Student Travel Information
Traveling on UT-affiliated business can be confusing, especially as a student! Please read through this information as you begin to plan your travel, as some forms need to be submitted at least five weeks before your departure date.
Request for Travel Authorization (RTA) Creation
Before you travel anywhere for a reason associated with your graduate studies and/or UT (research, conference travel, etc.), please request an RTA from the Anthropology Accounting team (even if you think you won’t need to be reimbursed for anything). RTAs are required for any official travel, even if there is no expense to UT, if you are an employee (which includes TAs/AIs/GRAs/Tutors). Submitting an RTA is also the best way for the department to know where you are at any given time, should an emergency arise.
Regardless of whether you are considered an employee or not, any amount of money that will be reimbursed from UT accounts for travel must have an RTA attached to it. This means that if you did not contact the department and have us create an RTA because you were not employed with The University when you traveled, we will not be able to reimburse you from a UT account if a professor later wants to help pay your travel expenses with their research funds after you return (or some other area has funds they’re willing to use to assist you). Therefore, it is always in your best interest to request an RTA for your UT-affiliated travel just in case someone wants to give you money later. It does happen occasionally, and you do not want to miss out on some free travel money just because you did not ask for an RTA before you left.
To request an RTA, please fill out the Travel Authorization Request form. If you don’t get a response from us within a few business days, email the Anthropology Accounting team.
Foreign Travel
There are special rules and extra steps involved if your travel will take you outside the US, even if you’re conducting research or attending a conference in your home country and staying with family. You will still need to request an RTA. You’ll also need to register your foreign travel before you leave. Employees and students not participating in approved education abroad programs will register through the UT Austin International Travel Registry (ITR). We will email you a reminder about this step before you depart if you have an RTA on file with the department. You should also review everything found on this page: https://global.utexas.edu/risk/travel
Additionally, you’ll need to check whether your destination is a Restricted Region because it requires extra paperwork. The list can be found here: https://global.utexas.edu/risk/travel/restricted-regions/list and the extra paperwork can be found here: https://utexas.app.box.com/s/essumk72chovryqhai09ubo0s07rpzbo Restricted Regions Form (Student version)
After you fill out the Restricted Regions Form, you’ll send it to the Anthropology Accounting team. We will add it to DocuSign for your electronic signature, then get all other necessary approvals and submit it to Texas Global on your behalf. The paperwork needs to be submitted within 5 weeks of your trip, so reach out to us early.
If you have been promised funds by a professor or have funds managed by the department and will be using those funds for your travel, we can give you more information about the types of expenses that are reimbursable and explain what receipts we’ll need from you at that time.
Please reach out to the Anthropology Accounting team with questions. We are here to help!
Independent Study and Research (ISR)
If you will be conducting research or studying independently outside of the US during the fall or spring semester, Independent Study and Research (ISR) is likely an option you want to explore. ISR is an enrollment status that maintains your status as a full-time UT student without being enrolled in coursework or dissertation hours. While ISR does come with a registration fee it allows you to avoid a tuition bill.
To learn more about ISR, please visit https://global.utexas.edu/abroad/programs/independent-study-research.
In addition to the ISR Coordinator, you will need to notify the Anthropology Graduate Program Coordinator (Katie Foster) of your intention to pursue ISR. The ISR cover sheet requires the signature of the Graduate Program Coordinator, Graduate Advisor, as well as your supervising professor. Once you have filled out the ISR cover sheet, the Graduate Program Coordinator will help you route the form for signatures via DocuSign.
