Travel and Conference Funding

A student sits next to a man outside of his dwelling in India

The Graduate Program in Law and Society offers funding support to currently enrolled LLM and PhD students for presenting at conferences, travel for field work, and scholarship interviews. Application processes and available funds are different for each type, please read instructions carefully or contact the . 

If you cannot financially afford to place these expenses on either your credit card or pay cash for them, please let the  know as soon as possible and prior to making any travel arrangements. Travel advances are usually possible with a minimum of 30 days notice.

Presenting at conferences

The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) and Graduate Students' Society (GSS) offer limited funding to support travel to conferences. To apply, submit a completed FGS Travel & Conference Funding application to the FGS Scholarships Assistant in advance of your travel dates. You should submit the form as soon as possible but no more than four months prior to the date of your travel.  If you have not yet received acceptance to present at a conference but have confirmed your registration, you should submit your application and then contact the Scholarship Assistant to change your status after you receive your acceptance. More information can be found here.

Funds are distributed based on the following guidelines:

  • The funds are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis for currently enrolled graduate students.
  • Priority is given to first-time recipients.
  • Students can only apply for funding once a fiscal year (April 1 - March 31).

The law graduate program offers additional support, based on a student's application for FGS funding. The law graduate program follows the same rules as FGS and the GSS as outlined above, and here.  In order to receive law graduate program funding, you must forward to the law graduate program coordinator any emails from FGS regarding your funding approval or spot on the waitlist, and include a scanned copy of your FGS travel grant application.

If FGS does not fund a student, the law graduate program will award the standard FGS amount topped up by 25% (e.g. $600 to present outside of BC (including internationally) x1.25 becomes $750 total awarded by law graduate program). If FGS does fund a student the law graduate program will award the standard FGS amount less 25% (i.e. $600 to present outside BC (including internationally) becomes $450 total awarded by law graduate program), giving a combined total of $1,050.

If law graduate program funding becomes low, priority will be given to those students who have not previously drawn on the fund. If law graduate program funding becomes increasingly low, setting criteria for the types of conferences supported (i.e. peer-reviewed) may be considered.

Students are reimbursed for expenses upon return from travel. You will only be reimbursed for claims that conform to University requirements for expense report submissions. Please see the travel claim instructions.

Field work and archival research

The Law Graduate Program offers limited funds for the reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by law graduate students in connection with their thesis/dissertation field work. These funds are available for travel for research purposes only.

You should submit your application only after completing your University of Victoria Human Research Ethics Board (HREB) application, your candidacy exam (PhD students) and only after your supervisor has indicated that you are ready to begin your field work.  If your travel includes archival research, you must explicitly confirm that the archives contain relevant materials.

Students are limited to a program maximum of:

  • LLM students – $2,000
  • PhD students – $4,000

You should be aware, however, that you are not entitled to these amounts and there are limited funds available in any given year. You are welcome to apply for smaller amounts over more than one trip but only to the maximums listed above. Funds must be spent within six months of allocation.

Please note that owing to budgetary constraints, we may not be able to provide the full amount of field work funding to multiple students at the same time.

Field work support application form

Your supervisor must sign your application and a description of your thesis/dissertation (five page maximum) must be attached.

You will only be reimbursed for claims that conform to University requirements for expense report submissions. Please see the travel claim instructions.

All applications are adjudicated by a subcommittee of the Law Graduate Studies Committee.

If you transferred to the PhD program without completing your UVic LLM, any funding you received as an LLM will be deducted from the PhD maximum of $4,000. In exceptional circumstances, namely if your previous LLM field work was substantially different than that required for your PhD, you may apply for additional support from the Program Director. If you began a new PhD program after completing a UVic LLM, you are eligible to apply for the full PhD maximum in addition to any funding allotted during your LLM.

Scholarship interviews

If graduate students are selected to attend a scholarship interview outside of Victoria and the student has been nominated for the scholarship by the University of Victoria, then the Law Graduate Program will match the funding provided by the University to attend the interview, where funds are available.