International Travel Fund

Eligible applicants include: 

• Faculty 

• Postdoctoral scholars

• Students (see below for details)

Applicants must be affiliated with UMB at the time of travel. Adjunct faculty and part-time employees are not eligible to apply.

Students

Students must be enrolled at time of travel. The International Travel Fund is intended to provide financial support to PhD students who must travel abroad to fulfill their graduation requirements, such as gathering novel data for a dissertation, presenting original findings at international conferences, or conducting specialized lab collaborations. The Fund prioritizes the generation of independent, career-level scientific research. Therefore, pedagogical and course-based research requirements - such as the SOM Foundations of Research and Critical Thinking (FRCT) course - are not eligible for this specific fund. We highly encourage Master’s and MD students, as well as other non-PhD trainees seeking travel support, to apply to the Provost’s Global Scholar Program, which is designed to accommodate a wider variety of student travel experiences.

Awards may be used for the following expenses, up to $5,000 per award: 

• Conference registration 

• Transportation (airfare, ground transportation) 

• Lodging 

Other reasonable travel-related costs may be considered if clearly justified. All expenses must comply with the UMB Policy on Business Travel for UMB Employees and Nonemployees.

Important Note About Per Diem

Please note that the Fund does not fund per diem (flat-rate daily meals/incidentals), but rather direct expenses with receipts, such as airfare, lodging, ground transportation, and conference registration fees. While CGE does not require you to submit your final receipts to us, your requested funds must reflect specific transactions that will ultimately be documented as itemized expenses by your Cost Center. You can still request per diem to be allocated through your Cost Center in accordance with standard travel policy, but it is not funded through the International Travel Fund. 

Personal Travel and Extended Stays

The International Travel Fund supports approved UMB-related travel only and may not be used to cover personal travel or expenses unrelated to the approved conference or collaborator visit. If you choose to extend your stay for personal reasons, work with your travel administrator to meet UMB travel guidelines related to personal travel associated with UMB-related travel. See Combining Personal and Business Travel for more information.

The PGIF International Travel Fund is intended to supplement other sources of funding, if available. If other funding sources are available to support the international travel (e.g., departmental, donor, or grant funding), those funds must be used first and must be disclosed in the application.

Faculty and Employees

This is anybody who gets a paycheck from the State of Maryland, including UMB and including GRAs and postdocs. As part of the application, applicants must identify their designated travel administrator within their school or unit. To identify their travel administrator, postdocs and GRAs should ask their PI or supervisor, and faculty can determine their designated travel administrator by logging into UMB's travel system, Concur, or following the process in this YouTube tutorial.  

Additionally, applicants must inquire with their budget administrator/finance team to determine which account - internally called a SOAP-F - will receive the funds. The applicant must indicate this SOAP-F in the application and upon approval of an award, PGIF administrators will issue a debit memo (internal revenue transfer) for the approved funding amount directly to that SOAP-F.  Awardees’ designated travel administrator will work with them to arrange travel and related logistics in Concur.  

Please be aware that travel requests must be approved in Concur by the unit's Cost Center Approver (the person who approves expenditures for the unit) before the travel administrator is able to complete any purchases on the awardee's behalf. 

Students

Students who receive a paycheck from the State of Maryland, please see the Faculty and Employees section above.

Students who do not receive a paycheck from the State of Maryland will be paid using a different payment mechanism and funds will be transferred directly into student accounts by CGE staff. Students will make their own travel arrangements once funds are deposited into their student account. 

All arrangements must be made in accordance with UMB travel policies and procedures. Guidance for travel administrators will be available on the PGIF website, and general training resources are available.

If you have any questions about the Concur or UMB travel policies or procedures, please contact the UMB Help Desk and state that help is required from "Travel Team" in the subject and body of the email so it is efficiently routed to the appropriate staff.

All Awardees

CGE cannot arrange travel or conference logistics on behalf of awardees.

When the portal is open to accept applications, applications are accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. Applications will be reviewed regularly by the CGE staff.

Application Process 

1. Submit your application submitted minimum three months before travel. Exceptions may be granted if notification of an accepted abstract or invitation is received later than this window.

