Travel grants are available from Social Sciences Research Institute (link to application instructions), Social Sciences Graduate Student Association (link to application instructions) and the department.
The department requires that all students requesting department funding also apply for Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) funding, except in circumstances in which the student is presenting at a conference and SSRI funding is unavailable. As the SSRI is only able to provide funding for at most one conference per application period, as student who is presenting at more than one conference per application period can still apply for departmental funding for each conference as long as one of the applications is submitted to the SSRI.
To apply for travel funding from the department:
- Provide the department with the items the SSRI asks for when applying to their travel grant (except for the letter from the department). This is necessary even if SSRI funding in unavailable for this conference.
- The department will write a letter certifying a preliminary commitment which will be available conditional on applying to SSRI grant.
- Submit your application to SSRI. (The department will not provide travel funds if the conference is eligible for SSRI funding and you do not submit your application to SSRI.)
- Let the department know whether your SSRI application is approved or not. (At that point, the department may provide you additional funds -- to reward you if your application is successful and to help you further if it is unsuccessful.)
For further inquiries and/or clarifications, please contact the graduate program coordinator, econphd@rice.edu.