Current Student Resources

Expense Report for PhD Students

Purchasing and Reimbursements

  • All university business-related purchases, whenever possible, should be made through the Department Accounting Specialist. Example purchases include:
    • Food orders for meetings and events
    • Software 
    • Research supplies
    • Seminar refreshments
  • In cases where prepayment cannot be arranged through the department, students may submit an expense report for reimbursement.
  • Reimbursement requests should be submitted within 30 days of purchase.
  • Tax cannot be reimbursed on most purchases (one exception is meals taking place at restaurants).
  • One-time use tax exempt letters may be obtained from the Department Accounting Specialist prior to purchase for items that cannot be acquired through regular university purchasing channels. 
  • The student's current research adviser must approve his/her online expense report after submission, regardless of which funding source is being used to reimburse the purchase.

Reimbursement Instructions

Recruitment Activities

  • Check with the Department Accounting Specialist regarding reimbursement allowances.
  • Recruitment Expense Report Instructions

Student Seminars

  • Check with the Department Accounting Specialist regarding current reimbursement maximums.
  • An attendee list must be included in the expense report documentation. 

Meeting Refreshments

  • Check with the Department Accounting Specialist regarding current reimbursement maximums.
  • A meeting attendee list must be included in the expense report documentation. 
  • Such events should occur no more than once (or possibly twice) per month. Purchasing food with university funds for a regularly scheduled weekly meeting or for daily consumption is unallowable.