SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

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Travel Grant Program

SIPA provides internship grants to qualifying students to help defray the costs of unpaid or low paid internships overseas. The application deadline is Friday, April 20, 2012.

Student Eligibility

  1. Student must be matriculated at SIPA or in a dual degree program with SIPA;
  2. Student must be in a full-time program and in good academic standing;
  3. Student must be returning to SIPA or the dual degree university in the fall semester; and
  4. Student must never have received an OCS travel grant.

Internship Eligibility

  1. The internship must be relevant to ongoing coursework and provides professional work experience.
  2. "Independent study" internships or academic courses abroad are not eligible.
  3. Total compensation for the internship from the internship organization or other funding sources (e.g., Columbia University Institutes, Foundations, FLAS Fellowships) is less than US $3,000.
  4. Domestic internships are not eligible, even if they have an international component.
  5. Only summer internship positions are eligible.
  6. Positions must be a minimum of six weeks in duration.
  7. Internships in student's family-owned organizations are not eligible.
  8. Travel to a country of which the student is a citizen does not qualify, unless the student is also a permanent resident (green card holder or citizen) of the US and will provide proof of this status.

Application Requirements:

  1. Complete the online OCS Travel Grant Application.
  2. Submit a letter from the internship organization on its letterhead. This letter must: confirm the internship; (ii) specify the duties to be undertaken by the intern (internship duties may be listed in a separate document); (iii) specify the duration of the internship and hours per week; (iv) specify whether internship will be paid or unpaid;  (v) if paid, specify salary or stipend; and (vi) location of internship.
  3. Download and submit a signed copy of the Travel Grant Eligibility Agreement
  4. Download and submit a signed copy of the Travel Grant School Disclaimer Agreement
  5. Read the Travel Safety Information, Current Travel Warnings and Health and Insurance Information (you will be required to confirm that you have reviewed these sites on the online travel application).
  6. All international students must download, complete and submit a copy of the Attestation Form for Receiving Grants and Stipends

IMPORTANT: Your application will not be considered complete or eligible unless you submit all of the required documents to OCS by the application deadline.

Disbursement Instructions

OCS Travel Grants are disbursed in mid-May.  The award is paid as a stipend with applicable taxes.  The funds will be credited to student SSOL accounts within 2-3 weeks of award notification.

We strongly recommend you set up direct deposit with Columbia University through SSOL, as this is the fastest way to receive funds. If you do not have direct deposit arranged, a paper check will be cut. Checks will not be available for pick up, rather they will be mailed to the current address that is on file in SSOL.  Please note that this may pose a problem if you are not at that residence over the summer.

If you have set up direct deposit with Columbia University:  You should receive the funds in your bank account within a week of the funds appearing in your SSOL account.

If you do not have direct deposit with Columbia University:  A check will be sent to you within approximately one week of the credit appearing on your SSOL account.

If you have direct deposit already set up but would prefer a paper check:  You must go to Student Financial Services (205 Kent Hall) to cancel your direct deposit and request a check.

PLEASE NOTE: Canceling your direct deposit will cancel the process for all Columbia payments to your account. You will have to complete another direct deposit form to reactivate the process for the fall semester.

DUAL DEGREE STUDENTS: If you are a dual degree student, you may not see the award immediately as the funds are disbursed to your dual degree department or university and it must post the funds to your account.