2. CGE evaluation and decision communicated within three weeks.

3. Funds transferred within two to three weeks of receipt of signed acceptance letter. Note: These funds are allocated from Fiscal Year 2027, so they will not be available until July 2026. 

4. Employees: Work with travel administrator to book travel in Concur. 
   Students: Make own travel arrangements.

5. Post-travel report due within 30 days of return.

Applicants must provide evidence of eligibility, including:

• Accepted abstract/presentation notification or moderator invitation; uploaded copy of email invitation is acceptable

• Invitation letter or email for collaborator visits. Documentation must clearly state the purpose and goals of the travel. The Fund is not intended to support existing, ongoing partnerships but rather stimulate new ones.

• Statement of Goals: Outline the goals of travel and concrete ways it will lead to future, sustainable collaboration; 300-word limit

• For Faculty and Employees: Name of travel administrator and SOAP-F where funds should be deposited via debit memo. Please ask your budget administrator/finance team to determine which account - internally called a SOAP-F - will receive the funds.
  
  SOAP-F Format
  Source-Organization-Activity-Purpose- Function
  AAA-BBBBBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDDDDD-EEE
  Ex: 105-04900000-UAA011-00000000-630
  

• For Students (not employed by UMB): Student ID number

Budget (up to $5,000) and Short Budget Justification

To ensure fairness and responsible use of funds, applicants are expected to provide reasonable, good-faith estimates of anticipated expenses. Please conduct basic research (such as typical airfare, lodging rates, conference registration fees, or local transportation costs) and base your request on current, realistic pricing. A brief budget justification is required on the application, explaining how each cost was estimated (such as citing a sample flight, hotel rate, or conference fee). Below is a Budget Justification example that you can use as a template: 

Budget Justification Example

I am requesting funding to attend the XYZ Conference in London, United Kingdom, from October 10–13. Estimated costs are based on publicly available pricing as of May 2026. 

• Airfare ($850): Estimated using a round-trip economy fare from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) to London Heathrow (LHR) on a major airline (Google Flights average for October travel dates).

• Lodging ($750): Conference hotel rate of approximately $250/night for three nights, as listed on the conference website.

• Registration ($200): Early registration fee listed on the conference website.

• Ground Transportation ($120): Includes airport transfer (e.g., Heathrow Express or comparable transit) and local transportation within London (based on typical public transit costs).

All recipients must complete the following before traveling.

Global Hub Registration
All awardees must complete the Required Steps on the UMB Global Hub, which includes registration with the university’s travel insurance provider, International SOS. If travel is not approved by UMB International Operations, funding will not be provided.

Understanding Visas
US citizens must research any visa and/or immunization requirements for the country they are traveling to. UMB awardees who are in the United States on a US visa must consult individually with the Office of International Services to discuss their status and situation.

Within 30 days of return from international trip, awardees must submit a brief post-travel report (1–2 pages) that includes:

• Summary of activities

• Reflection on outcomes and value of the travel

• Planned next steps or follow-up activities

• New or promising collaborators or contacts made (if applicable)

Continued eligibility for future funding may depend on completion of this requirement. A report template will be provided at the time of acceptance.

If an awardee is unable to complete the approved travel for any reason - including personal circumstances, a rescinded invitation, conference cancellation, or a change in plans - the following guidelines apply:

• Notification: The awardee must notify CGE as soon as they become aware that the travel will not occur or will be significantly changed.

• No Funds Disbursed: If no program funds have been disbursed, no further action is required beyond notification.

• Funds Disbursed or Expenses Incurred: If funds have been disbursed or travel arrangements have been made, the awardee is responsible for:

  • Working promptly with their designated travel administrator to cancel all possible arrangements.

  • Ensuring that any unused or refundable funds are returned to CGE in accordance with institutional policies.

  • Out‑of‑pocket costs or non‑refundable expenses that cannot be recovered through cancellation are the responsibility of the awardee, per institutional policy.

• Reinstatement or Reapplication: Awardees whose travel is canceled may be eligible to reapply for future funding, provided all required notifications and fund reconciliation have been completed.

Failure to notify the program or to comply with cancellation and fund return procedures may affect eligibility for future travel funding.