Professional Development Fund

Professional Development Fund (PDF)

Instructions 

The Professional Development Fund (PDF) is a scholarship offered by UC Davis SAVMA for veterinary students. The PDF assists veterinary students by awarding funding to students who have incurred expenses by attending professional conferences or seminars, symposia, participating in research projects, externships, or any other pertinent veterinary related experience outside of school. Students who receive funding will be notified and provided a check in their homeroom mailbox.

For each funding period, the SAVMA Vice President will announce the due date for the PDF application via email to the whole veterinary student body. Every applicant must submit a completed online form that will be linked in that email. Any form that is incomplete or does not fulfill the requirements will not be considered for funding during that period. 

The online application form will prompt you for:

1. SAVMA ID number and contact information
2. Experience start date, end date, and other information
3. List of expenditures and amounts
4. A written description of your experience
5. Receipts showing highlighted expenses (pictures or PDFs of receipts or bank statements)
6. Proof of attendance (photo of yourself at the event, name badge, letter/email from supervising veterinarian, etc.)

Application Requirements

1. Applicants must be SAVMA members who have incurred expenses by attending a veterinary related experience outside of school.
2. Applicants apply after the experience is completed and within the funding period that the experience took place. For example, if an applicant went to a conference June 12 - June 14, they would apply during the Summer period. 
   1. Exception: If the experience ended within a week of the application closing, then the applicant can either apply during that funding period or wait until the next funding period opens. For example, if an applicant went to a conference January 3 - January 5, they can either apply during the Fall period, which closes on January 7, or wait until the Spring period opens on January 8.
3. Applicants can apply once per funding period, but can combine multiple experiences into one application if claiming $400 or less, total.
4. Applicants can receive up to $400 yearly, in the funding cycle of Fall, Spring, and Summer. Applicants can apply for less than $400 at a time, and may apply again for another experience(s) in a different funding period until they receive $400 total. The funding totals will be reset at the end of every Summer period. The start of the Fall period will be considered the start of the year. For example, if a student receives $400 in the Spring period, they cannot receive funding until the following Fall period. 
5. Eligible expenses include airline tickets, hotel/lodging costs, commuting costs (gas, rental car, rideshare, public transport), admission costs to conferences/symposiums/training courses, and required educational materials for a training course.
6. Ineligible expenses include food, gifts, or other extraneous costs unrelated to the educational experience.
7. Paid experiences (ex. paid externship job) are not eligible for funding.
8. Applicants must complete the online form and include receipts and proof of attendance.

2023-2024 Funding Periods

If you have any questions please contact SAVMA Vice President Hannah Blackwell (hkblackwell@ucdavis.edu). 

Fall 2024 Application Form

Update: The Professional Development Fund is supplemented by ALL for Students. Thank you for your contribution!