The Budget
Keep receipts for all single items $100 and over. These must be handed in with your financial report after your Off-Campus Study is over.
Reasonable expenditures associated with your travel, lodging, food, and work on your project, as well as expenses for additional travel within the host country are considered to be legitimate expenses for this project. If in doubt, check with the Honors Director before submitting the budget proposal.
Include the following:
- Transportation (air, bus, train, car mileage at current mileage rate)
- Go to Travelocity.com or Orbitz.com and check cost of flights on the dates of your departure and return.
- Use the numbers you find to estimate the cost of your flight
- For car mileage, go to Mapquest.com or Google Maps™ to find out the round trip distance.
- Multiply the round trip distance by the current mileage allowance.
- Find train or bus fares online.
- Meals
- Multiply the number of days of your estimated stay by $20.
- You do not need receipts, unless your costs for meals go above $20 per day.
- Lodging
- Go to a travel website and check the cost of accommodations at your destination.
- Multiply the number of days of your stay by the cost per day of the hotel, bed and breakfast, or extended stay hotel.
- If dorms are available, these are considerably less expensive.
- If this is a study abroad program, your lodging may be included in the total cost of the program.
- Books, Supplies, Lab Materials, Postage, Photocopies, Video Materials
- Estimate a standard $150 for books.
- Passport, luggage, visa, International Student Card, work permit
- Check online for the costs.
- Miscellaneous (laundry, supplies and necessities)
- Standard estimate: $80 a month.
- Photography ($120)
- It is important to bring back digital photos of yourself during the off-campus experience.
- Medjet Assist at current rate
- Check on their website for student rates
- They have a plus program which supplies a satellite phone, in case you travel to a site without regular phone connections.
- Cell phone costs
- In many countries, a pay-by-minute cell phone is an important advantage, especially for emergencies.
- Check costs for such phones.
- For more information, see About.com
- Any additional items you may need. Attach an explanation to the form in order to explain the reason for the expenses, or how you have estimated them.