GPSO Travel Awards

General Information

The GPSO Travel Award is offered through a competitive process for graduate and professional students at Indiana University Bloomington. It is given to help support travel expenses to conferences at which the student's work will be presented (i.e. speeches, posters or interactive design), or to help support travel to workshops, special trainings, competitions and auditions that will benefit the student professionally. Funds may be used for registration fees, presentation materials, transportation, and lodging/food associated with the conference, workshop, training, competition or audition.

For Fall 2009 the GPSO will award 14 Travel Awards: six $500 awards and eight $250 awards.

This award is not intended to fund research.

DEADLINE: The GPSO Fall 2009 Travel Awards application deadline is Friday, October 30th, 2009.

Consideration for Fall 2009 Travel Awards will be given for conferences, workshops, trainings, competitions or auditions occurring between July 1st and December 31st, 2009.

You can submit an application for travel that has already been completed as long as it is within the six month period mentioned above. Applications for conferences, workshops, trainings, competitions or auditions occurring before July 1, 2009, or after December 31st, 2009 will not be considered.

Priority will be given to conference travel outside the Midwest region.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Full-time enrollment in a graduate or professional degree program at Indiana University at the time of application
   
   
2. Enrollment in an active GPSO member department. If you are not certain if your department is currently eligible, contact the GPSO Parliamentarian at gpsoparl@indiana.edu or send an email to gpso@indiana.edu
   
   
3. Travel must occur within the specified time period to receive the Travel Award.
   
   
• Fall awards: July 1-December 31 of a given year
  
  
• Spring awards: January 1-June 30 of a given year
  
  
4. Must NOT be a member of the GPSO Executive Committee, employee of the GPSO, or an active member of the GPSO Awards Committee.

Applicants are limited to a single travel event per semester; this may include multiple conferences/workshops/auditions/competitions being held in a single location.

If you attended more than one conference, workshop, training, competition or audition please choose only one to be considered for this award. We recommend you choose the conference, workshop, training, competition or audition for which you believe you can build the strongest application (and submit only one application package).

Note: GPSO Travel Awards are considered scholarship money by the Financial Aid office. Please be aware acceptance of this award will impact your financial aid need as calculated by their office

Change from previous semesters: If an IUB graduate or professional student is co-presenting with another IUB graduate student and all presenters wish to be considered for funding, each person needs to submit a separate application package. No group applications will be accepted.

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How To Apply

1. Complete the on-line application form. If your application is submitted correctly, you will see a page thanking you for submitting your application.
   
   
2. Email a .PDF or .DOC of your comprehensive CV to gpsofnds@indiana.edu. Please put "Travel Award CV" in the subject line. Note that there is a difference between a resume and a CV.

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Deadlines

Please submit all materials to the GPSO by 5 PM, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30th, 2009. Your online application and emailed CV must be received by the GPSO office by this deadline.

Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted and you will be notified if this is the status of your application by the end of November, 2009.

NOTE: Winners will be posted to the GPSO website November 30, 2009 . Please check the website on or after this date to see the names of the award winners.

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Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding this award or the application process, please e-mail gpsofnds@indiana.edu with the Subject line "Travel Award."

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Review Process

Winners are determined by an anonymous, competitive peer review. Applicants should note that their applications may not be read by an expert in their fields. Award applications should be written with a general academic audience in mind.

All complete applications are scored by at least 3 members of the GPSO Awards Committee, according to the following general process:

1. Applications are checked for completeness (both online application form completed and comprehensive CV submitted).
• Applicants missing part of their applications are notified by email and given two days to submit missing parts.
  
  
• Three days after applications are closed, all incomplete applications are removed from the competition.
  
  
2. Personal identifying information is removed by GPSO Awards Committee Chairperson.
   
   
3. Applications are anonymously scored by 3 GPSO Awards Committee members.
   
   
• Scores are on a 50-point scale.
  
  
• Applications are scored on several factors including
  
  
• scholastic achievement relative to applicant's degree status;
  
  
• impact of travel on applicant’s professional development;
  
  
• necessity of travel at applicant’s current career stage;
  
  
• relevance of the travel event to applicant’s field or specialty;
  
  
• application for additional funding, including other grants or travel awards and conference volunteering opportunities;
  
  
• budget justification.
  
  
• Preference is given to applicants traveling outside the local region (defined as: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio).
  
  
4. Scores are standardized, averaged and ranked.
   
   
5. GPSO Awards Committee meets to review rankings and adjudicate any discrepancies.

Note: All documentation and CVs will be read only for the purpose of selecting the recipient of the IU GPSO's™ Travel Award and will not be disseminated for general access. All materials will be destroyed after the selection procedures are completed.

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Serving on the Awards Committee

All graduate and professional students are eligible to serve as members of the GPSO Awards Committee. This committee organizes and awards several different funding awards throughout the year, including Travel Awards, Research Awards, the Faculty Mentor Award and the Pari Prerana (The Essence of Inspiration) Award. The Awards Committee also sends representatives to research-related university committees. Individuals interested in participating are- screened for potential conflicts of interest, and may be asked to submit a short statement for screening purposes.

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Previous Award Winners

Spring 2009 Travel Award Winners

• Bradley Lane, Geography
• Brent Hierman, Political Science
• Nancy Palm, Fine Arts
• Michael Thompson, Business
• Lindita Camaj, Journalism
• Allison Foley, Health Sciences
• Tanisha Ford, History
• Ryan Stevenson, Psychological and Brain Sciences

Fall 2008 Travel Award Winners

• Nicholas Henriksen, Hispanic Linguistics
• Marda Rose, Hispanic Linguistics
• Johnathon Pettit, Religious Studies
• Lauren Boyle, Health Behavior
• Shameem Farouk, Human Performance Technology
• Zohra Ismail, Socio-Cultural Anthropology
• Dunia Mendez Vallejo, Linguistics
• Ji hyan Nam, Language Education

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