Student Government (SG)’s Graduate Council has launched the Graduate Council Travel Fund, a program through which graduate students may apply for up to $500 per student for transportation and other travel-related subsidies, set to go into effect next school year.

According to a press release authored by second-year M.B.A. candidate Josh Johnston (A.B. ’04), the chair of Graduate Council, the fund is intended to assist graduate students in meeting expenses related to attending conferences in which they present their own research. Possible line-item subsidies include airfare, hotel stays, and conference registration fees.

Johnston characterizes the program as a product of students’ desire to administer their own funding initiatives.

“The Travel Fund was the work of both SG and Graduate Student Affairs [GSA] over the last couple of years. GSA runs their own travel fund, but SG last year determined there was significant student interest in having a travel fund that was run by students, not just administrators,” Johnston said.

According to Johnston, the $20,000 used to fund the program was allotted to the Graduate Council budget through an act of the whole Student Assembly. While it is uncertain how many students will apply to the Travel Fund during the 2014–15 academic year, Johnston suggests that between 40 and 50 students will receive funding.