Students can apply for Department of Chemistry travel funding support once during a 12-month period (September – August) and must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible:

• Apply for a University of Saskatchewan Travel Award with the International Student and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) no later than one month prior to the start date of the conference (and preferably as soon as you have all of your documentation in order).
• Be registered in the term during which you are traveling to/virtually attending your conference.

Apply for a USask Travel Award with ISSAC here.

USask Travel Awards are granted on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants until available conference funds for the month have been expended. All applicants traveling during a particular month are considered for the available funding for that month. It is, therefore, highly recommended that you apply as early as possible so that you establish your place in the queue.

Please check directly with ISSAC for any updates regarding travel award information.

Please ensure that you adhere to the deadlines noted above as late applications will not be considered by ISSAC, and the Department of Chemistry will not consider applications for our unit’s funding if a student has not applied for a U of S Travel award.

If you have received funding from ISSAC for a trip within the last 12 calendar months, and you intend to take another trip for which you wish to apply for Department of Chemistry funding, you must still apply to ISSAC first before making your request to the Department.

Department of Chemistry support is available from September to August each year.

The Department is pleased to be able to provide up to a maximum of $350 in financial support towards eligible expenses* to graduate students who are giving a poster or oral presentation at a recognized conference. Note that the amount of financial support available from the Department will remain the same regardless of whether a student attends a Canadian or International conference. This support is not contingent on the success or failure of receiving an ISSAC Student Travel Award but the student must still apply for such award within the timeline restrictions stated.

*Eligible expenses are conference-related expenditures in excess of the financial support provided by the USask Student Travel Award or any other travel award/funding source.

If you have not yet registered for an upcoming conference, please be aware that such registrations can be done on a PCard so that you are not waiting months for reimbursement of those funds. If your supervisor does not have a PCard, the Chemistry Stores staff can get the registration processed for you. You will need your supervisor to provide approval and a CFOAP which they can do by simply emailing Chemistry Stores.

An Authority to Travel (ATT) form must be on file before you travel to your conference. Download the form here. Ensure that you fill out the fully signed ATT form prior to any travel. Note that this is a fillable form. Once your ATT form is approved, you can book flights that can be directly billed to a CFOAPAL.

Airfares may be purchased by either:

a) advance direct charge from Direct Travel to a university fund (with supervisor approval), or

b) purchase on your own credit card and then submit your airfare receipt (along with all other travel receipts) for the trip after your return.

If you choose to book flights on your own, and not via Direct Travel, please know that USask is unable to provide direct reimbursement for flights in advance of their occurrence.

Note that the university does not reimburse any expenses that were purchased with reward points such as (but not restricted to) RBC Rewards, Aeroplan, Airmiles, etc.

Send the following items to Amber Bornhorst (amber.bornhorst@usask.ca):

a) A completed copy of the Authority to Travel form with CFOAPAL from supervisor

b) A copy of the conference abstract indicating how you participated, i.e. poster or an oral presentation. This will also provide us with the official dates and location of the conference.

c) Confirmation from the conference organizers indicating acceptance of your poster or oral presentation

d) Scanned copies of all original receipts and provide details on the Expense Report template. Please note that credit card and debit card receipts are insufficient to support your claim. You must provide scans of the original, detailed receipts. The original receipts must be given to your supervisor for them to keep in their files in case of audit.

e) If you shared accommodations or transportation costs with another student(s) attending the same conference, please indicate if you are requesting reimbursement of the full charge or only your portion of the cost. Please indicate the name(s) of the other guest(s).

f) Your claim will need to account for the amount of any USask Travel Award (and/or any award from the conference organizers or related sources) that you have received towards that particular conference. Please indicate this on Line 33 of the Expense Report template.

g) Indicate whether or not your supervisor is intending to provide you with support from their funding.

Once all of the above items are provided, we will review your documentation and will indicate next steps for you to submit your claim to ConnectionPoint.

MEAL PER DIEM RATES:

Below are the allowable limits for per diem meals. It is entirely up to your supervisor to approve the level of expenses they will allow. Some may allow you to claim the per diem amount for each meal; others may require you to submit the actual expenses if they are lower than the per diem rate; still others may not allow meal claims at all. Check with your supervisor before submitting your claim.

Expenses greater than the per diem rate will only be considered if there is a detailed justification that accompanies the submission and if the approver (i.e. your supervisor) allows it. 

Claim the lesser of actual costs or per diem rates.  The current per diem rates are as follows:

(per diem rates effective August 30, 2022)

If you are traveling to a foreign country other than the United States, the university uses the foreign per diem rates as published by the National Joint Council of Canada. The university uses the commercial accommodate (C) rate for the given city.

Gratuities are included in the per diem and alcohol is not an allowable expense. Where meals are provided as part of the cost of the airline ticket or conference registration fee, you cannot claim per diem for the provided meal. Please ensure your conference agenda is attached to support your claim.

In situations where your actual meal costs for the trip are in excess of the total claimable amount allowed for the trip based on per diem rates, the actual meal costs will be reimbursed provided the expenses are appropriate and reasonable given the location and purpose of the travel. In these situations, detailed receipts are required for all meals paid for during the trip. 

Credit/debit card slips are not eligible receipts for reimbursement. When submitting the claim, attach documentation that clearly indicates the reason(s) for the exception. If detailed meal receipts have been lost or misplaced, complete and submit the declaration of lost or misplaced supporting documentation form and submit with your claim.

Only registration fees that pertain to the University business can be claimed. If there are any personal fees (leisure events, special activities, tours, golf, etc.) or spousal or guest fees, they must be paid personally by the individual.

Further information on travel and expense guidelines is found here. You may need to be logged in to PAWS to view the above links.

Students who will be traveling outside of Canada must also submit an International Travel Risk (ITR) trip form or email the information to itr.admin@usask.ca. This must be done at least 30 days in advance of your travel date. See further information on the policy on international travel here. 

Travel safety information from ISSAC is found here.