GSAS and the Arts and Science Graduate Council (ASGC) have partnered to create a GSAS Community COVID-19 Emergency Fund for registered master’s and doctoral students in Arts and Sciences programs who have urgent and time-sensitive COVID-19-related financial emergencies that cannot be addressed by any other source. Grants may vary in amount but will not exceed $500.
Additional Resources
GSAS has compiled a list of Columbia University, government, and other resources that may be sufficient for addressing some of the emergency needs that are most common among graduate students. Before applying to the limited GSAS Community COVID-19 Emergency Fund, please visit this page to review resources for:
- Housing insecurity
- Food insecurity
- Loss of income
- Childcare resources
If these resources are not sufficient for meeting your current emergency need, we invite you to apply to the Emergency Fund.
Eligibility: Who Can Apply
- Students must be currently registered in an Arts and Sciences MA, PhD, or DMA program.
- Expenses must be immediate and directly related to the student. Expenses that are anticipated beyond May 31, 2020, do not qualify for the Emergency Fund.
- Expenses must be for new circumstances that are clearly related to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Selection: How Grantees Are Selected
The fund is intended to meet a variety of needs. Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis provided that they meet the “Eligibility” criteria above. Priority is reserved for those cases in which the applicant does not have access to additional means. Applications will be evaluated based on the criteria below.
- Is the expressed need immediate?
- Is the need directly related to COVID-19?
- Does the need pertain directly to the student’s own or a dependent’s circumstances versus someone else’s (such as a roommate or partner)?
- Does the applicant have existing debt that has been significantly exacerbated by COVID-19?
- Does the need arise from medical, health-related, or other personal conditions that have caused additional financial strain as a result of COVID-19?
- Has the applicant exhausted all other possible resources, including personal assets, family and personal networks, and the various Columbia and public/government/community resources listed in the Emergency Fund application instructions?
Following is a list of examples of the kinds of circumstances that would warrant relief from the Emergency Fund:
- A student who has expended resources to provide care for a dependent or other family member that otherwise would not have been necessary outside of COVID-19 and is not covered by any other source.
- A student who experiences a loss of income from not being able to report to work in-person during stay-at-home order, resulting in inability to pay for food and/or rent.
- A student who needed to evacuate from field research site to return home immediately, incurring unanticipated expenses from substantially increased airfare and change fees.
Application Instructions
Applicants must complete this online formby Thursday, April 23, 2020 for full consideration. Applications must be accompanied by any supporting documentation such as receipts and affidavits to substantiate the request. Review of applications will begin immediately following this deadline.
If additional funds remain, a second round of applications may ensue. Each student is permitted to apply only once.
Documentation Required
- Upon Application
- Detailed description of how COVID-19 has affected student’s circumstances and created this emergent need.
- Estimated expenses through May 31, 2020, demonstrating impact from COVID-19.
- Other documentation as applicable to the specific nature of the request.
- Upon Request
- Applicants may be asked to verify monthly expenses, debts, or personal exigencies resulting from COVID-19 (this information will be kept confidential, viewed only by GSAS administration).
Funding
This limited fund was seeded through contributions from the Arts and Science Graduate Council (ASGC) and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). GSAS alumni and Arts and Science departments have made additional donations that will be added to this fund to further expand its reach to students who are in need of emergency support. We are grateful for these donations, and proud of the expression of community solidarity that these collective efforts convey.
Contributors
- Anthropology
- Art History
- Biological Sciences
- Classics
- Climate and Society
- CSER/American Studies
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
- East Asian Languages and Cultures
- Economics
- English and Comparative Literature
- French and Roman Philology
- Germanic Languages
- Global Thought
- Harriman Institute
- History
- Human Rights
- Italian
- Latin American and Iberian Cultures
- Mathematics
- Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
- Middle East Institute
- Music
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Slavic Languages
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Weatherhead East Asian Institute