PhD Travel Allowance

Travel allowance for PhD students

As a doctoral student at the Feinberg Graduate School, you are eligible to receive a travel allowance for conferences and international courses. These travel fellowships are awarded through your individual research budget, in accordance with the school’s regulations. The following sections provide details regarding your individual research budget, and how to use the money in your budget. The budget is total $4,250 for the duration of your studies. The first installment ($2,000) is transferred to your budget  In the month following submission of your research proposal, and the second ($2,250) after the submission of your interim report.

Obligations

Travel forms
Students must submit their travel request forms via TAFNIT BEFORE the planned travel. Travel request forms will NOT be approved retroactively (i.e., if submitted after the fact)! Please note that it is your responsibility to submit the travel forms. In general, your departmental administrator does not handle or approve requests for trips unless traveling expenses are also funded from other sources or in a case where the balance in the individual budget is insufficient to finance a planned trip abroad. Should you wish, you may authorize someone else to do it on your behalf.

Travel closure
Students must submit their travel closer forms through TAFNIT immediately after returning to WIS.

Approvals
The relevant authorities must approve each travel (through TAFNIT). Traveling without consent in advance is prohibited.

Medical insurance
The purchase of medical insurance for the duration of the planned travel abroad is obligatory.

Restrictions

  • Students may use only the remaining balance in their budget.
  • Ph.D. students may use the remaining balance while only their Ph.D. status is active at the WIS.
  • The purchase of the peripheral equipment is up to six months before graduation

 

Usage

The use of the budget is possible only for the following expenditures (against original receipts and boarding cards make sure you keep them for reimbursement):

  • Traveling to scientific conferences abroad.
  • Issuing a visa (not including an Israeli visa).
  • Traveling for scientific collaboration.
  • Participation in scientific meetings held in Israel.
  • Participation in online scientific conferences.


All travel related expenses mentioned above require travel forms and must be handled and approved by the WIS Travel Bureau (contact information).
 

  • Tuition related to seminars, courses, and softs skills workshops.
     

This type of expense must be handled and approved by the FGS Finance Section (contact information).
 

COVID related allowance

Due to COVID-19, the FGS recently extended the expenditure mentioned above to include purchasing peripheral equipment listed below to assist you in Zoom meetings. If you wish to buy these items, you must pay for them and keep the original receipt.

  • Computer camera
  • Computer microphone
  • Headsets
  • Computer monitor
     

Please note that the maximum purchase value (including VAT) per item may not exceed NIS1,500. There will be NO reimbursement for more than one item of the same kind.

Reimbursement

Most expenditures, especially those related to travel abroad, are paid directly from your travel budget and handled by the travel bureau. Otherwise, students who buy any of them on their own should submit the original receipts to  the Head of the Finance Section at FGS.

What is your individual travel budget

If you are a full-time doctoral student receiving a fellowship from the Weizmann Institute, an individual travel budget has been opened on your behalf, assuming you have met the requirements for submission deadlines.

Each time you submit your research proposal or interim report, the school verifies that you have met the submission deadlines. If you did, the school transfers your travel allowance to your individual travel budget, in the following amounts:

  • In the month following submission of your research proposal, you receive $2,000 in NIS.
  • In the month following submission of your interim report, you receive $2,250 in NIS.


Note: Students accepted to the Direct PhD Track are eligible for the same allowance.


Time limit for your travel budget

You may make use of the entire credit in your individual research budget, on condition that you comply with academic requirements and submit your reports and thesis in accordance with official deadlines. Keep in mind, however, that your budget will be revoked and forbidden for use (if credit remains) when the earliest of the following conditions is met:

  • Since the starting date of your PhD, 54 months have passed (not including IDF reserve service or maternity leave).
  • Your doctoral fellowship payments have ceased.
  • The Dean of the school has directed that your allowance should cease.

 

How to access your travel budget

You may access your travel budget through the TAFNIT system. The username and password for this purpose are identical to those with which you access your e-mail accounts and Internal Services.

Freezing or closing the budget

The Dean of the Feinberg Graduate School may freeze, revoke or reduce your travel allowance in the following cases:

  • You fail to meet your mandatory academic requirements.
  • You submit your progress reports or thesis after the deadline without prior approval.
  • You commit a disciplinary offense.

If you cease your studies without completing all of your PhD requirements, your individual research budget will be revoked. However, you will not be obliged to return the allowances received due to previous reports and that have already been utilized.