Funding and Work Exemption Program Application Instructions

Please carefully review the eligibility for the Summer Funding Programs and Work Exemption Program by visiting each program from our Funding Programs page. Please read the guidelines below and connect with us via cce-funding@columbia.edu if you have further questions.  Remember we are here to support you during the application process.

• As you pursue a Columbia-funded summer opportunity, you will be expected to fully abide by all governmental orders or advisories at the local, state/regional, and national levels  and other public health measures. You will be expected to acknowledge this requirement prior to receiving final funding approval for your Columbia opportunity. Opportunities which require funding for domestic travel are currently eligible.
• Students planning overseas travel should refer to the Undergraduate International Travel Policy website For general information and specific details on Summer 2025 Travel. Applicants with a global opportunity should reach out to cce-funding@columbia.edu to discuss your opportunity further.
• In pursuing a Columbia-funded summer opportunity, you are responsible for coordinating with the organization that is sponsoring your opportunity to make sure they are ensuring compliance with any requisite visa and/or other work authorization requirements, depending on the nature and location of the opportunity.
• We encourage all students with financial need to select “yes” to the first question on the application form which asks if they wish to be considered for the Work Exemption Program. 

Complete the Summer Funding Programs Application. If you receive a funding award, you will be expected to fully abide by all governmental orders or advisories at the local, state/regional, and national levels and other public health measures. This applies to both domestic as well as international locations. You will be expected to acknowledge this requirement prior to receiving final funding approval for your Columbia opportunity..

Please follow all application instructions carefully and review all eligibility requirements before you apply. All application materials, including your letter of recommendation and employer verification forms, are due by the application deadline. You are responsible for reaching out to your letter writer and supervisor to ensure their materials are submitted by the application deadline. 

Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered. Please carefully review these instructions. The link to start your application is at the end of the instructions.
 

1. COMPLETE PART 1 OF THE FUNDING PROGRAM APPLICATION FORM

This will collect your biographical information and your recommender’s information. We strongly urge you to complete this component early to ensure your recommender has sufficient time to submit their letter. 

2. COMPLETE PART 2 OF THE FUNDING PROGRAM APPLICATION FORM

This section will collect your position information. Upon submission, your supervisor will be sent instructions to verify your position and time commitment. We strongly urge you to complete this component as soon as you finalize your position to ensure that your supervisor has sufficient time to verify your opportunity.

In Part II of the application, we ask if you wish to be considered for the Work Exemption Program (WEP). If you are eligible (please check with Financial Aid if you are unsure) and wish to be considered, please answer YES. If you don’t wish to be considered for a  WEP grant, please answer NO.

NOTE: If you are eligible for a WEP grant, you can apply to be considered for BOTH WEP and Summer Funding Program awards.

3. AT THE END OF PART 2, YOU WILL NEED TO UPLOAD YOUR RESUME AND PERSONAL STATEMENT

• Resume  - For resume help, please feel free to utilize CCE’s Quick Question hours or schedule an appointment with a career counselor.

• Personal Statement - Your statement should be limited to three pages, double-spaced. Include the prompts outlined below in your essay to ensure you answer all questions thoroughly.
  NOTE: If you are unable to answer one of the prompts, please be sure to explain WHY you are unable to answer it, rather than simply omitting that information.
   

4. COMPLETE PART 3 OF THE FUNDING PROGRAM APPLICATION FORM

Budget Form — Visit your dashboard to monitor the status of all your application materials. Please note that on the budget form, all reason and rationale fields are limited to 255 characters. You will not be able to submit the form if the fields exceed 255 characters. 

In Part III, we ask if you will only be requesting a Summer WEP award. If you only wish to be considered for a work exemption grant, please answer YES and complete the budget form as indicated, entering $0 for each item.

If you wish to be considered for BOTH a WEP grant AND Summer Funding Programs, please answer NO and be sure to submit your budget expenses for each item.

NOTE: If you originally answered NO to the question in Part II asking if you wish to be considered for the Work Exemption Program (WEP), but do, in fact, wish to be considered, please reach out to cce-funding@columbia.edu to advise us to amend your application.

DESCRIPTION OF THE OPPORTUNITY

• describe the organization, your role, and responsibilities;

• describe your duties, projects to be completed and deadlines; and

• explain why you want to intern at this organization.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• what do you intend to learn from this experience?

• what are your goals and how do they align with your academic interests and/or career plans?

SUPERVISION

• describe the supervision you will receive; detailing the frequency of meetings and planned communication. If you are applying for a remote opportunity, please detail how you and your supervisor will ensure routine communication and the completion of tasks and projects. 

• what kind of instruction, assistance, and training will you receive and from whom? 

• explain how and when you will be evaluated.
  
