In addition, faculty and staff members of SLU who are also graduate students are only eligible for funding if they pay the Graduate Student Activities Fee each semester.

• Applicants can apply for the awards at any point throughout the academic year (The SLU academic year runs from July 1st to June 30th). Awards may be approved until the student has reached the monetary limit for the academic year.

  • For example, if a student attends a conference in the fall (max $150), then if the student presents in the spring (max $400), the student is eligible to receive as much as $250 for the second conference. If the student attends an additional event, they may not receive additional funds if they received maximum funds for the first two events.

  • Second example: if a student presents at a conference in the fall and receives $150 and then attends a workshop in the spring (with a $50 reimbursement), then this student is eligible to receive as much as $200 for other professional development events for the remainder of the academic year.

  • Third example: if a student participates (with extensive presentation/speaking responsibilities) in a seminar and receives $400, they have reached their maximum reimbursement for the academic year and will not be eligible for further funding.

• The award will only cover eligible lodging expenses within 1 day of the event (e.g., lodging for arrival on Tuesday for an event that starts Wednesday).

• The award will cover eligible travel expenses as denoted below:

  • For domestic events, students are eligible to have travel costs compensated for up to three additional days. These are in addition to the existing one day before and one day after the event.

  • For international events, students are eligible to have travel costs compensated for up to eight additional days. These are in addition to the existing one day before and after the event.

  • Please note: SLU students must abide by the University's travel restrictions and guidelines. For the 2023-24 academic year, travel to State Department Level 4 categories cannot be reimbursed. Students must also affirm vaccination status and/or commitment to quarantine if travel is required. For more information, see the University announcement here. 

• The applicant cannot receive continuing education credits for the professional development opportunity.

• The applicant cannot claim meal expenses above $65 per day (please see Excel sheet for information regarding international travel). Note that all meals must be documented with an itemized receipt.

Eligible expenses and required documentation are listed below.

Award Expenses and Required Documentation

Eligible Expenses and Required Documentation

Event and Related Fees

• Registration Fees: Original Receipts

• Printing Costs: Original Receipts

• Proof of Attendance: Program, name badge, or similar documentation (physical or digital) demonstrating presence at the event

Transportation

• Airfare: Original Receipts and Boarding Passes

  • If you are using your phones as boarding passes, please remember to screen-capture your passes to prevent delays in processing your application. 

• Personal or Rented Vehicle Expenses (e.g. parking, gas, tolls, rental fees): Original Receipts within dates of travel

• Public Transportation or Taxis/Shuttles: Original Receipts (we do accept Uber/Lyft receipts)

Meals

• Itemized Food Receipts (NOTE: Alcohol cannot be included for reimbursement.)

• The maximum amount GSA will cover per day is $65 for domestic locations.

• Excessive tips will NOT be reimbursed.

Lodging

• Itemized Hotel Receipt

• Hotel Incidentals: Internet charges and meals billed to room are redeemable but need to be be itemized.

Examples of Ineligible Expenses

• Books

• Alcohol

• Toiletries or prescriptions

• Sightseeing activities, souvenirs

• Lodging incidentals (movies, mini-fridge purchases, video games)

• Purchases without receipts

• Passports

• Tuition for courses

Additional Information

Dual Funding

If alternative funding is received by the applicant for the conference, this amount must be specified on the Professional Development Award Application Excel sheet. The GSA Professional Development Award may only cover the amount paid by the graduate student that is not covered by alternative funding (e.g. department funding).

Policy Exceptions

Policy exceptions are determined on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to be considered for an exception, you must receive approval from GSA before the travel occurs by emailing gsa.finance@slu.edu with an explanation of the reason for an exception along with any accompanying documentation (e.g., flight price comparisons). In addition, include the GSA exception approval email in your application. If you receive an exception to travel more than the 3 (or 8) days outside of the event dates, this exception will only apply to travel costs (e.g., airfare, rental car, parking, gasoline) and meals (on travel days), and does not apply to lodging. Not all exceptions will be granted and an exception does not guarantee an award.

International Travel Insurance

To prepare and safeguard Saint Louis University students studying abroad, the Office of International Services adopted a comprehensive insurance package, mandatory for all students participating in a Saint Louis University International Program. International Programs include, but are not limited to: an international program of study, research, service or other University sponsored international experience. Additional information regarding the HTH Worldwide insurance policy, including a link the online application and payment, may be found on the International Health Insurance Study Abroad webpage. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of International Services, 314-977-4081.

Questions?

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions or contact the GSA Professional Development Award Committee at gsa.finance@slu.edu.

GSA Award Application Submission

All Professional Development Award Applications are due within 30 calendar days after the end of the event.

Award Submission

Please read through the relevant Professional Development Award Application Instructions and Checklist. DO NOT REQUEST ACCESS TO EDIT THE FILES; Click on the link to access the file and then download it to edit.

• The Professional Development Award Checklist - GENERAL will help you determine what you need to submit and how to submit them. 

• The Professional Development Award Checklist - CONFERENCE will help you determine what you need to submit and how to submit award applications for conference events, as those require additional documentation.  

The below GSA forms are required in every Professional Development Award Application:

• The Award Cover Sheet is needed as the first page of your application.

  • Note: Conference Attendance and Presentation Cover Sheets do NOT require the additional Student Advisor signature. 

• The MS Excel Expense Sheet will be used to list all of your justified expenses.  PLEASE type out the words and numbers in the spreadsheet; do not print and write out everything.  The spreadsheet has formulas, which will speed up the process for you when completing the form and for us when reviewing your application.

• Once your application is complete, you will need to have your application signed by your designated GSA Department Representative. A list of current Department Representatives can be found here.

All awards must be submitted online as one file in PDF format (See instructions, or try using a website such as Smallpdf, Combine PDF, or easypdf, which allows a limited number of free uses for non-members). Use the link below to submit your single file/folder Professional Development Award Application online.

International Events: If you are taking part in an international Professional Development Event and are submitting receipts that are not in U.S. dollars, please use the OANDA website to convert the amounts to USD.  Failure to do so may result in a delay of receiving your award.

Important Reminders

To avoid delays or even rejection of your application, please make sure you have the following items in your PDF before you officially submit your award application:

• Cover sheet signed by your GSA Department Representative;

• Completed Excel Sheet (preferably typed, as it auto-fills the formulas;

• All receipts and invoices of claimed expenses on the Excel Sheet;

• Any boarding passes for flights or trains taken;

• A program cover or similar document as evidence of attendance (your name badge from the event is acceptable, as is digital records such as a PDF program or Zoom screenshot);

• If presenting:

  • Page in the program with your name and presentation;

  • A copy of the abstract of your presentation;

• For Professional Development Awards: 

  • Signature of student's advisor on the Cover Sheet;

  • A description of the professional development opportunity.

Notes: 

• All applications must use the updated forms.  Failure to do so may result in a rejected application that will need to be resubmitted.

• Furthermore, if no student is listed as a representative for your department or program, then you will be unable to apply until GSA has been notified about a new representative for 2023-2024.  Former representatives are ineligible to sign starting July 1 of each year.

*Please note that you will need to log into Google with your SLU ID; you may need to log out of other Google accounts in the process.

Award applications are reviewed weekly during the fall and spring semesters. Review of award applications submitted over the summer may be delayed. Please allow two and four weeks between submission of application and receipt of reimbursement in your student account.