UW Health provides funds to the Department of Medicine in support of our academic mission. The Department of Medicine has determined that the primary purpose of these academic discretionary funds is to support career development of Faculty and APPs and faculty mentored projects by:
- Covering publication fee expenses
- Offering travel expense assistance for meetings or conferences where you are presenting
- Paying for other professional development opportunities
If you have grant funding or other discretionary funding (e.g., startup, bridge, pilot, UWH professional funds) that would cover your requested expense, those funds must be used first.
Requests by a single individual cannot exceed $5,000 in a fiscal year (July 1–June 30).
Appropriate Fund Uses
- Publication fees when you are the first or senior author. Publication fees must be paid for with a UW purchasing card or a direct payment. Do not use personal funds to pay for these items, as UW cannot reimburse for them.
- Presenting at meetings. Travel expense reimbursement may be provided for faculty serving as a first/senior author on an oral or poster presentation at a scientific meeting, or when the faculty is giving an invited talk or is serving in an official role within the organization. Travel must be booked on the UW side—please see our Travel Planning and Policies page for full details.
- Professional development. Registration or course fees for an educational training, seminar, or meeting. For fees related to obtaining a professional certification, the certification pre-approval request form is required and should be included with your request to use these funds.
To obtain approval to use these funds, please complete and submit the Academic Discretionary Funds Form. You will receive an email notifying you of the decision.
Once awarded, academic discretionary funds are available to spend on the UW side and must follow UW purchasing guidelines. It is preferred to pay for expenses directly with a UW pcard. Please contact your divisional accountant if you need assistance connecting with a cardholder.