Postdoc Travel Awards: Information & Overview

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is piloting travel funds to support postdocs who wish to:

• Travel to a conference in their discipline and recruit while attending
• Share their work or develop networks and knowledge at a conference focused on diversity & inclusion
• Pay for dependent care while at a conference

These awards recognize the important role of conferences for professional development, networking, and developing independence. 

These are pilot programs with limited funding. Please consult with OPA for questions about funding levels and requirements.

Applicants are encouraged to request matching funds from other sources (e.g. professional organizations, conference organizers, faculty sponsor, department, etc.). 

Many students, post-doctoral scholars, faculty and staff travel on behalf of Stanford. To be reimbursed for this travel, travelers and travel arrangers must follow university policy; in most cases airfare for university-sponsored travel must be booked through a Stanford Travel booking channel. In addition, Stanford has an entire website dedicated to travel suggestions and policy information.

• Postdoctoral scholars appointed through OPA are eligible. Visiting postdocs, instructors, staff scientists, and those with similar designations are not eligible for these funds.
• The postdoctoral appointment must remain active for at least 2 months after travel to allow adequate time for reimbursement.
• Scholars are eligible to receive only one award each academic year.
• All travel must be approved by the scholar’s faculty sponsor.

General Reminders
The Stanford travel program for has clear boundaries for postdocs. To be reimbursed for university-sponsored travel, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral scholars must use the Stanford Travel Booking Channels and comply with all instructions when booking airfare, hotels, and/or car rentals (with limited exceptions). Complete policy details are available in the Business and Travel Expense Policies overview. Best practices include talking with the departmental finance managers and your PI before traveling.

Policies
Prior to travel, get permission from your faculty sponsor. Talk to your sponsor about the source of funds that will pay for the trip. Frequently, the research grant or fellowship award will have a travel allowance or institutional allowance. Once you and the faculty sponsor have an understanding on the source of funding, it is best to let the faculty's administrative assistant (or student services administrator) know about your trip and the funding. Your sponsor should be supportive of travel that furthers your research, your training, and the research goals of the lab.

For travel policies, read the Admin Guide 5.4.2 Travel Expenses. Remember that these policies are not written specifically for students, but the rules, in general, apply to all. Talk with your faculty's administrative assistant if you have questions. Note that there are some expenses not eligible for reimbursement (i.e. accident insurance on car rentals - Stanford has insurance that covers accidents in rental vehicles).

In addition, Stanford's Finance & Travel Team has put together a Travel Guide that can be used for a complete overview of important policies.

Process and Timeline

Recruitment Travel

Conferences play central roles in intellectual exchange, networking, and developing both community and identity. In-person conferences are restarting after the pandemic, and the Office of Postdoc Affairs is working to support increased travel for postdocs whose attendance may have been limited by the pandemic, funding, or other barriers. OPA is piloting a travel award that would enable postdocs to attend large disciplinary research conferences that include graduate students. In exchange for this valuable professional opportunity, awardees will engage in recruitment of graduate students for postdoctoral training at Stanford on behalf of OPA.

Up to $500 may be awarded for travel to a large conference in the awardee’s disciplinary area, especially to conferences that have a substantial graduate student attendance.* Priority for these awards will go to postdoctoral scholars who have engaged in outreach or other activities on behalf of OPA. This list provides examples of eligible conferences, though other large conferences may be eligible.

Awardees will be expected to:

• Attend OPA recruiter training prior to travel.
• Engage in postdoc recruitment: talk with graduate students; collect information on interactions; and provide flyers for Stanford postdoc recruitment initiatives (i.e. programs and fellowships such as PRISM and Propel). We expect awardees will interact with and collect information for at least 20 graduate students during the conference.
• Within 15 days of travel completion, submit the following: a brief recruitment report; an impact survey; and an award request form.

These awards provide only post-travel reimbursement. See Process and Timeline table above for more details.

 Strong applications for this award will highlight:

• the breadth and depth of service the applicant has engaged in during their postdoc;
• how travel to this conference will contribute to their training and career goals;
• why they are interested in recruiting future postdocs to Stanford.

*In general, conferences limited to clinical focus, small conferences (e.g. Gordon conferences), and other similarly sized or focused conferences are not eligible for this mechanism. If you are not sure whether your intended conference would be eligible, please consult with OPA before applying by emailing our Recruitment Team at: stanfordprism@stanford.edu).

Apply Here for the Recruitment Travel Award

Diversity & Inclusion Conferences

Postdocs who are committed to and highly engaged in DEI activities and efforts, and who may be considering career trajectories that include DEI work, may be interested in engaging in further professional development in this space. OPA is piloting a travel award to enable postdocs to attend conferences that support professional development in DEI, so they can develop skills, knowledge, and networks in the DEI space. Recommended conferences include, but are not limited to, NCORE, NADOHE, and DiverseScholar. Other DEI-focused conferences may be considered.

