Travel Funding

University Student Travel Guidelines

It is recommended that students traveling (both graduate and undergraduate) go to the Study Abroad Office and complete some basic paperwork, even if they are not part of a Study Abroad Program. It is recommended that students travelling to a country that is categorized higher risk (Level 3 or 4 by the State Department) contact Ms. Tiffany Martin, Director (UCIS) or the Global Operations Support Manager & Concierge in the  University Center for  International Studies (UCIS)

Regarding University student travel guidelines, you can find the Provost approved language on Student Travel to various destinations here.

All students traveling abroad on University official business/academic studies are required to register their travel per Provost Policy as well, which can be found here.

Trip Registration

Financing your travel

Don't think that you can't make it to a conference because you can't afford to go – try applying for travel funding first! In many cases, your research advisor has some funding for this purpose.  If so, to attend or give a talk at a professional conference or meeting, see what is available for you as early as your 1st year of studies.  Travel and Business (T&B) form and ALL ORIGINAL RECEIPTS* must be submitted within two weeks upon returning from your trip to the Travel and Business Coordinator for both our department and Geology and Environmental Sciences, in 200 SRCC.

The Department knows of three different sources of travel funding right now. If you have any questions, contact the organization offering the fellowship or grant, or talk to the Graduate Administrator. Be sure to look at the additional information about your UPMC Health Plan and services offered while traveling for research or working at a research facility. Information with regard to procedures for reimbursement of travel expenses (if applicable). Questions about travel expenses can also be directed to the department's Accounts Administrator.

University of Pittsburgh Travel and Business Expense Policy

Insurance Coverage

General Coverage information can be found here. Foreign nationals should note that if returning to their home country, Pitt travel insurance coverage will not cover this but, it will cover them to other countries they might travel to for Pitt purposes.

Pitt IT has equipment to help on international trips!

Will you be travelling internationally on University business during the spring term? Going overseas raises a lot of technology questions. What adapters will I need? What devices should I bring? What should I do if they get lost or stolen? How do I protect my data?

No one wants to worry about these issues while also making travel arrangements and preparing work materials. That’s why Pitt IT and Pitt Global Operations created the Technology Loaner Program for International Travel. The program provides laptops, smart phones and tablets to faculty and staff for international work trips, so you can do your work and stay connected while you’re abroad.

*Receipt Guidelines

Receipts/supporting documentation should be legible, and provide sufficient detail to support the validity of the expenses charged to University and sponsored project accounts. They should include supplier name, date of purchase or service, goods or service purchased, amount of charge or payment, payment type (credit/debit/cash).

• For lodging, a detailed hotel bill (folio) showing the method of payment is required, unless the traveler is unable to obtain one in a remote global destination.

• For conference registrations, only a debit/credit card receipt is required.

• Debit/credit card receipts should show the last 4 digits of the card on the receipt.

• Email confirmation/receipts for airline charges are acceptable.

• All other types of expenses for which reimbursement is sought should have a receipt directly from the supplier of the good or service, and not a credit card receipt.