Student Professional Development Fund

• A student requesting funds must be in good academic standing at the time of the event and at the time of the submission of a completed application.
• Students are eligible to submit an Application after they have successfully completed their first semester at Stetson Law.
• Visiting students and students who reside outside of the Tampa Bay area are not eligible to apply.

A student will be limited to a total distribution of $500 per semester, with a maximum distribution of $1,000 during the student’s educational tenure at Stetson University College of Law.

A student may apply for more than one allocation per semester, but may not receive more than two allocations per semester, with a maximum of three allocations during the student’s educational tenure at Stetson University College of Law.

• Each student requesting funds must submit a preliminary Student Professional Development Fund Financial Support Application (“Application”) to determine eligibility for reimbursement. The completed Application must be submitted to the Office of Career and Professional Development by the publicized deadline in order to be considered.
• After attending the approved event, a student must submit a completed Feedback Form that provides details of the event, experiences surrounding the event, and a summary of the expenses incurred. A Travel Expense Spreadsheet should be used to clearly calculate and describe expenses incurred. 
• Along with the Feedback Form and Travel Expense Spreadsheet, Students must submit receipts or proof of payment via email. Loose receipts will not be accepted.

• Scholarly presentations
• Job interviews
• Award acceptances
• Law conferences or symposia (or other relevant conferences or symposia for dual-degree students)
• Other significant law-related events (or other relevant events for dual-degree students)
• The Committee will consider funding elements involved with attending an event including, but not limited to, transportation, accommodations, and conference fees. 

Funding typically will not include:

• Meals
• Tips
• Entertainment
• Parking
• Incidentals such as internet fees or long-distance phone calls. 

• The Student Professional Development Fund Committee will make a call for applications at least once a semester and during the summer term. 
• The Committee will have the authority to make a funding decision based solely on the written application.
• The Committee may ask applicants to provide more information about the request, and may ask to meet (as a committee) with any applicant
• the Application will not be considered to be complete until receipts and the Feedback Form have been provided, and the event has taken place.
• All funding is by reimbursement; advance payment requests will not be considered.

• Do your research before submitting the Application. Find out as much as you can about the costs of the hotel stay, transportation to and from the event, and fees involved.
• Be prepared to justify why you should be funded for the event. You may not receive all the money you ask for.  Be sure you can afford to pay for the remainder of the trip and know how much you can reasonably afford before applying.
• The Fund is designed to provide seed money for you to attend events, not pay for the entire cost.  Please keep this in mind when you are making your request.
• The Committee will only fund accommodations for the length of time it is reasonable for participation in event. 
• The more reasonable you are with the amount of funds you request, the more likely your request will be fulfilled.  The committee favors applications evidencing a commitment to mitigating expenses. 

Please contact Lindsey Lamb, Associate Director of Career and Professional Development with any questions ([email protected])