OPA is piloting this award to provide funding for postdocs to attend DEI-focused conferences with the expectation that they will contribute to the conference, and/or recruit if appropriate. Funding for this award is available in two tiers: up to $500 for professional development purposes only, and up to $1000 for combined professional development and focused graduate student recruitment. Priority goes to scholars who have been actively engaged in DEI work at Stanford. Strong applications for this award will highlight the applicant's prior work in the DEI space and how this conference contributes to their goals. 

Awardees will be expected to:

• Provide a brief report on learnings to OPA and/or SURPAS or other relevant postdoc organizations.
• If recruiting, attend OPA recruiter training prior to travel.
• If recruiting, engage in recruitment: talk with graduate students; collect information on interactions; and provide flyers or other materials. We expect awardees will interact with and collect information for at least 20 graduate students during the conference, with a focus on underrepresented and/or marginalized students.
• If recruiting, submit a form providing a brief recruitment report to OPA upon return.
• Submit a survey and award request form within 2 weeks of the completion of travel.

These awards provide only post-travel reimbursement. See Process and Timeline section above for more details.

Apply Here for the Diversity & Inclusion Conferences Award

Dependent Care for Conferences

We recognize that managing dependent care can be a barrier to attending professional conferences and meetings for postdocs who are parents. This award must be applied for prior to conference travel; travel completed prior to the application will not be considered.

Up to $500 may be awarded to cover reasonable dependent care expenses associated with conference travel. This award is paid through a post-travel grant, which is considered taxable income, in accordance with Stanford financial policy prohibiting reimbursement for family travel costs or personal expenses, such as child care. See Process and Timeline table above for more details.

Things to know about a Post-Travel Grant for Dependent Care:

• You must apply for this award prior to conference travel; travel completed prior to the application will not be considered.
• If awarded, the approved expenses and maximum amount awarded will be determined by OPA and clearly stated in the award letter.
• Within 15 days of completion of travel, the awardee must submit a survey and the award request form, which requires uploading all relevant invoices.
• Only the incurred amount for approved expenses will be paid out in the post-travel award, which is disbursed as a stipend.
• This award is considered taxable income.

Types of expenses eligible for the Dependent Care Award:

• Care at an alternate location (including at home) for after-hours care while you are away
• Reasonable dependent care expenses over and above the costs, if any, that you would normally incur for care at home, if your dependent must travel with you
• Duplicate care, i.e., dependent care at a conference or research site if you must continue to pay to preserve dependent care space or coverage here
• Travel expenses for a dependent and/or caregiver (not including meals)
• Cost of storing and shipping of breastmilk

The following outlines situations for which a postdoc might apply for a dependent care award, the types if expenses that they might request, and the information required in the application and after completion of travel:

• Dependent stays home, and additional hours of childcare beyond the child’s normal needs, such as after-hours care, weekend care, or overnight care, are required during the postdoc parent’s conference travel.
  • Prior to travel, you may apply for an award to cover extra hours of care that you would not normally require and other associated costs. In the application, you will provide a description of planned care, including the provider’s name, location of care, hourly rate, and expected hours of use.
• Dependent travels with postdoc to conference, and a local caregiver is hired to care for the child while the postdoc is engaged in the conference.
  • Prior to travel, you may apply for an award to cover the dependent’s travel costs, local childcare at the conference location or research site, and other associated costs. In the application, you will provide a detailed budget, including travel expenses and a description of planned care, including the provider’s name, location of care, hourly rate, and expected hours of use.
• Dependent and additional caregiver travel with postdoc to conference.
  • Prior to travel, you may apply for an award to cover the dependent’s and/or caregiver’s travel costs. In the application, you will provide a detailed budget, including travel expenses and a description of planned care, including the provider’s name, location of care, hourly rate, and expected hours of use.
• Breastfeeding mother travels and requires the ability to store and/or ship breastmilk.
  • Prior to travel, you may apply for an award to cover costs associated with the storage or shipping of breastmilk. In the application, you will provide a description of planned expenses, including vendors and costs.

Apply Here for the Dependent Care for Conferences Award

Recruitment as Service

OPA may invite selected postdocs to apply for funding to travel to specified conferences on behalf of OPA to represent Stanford’s postdoctoral population in order to recruit graduate students to postdoctoral training at Stanford. These travel opportunities are considered service, and travel costs for this work are fully covered by OPA. Further information will be provided via invitation emails to postdocs identified as potential recruiters. Priority for these awards goes to postdocs who have been active in OPA programs and/or have a track record of service in the postdoc community.

Awardees will be expected to:

• Attend OPA recruiter training prior to travel.
• Engage in recruitment: talk with graduate students; collect information on interactions; and provide flyers or other materials. We expect awardees will interact with and collect information for at least 20 graduate students during the conference, with a focus on underrepresented and/or marginalized students.
• Submit a form providing a brief recruitment report to OPA upon return.
• Submit a survey and award request form within 2 weeks of the completion of travel.

Application for this travel award is by invitation. Application instructions will be provided at the time of invitation.