Conference Funding

The following expenses are eligible for reimbursement with MURACE funds in the context of student conference travel: 

• Conference Registration Fee: receipt required for reimbursement 
• Hotel Room: check-out receipt with student name required for reimbursement (no private lodging, Airbnb, VRBO, Home Away, etc.). Parking at the hotel is also reimbursable with receipt. If you are splitting a room with another presenter, you will need to ask the front desk to split your bill at check-in.  It is not always possible to do this at check-out.  Only the student listed on the bill can be reimbursed.
• Flights: email confirmation from airline required for reimbursement. Baggage fees can also be reimbursed (but not seat upgrades or travel insurance). 
• Fuel: Retain and upload ALL of your gas receipts to the reimbursement form once you return from your conference. 
• Car Rental: receipt required for reimbursement 
• Meals: The per diem meal limit for MURACE student travel support is $36/day ($27/day for non-conference travel days).  In-state and out-of-state limits are the same. Students DO NOT need to submit meal receipts.  Meals provided by the conference or those provided by the hotel (e.g. continental breakfast) will be deducted from the meal per diem amount.  When an overnight stay is not required, a per diem cannot be distributed.
• Taxis/Uber/Lyft: receipt required for reimbursement 

PER DIEM DEFINED

Per diem is the maximum allowance for meals that be reimbursed per day. The General Services Administration (GSA) establishes per diem rates for destinations within the lower 48 Continental United States (CONUS). 

WHAT TO DO BEFORE APPLYING

There are a number of things that you should do before applying for funding:

• Register for the MURACE Georgia View course (click) by following these steps, complete the modules, and download the certificates to attach to your Student Travel Funding Application.
• In consultation with your research mentor, apply to present your research at an appropriate conference. 
• If the research you want to present requires INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) approval, please have a copy of the approval notification to submit with your application.
• Upon receipt of confirmation that your proposal has been accepted, save your confirmation and create a PDF copy. You will need to submit a copy of the confirmation with your travel support application.
• Download the GCSU Travel Waiver, sign and date it in your own handwriting, and include it with the other required documents that accompany the application.

When TO APPLY

You must complete and submit your application at least three weeks prior to the conference date. 

ADDITIONAL FUNDING OPTIONS

You will need to disclose any additional funding received for student travel during the application process. MURACE can only provide up to $600 per student for first and second student authors/contributors or $300 for the third student author/contributor in one academic year. If you have received approval of your travel application from MURACE and need additional funding support, other sources are available. Additional funding may be available through the Student Government Association (SGA), or your college or department may have additional funding to supplement the travel support you receive from MURACE. Please contact the Honor’s program if you are an Honor’s student, your Dean’s Office if you are in the College of Business, the College of Education, or the College of Health Sciences, or your Department Chairperson if your major is in the College of Arts and Sciences.

BEFORE YOUR CONFERENCE OR EVENT

In order to receive MURACE funding, you must complete the MURACE Georgia View course and download three (3) certificates (Certificate A, Certificate P, and Certificate N). Attach these to your funding application. Instructions on how to register for the course can be found here. These certificates should be attached to your Student Travel Application.

THINGS TO REMEMBER AT THE CONFERENCE OR EVENT

It is important to save originals of all of your travel-related receipts (hotel, flight, fuel, registration, etc.), a copy of the conference program, a copy of the conference schedule, and a copy of the page listing your presentation that includes your name and title of your presentation. Please ensure the copy of the conference program also shows what meals (if any) were provided by the conference. All bills such as the hotel must be in the person paying's name. Only the person with his or her name on the bill will receive the reimbursement regardless of who pays the bill (see more details on the Student Travel Funding Application).

TO ENSURE YOU RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT

All documentation and requirements need to be completed and submitted to MURACE within ten days from your presentation date from the conference or competition. 

Follow these steps BEFORE completing and submitting your Post-Travel request for reimbursement:

Before Your Conference:

Ensure that you complete the Student Travel Funding Application to receive your Travel Award Letter prior to attending your conference. The Student Travel Funding Application should be completed at least three weeks (21 days) before the start of your travel.

DURING YOUR CONFERENCE:

1. Save originals of all of your travel-related receipts, including your conference registration receipt, air and ground travel (taxis, airport shuttles) receipts, hotel receipt, etc. You do not need to submit receipts for meals, as these are reimbursed based on the Georgia per diem.  For gas, please save ALL gas receipts and upload them with your reimbursement information.
2. Save a copy of the conference program. You will need to provide a copy of the conference schedule, usually listed near the front of the program, and a copy of the page listing your presentation that includes your name and title of your presentation.

WITHIN TEN DAYS AFTER YOUR PRESENTATION DATE:

1. View the post-conference reimbursement module on the MURACE Georgia View course for an in-depth explanation of what documentation is needed to properly process your reimbursement. 
2. Fill out the reimbursement form NON-GC EMPLOYEE TRAVEL EXPENSE STATEMENT. Meet with your faculty mentor for assistance with completing the form. You should include the travel dates and the costs for the registration fee, meals not covered by conference or hotel at Georgia per diem rates, and fuel costs. 
3. Upload all of your receipts (registration fee, hotel receipt, airfare receipt, ground transportation (if approved)) and a copy of the travel funding approval letter.
4. Upload the conference agenda page and the conference program page that indicates your name as a presenter and the time and date of your presentation.
5. Complete and sign a W-9 FORM: When you complete the W-9 form, check the "individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC" box in section 3 of the form. You will need to either upload this form to your Post-Travel Report.
6. Submit the completed Post-Travel Report form.

Students who have received or are expecting to receive funding from MURACE are also expected to submit their project to GCSU Research Day. Information about Research Day 2026 can be found here.

If you have any questions about the travel grant application or reimbursement process, please contact us at murace@gcsu.edu