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Student Fellowships
Thanks to the generous support of our alumni and friends who havToday, the average student in financial need graduates with $60,000 of debt. Only 36% of our students receive fellowship support from SIPA, and the average award is $15,000-a small fraction of the total cost of a SIPA education. This means that many deserving students cannot attend SIPA at all, while many who do, postpone the careers in the public and not-for-profit sectors they aspire to for years while they pay off their loans.
Through the generosity of donors, friends and alumni, we hope to increase the proportion of students receiving aid to 50% over the next 5 years and we hope to increase the size of the average award by $5000. Increased student aid will allow SIPA to reach a diverse pool of talented students from the developed and developing world, many of whom cannot attend SIPA without financial support.
Individuals and organizations can participate in SIPA's Fellowship program in the following ways:
Endowed Named Fellowship for Specific Study with a gift of $250,000, friends to SIPA can establish a named and endowed student fellowship for a specific course of study. A restricted fellowship may also be designated to support students from a specific region of the world. Endowed fellowship support is a powerful way to acknowledge the importance of higher education in the field of public policy, by providing tuition assistance which exists in perpetuity for SIPA and its students.
Endow a Named Fellowship for General Study with a gift of $100,000, friends to SIPA can establish a named and endowed student fellowship to be awarded to students on the basis of merit and need. As an endowed fellowship, your gift will exist in perpetuity at SIPA, acknowledging the importance of higher education in the field of public policy.
Join the Global Fellowship Fund The Global Leaders Fellowship Fund was established to build support from a community of donors, who recognize the need for student fellowships at SIPA. As a general endowment fund, the Global Leaders Fellowship fund will provide an opportunity to increase the returns available for student fellowship support through cumulative contributions to the Global Leaders Fellowship fund. Your gift will inspire others to contribute in kind.
We are grateful for the leadership of Paul, Andrea and Lisa Thurman who inaugurated the Global Leaders Fellowship Fund on behalf of SIPA and our students. Gifts to the Global Leaders Fellowship Fund start at $25,000.
For more information on SIPA's Student Fellowship program please contact Melissa Poueymirou at map61@columbia.edu or 212-854-1171.
List of current Named Fellowships