  We understand that some of this information might not yet have been finalized between you and your supervisor. Please address this prompt to the best of your ability and provide an explanation regarding any pending items that have not yet been determined or on which you are awaiting confirmation.
   

CONCLUSION

• explain why you should be considered for this program; 

• explain how your plans will be affected if you do not receive funding; and

• address your commitment to submitting a donor thank you letter and a reflection project (both will be required at the end of the summer). 

IMPORTANT NOTE
If you are reapplying for an opportunity that is continuing into the next semester, explain if your duties or projects will be changing or if you will be assuming any additional levels of responsibility. Include information about why you are interested in continuing your work at this particular organization. With regards to learning objectives, please respond to these questions: 

1. What did you originally intend to learn through this experience and how have these learning objectives been met? 

2. How have these learning objectives changed or developed? 

3. What new goals have you set for yourself? 

4. How has this experience impacted your academic interests and/or career goals? Additionally, note when and how you have been evaluated and if this supervisory experience will change or remain the same in the upcoming semester. 

Important Information for the SUMMER 2025 Funding Programs.

Students planning overseas travel should refer to the Undergraduate International Travel Policy website for general information and specific details on Summer 2025 Travel.  Applicants with a global opportunity should submit a School Sponsorship application.

As a reminder, please make sure that you have submitted your Program Application at least six weeks prior to departure and your associated School Sponsorship application at least 4 weeks prior to departure. Program Applications can take up to four weeks to approve, depending on the ISOS risk rating for the program country. Students planning an international program are advised to submit a Program Application as soon as possible. You can read more about travel requirements during summer ’25 on the Undergraduate International Travel Policy website. 

Here are instructions for submitting the program application:

1. When submitting a program application, please you the following naming convention: [Last Name][Center for Career Education (CCE)][Internship / opportunity type][2025]
2. Choose Summer 2025 as the term / year
3. Select “Center for Career Education” plus other relevant departments for “department/office”

Global Travel maintains a list of country risk ratings, which is updated weekly. All Columbia affiliates are required to check risk ratings and Columbia University Travel Restrictions when planning their travel.

For students travelling to countries with elevated evacuation status as classified by ISOS, their proposed travel will have to go through additional review steps:

1. Each student’s itinerary and ISOS itinerary review will be sent to the undergraduate travel review committee (UTRC) for vetting and endorsement
2. Once / if the UTRC endorses a student’s itinerary, the program will be sent to Deans of the students’ schools (CC/GS/SEAS) for vetting and endorsement
3. Once / if the Dean(s) approve the program, the program will be sent to the provost for final approval. The provost office requires the trip to be submitted to them at least 30 days before departure, and the previous steps may take about 3 weeks total as well.
   • As part of the provostial review process, all students participating in the trips will need to fill out the Elevated Travel Risk Approval Request Form and send it to utrc@columbia.edu

Given these steps, we would recommend that students submit their proposed trips for approval at least three months before travel (so latest around mid to late-February if students begin travel after finals). 

Once your program has been approved, please be sure to fill out an associated School Sponsorship application if you did not do so when submitting your Program Application. It is recommended to fill out both the Program Application and School Sponsorship application at the same time.

 Once you have received confirmation of your School Sponsorship, log back into the Undergraduate Travel Web App to complete the following requirements:

1. Online Pre-Departure Orientation
2. Sign the Assumption of Risk, Waiver, and Release form
3. Register your travel (including all side trips) through International SOS
4. Confirm that you will abide by Columbia policies while abroad and certify health insurance coverage
5. Complete and/or adhere to any additional safety protocol measures recommended by the Undergraduate Travel Review Committee.

To avoid dean’s disciplinary action, these requirements must be completed no later than two weeks prior to your departure. 

If you have any questions, please contact us at cce-funding@columbia.edu or the Undergraduate Travel Review Committee at utrc@columbia.edu.

Summer Funding stipends will be disbursed in one installment by late May. A stipend processed through a student account can be issued by direct deposit or by check. We strongly encourage students to receive their stipends by direct deposit. To do so, you must register via Student Services Online (SSOL) in advance. For information on setting up direct deposit, see here. 

For information on taxes, please see here.

International students should review the following information regarding stipend payments. For international students, please note the IRS generally requires taxes be withheld at the rate of 14% and the scholarship/fellowship amounts be reported to both the IRS and the student on IRS Form 1042-S. Only those international students who are eligible for tax treaty benefits are exempted from tax withholding on the non-qualified amounts. For more information, please send an email to Carlos Lira-Coppa at cil1@columbia.edu or call 212-851-2849.

***APPLICANTS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THEIR APPLICATION STATUS THE WEEK OF MAY 5, 2025. IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE YOUR NOTIFICATION BY FRIDAY, MAY 9 at 3:00 PM, PLEASE CONTACT US AT CCE-FUNDING@COLUMBIA.EDU.***