Does travel get reimbursed if one is an RA?

[Calorific]

I know my question might sound silly but I wouldn't mind asking anyway. Does one's cost of travel get reimbursed by one's program if one is fully sponsored and gets an RA and other scholarships (there is nothing in the offer that suggests this though). Keeping in mind that one is an international student and the cost of relocating from one's country to the US could be extremely prohibitive in some situations, do you think it is alright to inquire about such refunds/reimbursement of travel costs from one's university?

Sincerely,

Calorific

[Gvh]

We are in different fields, but in my experience one only gets reimbursed if they are travelling for work (e.g. conference, site visits), not for relocating to the school's geographic location - I know some programs offer relocation money for new students, but this is not common to all programs. It's probably worth it to just call and ask anyway, though. 

Edited July 21, 2014 by Gvh

[Munashi]

It's probably worth it to just call and ask anyway, though. 

 

^ Definitely this.  I don't think a polite inquiry about whether or not it would be possible to get some relocation money would hurt you.  It may not be available, but you won't know unless you ask.

[TakeruK]

I agree with the others that it doesn't hurt to ask. Most programs in my field will not cover moving expenses for graduate students though, because as others said, travel is generally only covered if it's a work trip, not if it's a relocation. However, I know of one Canadian grad program that does offer $1000 per student for admissions-related travel. However, the $1000 is the total they will reimburse for both the prospective student visit and moving expenses, so you can choose to use it for one or the other (or, what I think the best combo is to use it for travel to visit the school and then use the rest to partially cover moving). So, it's not completely unprecedented!