Travel Support for Graduate Students

Effective January 1, 2011
Up to twenty $250 CMESG/GCEDM conference grants will be awarded each year. A grant may be applied against any combination of conference travel, accommodation expenses, and conference fees, and is subject to the approval of the CMESG/GCEDM Executive. To apply please fill out the Grad Support Form.

Granting Principles:

  1. Financial support for graduate students to attend CMESG/GCEDM conferences has been, and continues to be, provided principally in the spirit of aiding graduate students to attend their first meeting, when they otherwise would be unable to attend for financial reasons.
  2. All full time mathematics or mathematics education graduate students in a Canadian university as of April 30 of the conference year are eligible to apply but preference will be given to those planning to attend a CMESG/GCEDM conference for the first time and to those who are unable to obtain funding from other sources.
  3. Whenever possible, conference grants will be provided to graduate students from all major geographic regions of Canada in which universities are located.

Funding of conference grants:

Funding for a minimum of ten and maximum of twenty annual conference grants will come from a combination of CMESG/GCEDM direct financial support and donations from members and other sources received in the year prior to the conference year, or carried forward from previous years. These grants shall be funded as follows:

(i) Donations shall be the first source of funding.

(ii) To ensure a minimum of ten and a maximum of twenty conference grants CMESG/GCEDM funding will be provided as follows:

(a) If total donation funds available for grants are between $0 and $2,500 then CMESG/GCEDM will finance ten additional grants ($2,500).

(b) If total donation funds available for grants are more than $2,500 CMESG/GCEDM will provide additional funding, to bring the total funds to $5,000, namely twenty grants.

The following graduate student application and approval process for a conference grant becomes effective January 1, 2011.

Application Criteria and Submission Process:

  • Applicants must be full time mathematics or mathematics education graduate students in a Canadian university as of March 31 of the conference year.
  • Preference will be given to eligible graduate students attending the CMESG/GCEDM conference for the first time.
  • Graduate students are eligible to receive the CMESG/GCEDM conference grant more than once, however, they may be ranked below first time applicants for the conference grant.
  • Applicants are required to use the Graduate Student CMESG/GCEDM Annual Conference Support form found on the CMESG/GCEDM website.
  • Completed applications should be sent to the Treasurer of CMESG/GCEDM.
  • Completed applications may be emailed as an attachment, faxed, or mailed.
  • The deadline for receipt of applications by the Treasurer is April 30 of the year of the conference.

Review Process:

  • A Review Subcommittee of the CMESG/GCEDM Executive will review the
    applications and select the successful applicants.
  • Whenever possible, conference grants will be distributed to applicants each year in all four major Canadian geographical regions in which universities are located—West (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), Central-Ontario, Central-Quebec, and East (New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland & Labrador).
  • There are no fixed numbers of conference grants by region—the distribution of successful conference grants will depend upon the nature of all of the applications.
  • Applications which are not fully completed, or which arrive after the deadline, will not be considered.
  • Within a geographical region, eligible Doctoral graduate students will normally receive priority over eligible Master’s graduate students.
  • Applicants will be notified not later than April 30 of their status.
  • The decisions of the Review Subcommittee are final.

Payment:

  • To receive a conference grant, successful applicants must
    • Attend the full conference.
    • Provide relevant conference receipts in the amount of $250.
  • Successful applicants will receive a cheque for the amount of the conference grant on the last day of the conference. There are no partial conference grants for eligible receipts less than $250.

Eligible Receipts:

Eligible receipts must total a minimum of $250 to qualify for the full conference grant. Eligible receipts include:

  • CMESG registration receipts for the Scientific Program Fee and the Conference Fee.
    • Receipts for accommodation directly related to attending the conference.
    • Travel receipts directly related to conference travel between the home location and conference location
      • Includes direct economy air, train or bus fare. Reasonable taxi charges incurred while travelling to and from the conference.
      • If an automobile is used for travel, includes the cost of fuel for travel to and from the conference site from the home location, and parking while at the conference. A rate per kilometre is not paid.
      • Includes the cost of a rental car plus fuel and parking while at the conference, up to a maximum of the equivalent direct economy air fare between the home location and the conference location.
    • Some meals (receipts in all cases are necessary):
      • Meals while travelling to and from the conference.
      • Meals at the conference which the conference fee does not cover. NOTE: Almost all lunches and suppers are covered by the conference fee.
      • Breakfasts while attending the conference if these are over and above the conference fee.

Receipts which are NOT ELIGIBLE:

  • Conference-related receipts which have been, or will be covered by other
    means of financial support.
  • CMESG/GCEDM Membership dues for the year of the conference.
  • Accommodation receipts for side trips before or after the conference.
  • Travel receipts for side trips before or after the conference.
  • Per kilometre claims for distance travelled by automobile.
  • Meal receipts for meals, beverages, etc., consumed during the conference over and above the “official” three meals per day (for example, informal evening social events).
  • Local transit or taxi fares unless required as part of the Conference program.

Policy Review:

  • This Policy shall be reviewed annually by the CMESG/GCEDM Executive.