The Warren Alpert Medical School (“the Medical School”) is committed to supporting students' professional development and encourages participation in national and international academic conferences. These experiences provide valuable opportunities to present scholarly work, develop professionally, network with peers and leaders in the field, and represent the Medical School through leadership and service.

To support these opportunities, the Medical School has established a professional development funding program to help offset eligible conference-related expenses for students who are presenting scholarly work or representing the Medical School in an approved leadership capacity. Because funding is limited, awards are subject to eligibility requirements and annual funding limits. Please review this policy carefully before making travel arrangements or incurring expenses.

How Much You Can Receive

Each student can receive up to the following amount toward professional development per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). Unused funds do not roll over to the next fiscal year, and total funding cannot exceed your yearly cap.

For Primary Care Population Medicine (PCPM) students: PCPM students must first apply for funding via the PCPM program (please email pcpmreceipts@brown.edu). If you receive PCPM funding, this program will only supplement it up to a combined total of $750 for conferences in the United States and Canada, or $1,000 for conferences elsewhere.

PLEASE NOTE: Funding does not guarantee excused absences from required courses and/or clerkships.  Students should request any related absences using the excused absence form on CANVAS and submit documentation of OSA funding approval with the request. Students should avoid requesting absences on OSCE, orientation, and exam dates. 

Meal reimbursements follow Brown's standard spending guidelines: an average of $100 per day, including tax and tip. You can only request meal reimbursement after your trip is complete; meals cannot be reimbursed as a prepaid expense. 

How to Apply for Funding

Students must prepare in advance and apply for funding before any travel has occurred. Retroactive requests are not eligible for funding.

Step 1: Submit the OSA Travel Request form. Be prepared to submit the following information: 

1. Your abstract 
2. Conference details, including the conference name, travel dates, location, number of presenters, and who is presenting
3. Proof of acceptance to the conference
   • If you're representing Brown in a leadership role rather than presenting, describe that role (for example, a position you hold in a national organization).
4. Total projected travel expenses 
   • If multiple Brown students are attending the same conference, you’re expected to share hotel rooms and transportation costs, such as taxi fares. 
5. TravelSafe Registration (if traveling internationally)
   • Students who are traveling internationally must submit TravelSafe confirmation with your funding request showing your travel request has been approved. 
   • Registering before you leave matters because it:

• Sends you destination-specific advisories and alerts by email from International SOS, and through the International SOS Assistance App
• Covers you under Brown's Travel Abroad Accident and Sickness Insurance policy
• Satisfies Brown's international travel registration requirements

Step 2: Receive approval before you travel. All application materials must be received and the award approved before the conference begins. Retroactive requests for travel that have already taken place will not be considered. Please allow up to 10 business days to receive approval from the Office of Student Affairs. 

Step 3: Travel and keep your documentation. Once your funding is approved, attend the conference as planned. Save all original, itemized receipts and confirmation documents (hotel, transportation, registration, etc.) for reimbursement. You’ll need these to complete the reimbursement process after you return. 

Important Information

Presentation and Group Travel Limits

• For any single poster or oral presentation, the Medical School can fund a maximum of two student presenters.
• Poster printing costs are covered, but it is deducted from your individual travel award total. To avoid high printing costs, contact the Office of Medical Education (OME). You can get a conference poster printed for FREE at the Office of Medical Education: Posters can be no larger than 34" x 22"
  • Email your single PowerPoint poster file to eve_knox@brown.edu
  • Try to give at least 1 week lead time for printing; email ASAP if something is more urgent.
  • Find more information on poster printing on the Guide to Medical Student Research

What's Not Covered

• Tickets purchased with frequent flyer miles or points.
• Clothing, toiletries, or over-the-counter medication, even if used during the trip.
• Alcohol, as part of meal reimbursements.
• Cancelled scheduled travel. We advise you to book refundable travel whenever you can, since the Medical School cannot reimburse trips that are cancelled.
• Expenses that are already included in your Cost of Attendance (COA), such as away rotations, licensing/board examinations, or other educational expenses covered through your COA. Professional development funds cannot be used to offset these costs.
• Annual memberships or memberships unrelated to conference registration are not eligible for reimbursement.

After you’ve completed your Travel: 

Receipts and Documentation

1. Gather your receipts and relevant documentation
2. Combine your receipts into a single PDF. Each receipt must be itemized, meaning it shows what you actually purchased, and it must include proof of payment: the date of purchase and the payment method used, such as the last four digits of the card charged (for example, “Paid by Mastercard: xxxxx1212”). A receipt missing the date, the itemization, or proof of payment cannot be processed.
3. Send a single PDF with your receipts to medstudentreceipts@brown.edu within 6 weeks of the purchase date, or of your trip ending date (if traveling). 

Deadlines and Reimbursement Timeline

Brown University policy requires reimbursement requests to be entered in Workday within 60 days of purchase (or within 60 days of your trip ending, for travel-related expenses). Anything submitted after that window is treated as taxable income and processed through payroll via your W-2.

If you have a direct deposit set up with Brown, your reimbursement goes straight to your account. If not, a check will be mailed to the address on file. Please allow 2–3 weeks for processing.

Foreign Currency

If you paid for something in a currency other than US dollars, you'll need to convert it to USD as part of your documentation.

• If you used a credit card, you can submit a copy of your statement showing the USD amount charged (black out unrelated charges).
• Alternatively, use a currency conversion calculator (OANDA is preferred), and provide a PDF of the conversion with your documentation.
• If you have one expense to convert: use the purchase date on the receipt as your conversion date.
• If you have multiple expenses to convert: use the last day of your trip as the conversion date for all expenses. Find the conversion rate for the last date of the trip using the OANDA calculator and add that rate to your expense spreadsheet to calculate the USD value for each of your purchases. Do not lump all foreign-currency purchases together and convert one total; Workday requires totals to be separated by category (airfare, hotel, train, taxi, etc.). Click the ‘Travel with foreign currency’ tab of the Reimbursement Expense Spreadsheet template to see an example of what the spreadsheet should look like.