Travel Expenses

Travel expenses submitted on grants must adhere to the Bowdoin Travel & Expense Reimbursement Policy in addition to sponsor agency requirements and unique grant award terms and conditions. 

In addition to standard College policy, please note on federal grants, only students or employees of the College are eligible for travel expense reimbursement when they are on travel status, unless expressly specified as a part of the approved grant budget. For exceptional requests to cover travel, please reach out to Laura Pilgrim. 

To be eligible for travel reimbursement of meals and lodging, the student or employee must be on travel status and not participating in a grant-funded activity locally.  

It is recommended that you book flights, rail, car rental and hotel reservations via Direct Travel/Concur.

Travelers using federal funds for airfare may be reimbursed for baggage fees only. All other extra airline fees must be reimbursed from non-federal College funds.

Upon return, meals and lodging receipts for reimbursement of faculty and staff will be submitted via Workday Expense.  Travel reimbursement directly to students or individuals not employed by the College will be submitted via an Accounts Payable (AP) Voucher.

Please submit itemized receipts for meal expenses. Alcohol is an unallowable cost for federal grants and generally not reimbursable as a College expense.  See the Bowdoin Travel & Expense Reimbursement Policy for details.

If funding is required in advance of travel, a Cash Advance may be requested.

International Travel

All federally funded international travel is subject to the Fly America Act. It is encouraged you book flights via Direct Travel/Concur as they are aware of federal restrictions and can help to navigate requirements for federally funded flights regarding US carriers, Open Skies Agreement counties, ineligible fees and flight classes.  

As an alternative to keeping receipts for meals and lodging, GSA per diem rates are eligible to be paid for international travel only. If the GSA rate is claimed for all travel expenses or for lodging only or meals and incidentals only, the same methodology must be applied to the entire trip and not selected days of the trip. Travelers must submit proof of travel in the form of a boarding pass and/or passport stamps.

All international travel should be registered with both the Treasurer’s Office and the US Department of State at least two weeks prior to departure.