Professional Development Fund
Following the ratification of the GEO-UML Collective Bargaining Agreement in Winter 2023, the GEO secured an annual $30,000 fund to support students' academic and professional development called the Professional Development Fund (PDF).
The purpose of this fund is to provide financial support to TAs and RAs for conference, teaching, or research-related expenses that further an applicant's development as a teaching assistant or a research assistant.
The PDF is available for GEO members who currently hold a TA or RA position at UML, and are in good academic and judicial standing with the university. Applications open twice a year (once in the Fall, and once in the Spring) with the total pool split evenly between both sessions ($15,000 per application window).
The PDF process is a receipt-based system. Receipts must be submitted within 14 days of notice of acceptance. The 2023-24 academic year fund will cover eligible expenses occurred between September 6, 2023 - September 3, 2024 (First day of Fall 2023 semester and the final day before Fall 2024 semester).
The application timeline for the 2023-2024 academic year is below:
Application begins on June 08, 2024 (Saturday).
Application deadline is on July 10, 2024 (Wednesday.
Professional Development Fund Committee will review the applications between July 11, 2024 and July 13, 2024.
The list of applicants will be sent to HR for final approval and approved applicants will be notified after July 13, 2024.
Click here for the application form. Please login with your faculty/staff email address (@uml.edu). If you receive an Access Denied error, you are logged in under your student email address (@student.uml.edu). Please log out and log back in with your faculty/staff email address (@uml.edu).
We have prepared a set of Guidelines and an FAQ to help with the process. The Guidelines and FAQs can be found here. Please contact geo@uml.edu with any further questions or concerns!