submit the application.

• The Undergraduate Research, Innovative, and Creative Activities Program will allocate up to $250 per student researcher on the project, with a maximum of $2,000 per project.
• These funds can be used for research or project supplies, travel expenses, and other related costs.
• All University of Wisconsin and UW-Whitewater spending policies will be followed, and no exceptions to these rules will be allowed.

• Application Deadline: The deadline remains open until all funds are used up.
• Notification: URiCA will inform applicants listed in the proposal of the decision within 2 weeks of their application being approved.
• Award Period: The grant and expenditure periods will be the 2026-2027 Academic Year (September 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027), with the start date adjusted based on when the application is received. The Universities of Wisconsin and UW-Whitewater policies have set cutoff dates for certain purchases; these dates are fixed and cannot be changed. Expenditures are only permitted for the proposed project and cannot be used to support other projects or future mentor projects.

Mentor applications should be formatted with single spacing, a 12-point font, and one-inch margins. They must include the following:

• Cover Letter: A cover letter that includes a project title, student(s) name(s), department(s), major(s), and mentor(s) name(s) and department(s).
• Summary: A two-page overview that describes the project and its significance. This summary should clearly specify whether the funds will be used for conference travel or to support a travel study course.
• Statement of Project Goals: An outline of specific project objectives or steps necessary to answer the research question or complete the project. Include in this statement a tentative schedule indicating when those goals are expected to be achieved.
• Project Budget (with justification of expenses): A detailed outline of how the funds will be used for this project. Each item should include a description of its purpose and explain how the expense helps achieve one of the project's goals.
• AI Disclosure Statement: Refer to URiCA’s AI Usage Policy below. In this part of the proposal, include the following: 1) the name of the Generative AI system; 2) the strategy used (e.g., editing grammar, translating transcripts from your non-native language to your native language, generating ideas, etc.); 3) prompts used; and 4) a list of sections containing AI-generated content.

For Mentors:

• Submit your completed proposal as one Word document or PDF.
• Email it to urica@uww.edu. Use this subject line: (Mentor Last Name) Travel Grant Application

After Submission:

• URiCA staff will review your application within 48 business hours and send you an acknowledgment of receipt.
• If any components are missing, you will be notified and have 48 hours (roughly 2 days) to respond by submitting a new application with the missing elements.

Review by URiCA/ORSP: At least one member of the ORSP/URiCA staff will review the proposal and evaluate it based on the following criteria:

• The proposal highlights the advantages of the trip.
• The application clearly specifies the project's deliverables and outputs.
• Do the student(s) and mentor(s) meet the criteria set by the URiCA for the proposed project?

Awarded proposals will be notified to students and faculty mentors listed in the proposal within two weeks of accepting their research proposal.

All personnel involved in awarded projects must agree to the following before beginning work on the grant, the students and mentor must:

• If research is to be conducted on a travel course.
• In that case, each mentor and student must complete a Responsible Conduct of Research course and, if needed, a course in Social, Behavioral, and Educational (SBE) Sciences.

Documents and Presentations

• Students must present at UWW’s Fall or Spring Undergraduate Research Day, in November or April, respectively.
• Travel Grant students and mentors must also submit an extended abstract (2,500 to 4,000 words) to URiCA by the end of the Spring semester. These abstracts will be archived on URiCA’s website.