Weatherhead East Asian Institute staff have received a number of messages from students regarding summer fellowships in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. We certainly appreciate the concern that these exceptional circumstances have raised for our students. Rest assured, we are actively working with our faculty and administrative leadership to determine the best way to move forward considering this rapidly evolving situation.
In accordance with students’ concerns, the deadline for WEAI and EALAC summer and academic year fellowship funding has been extended. The online application system will remain open until 12:00 AM EST on Friday, March 20th. This will give applicants an additional week to formulate a contingency plan in the case that international travel remains restricted by early summer, while still allowing the Institute to adhere to its administrative timetable for determining and awarding funds.
Any applicants for summer funding are encouraged to upload a separate PDF proposal and budget related to their contingency plan to their preexisting application under the Additional Fellowship-Specific Materials section of the online application. There is no need to submit a second application. This documentation will be included automatically with the student’s application and will be reviewed by the faculty committee. This option is far more efficient than requiring students to create a second application.
Students who have already submitted their application for summer funding and would like to append a contingency plan proposal to their application may send a PDF document directly to km3332@columbia.edu before the updated deadline.
