WEAI Funding Opportunities

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute offers funding for research, language acquisition, unpaid internships during the summer and dissertation write-up funding during the academic year to selected Columbia University students committed to professional and academic engagement with East, Southeast, and Inner Asia.

For a list of WEAI fellowships and grants, please visit the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral student funding pages listed below. Eligibility varies depending on the particular funding opportunity, so students should review the application requirements carefully before applying.

Online application for all fellowships: weai.smapply.io

For Summer 2024 and Academic Year 2024-2025, applications open on February 2, 2024 (updated from January 19) and close on March 11, 2024 (updated from March 8). 

 

Funding for Undergraduate Students

 

Funding for Master's Students

 

Funding for Doctoral Students

 

Students may submit an online fellowship application at weai.smapply.io/. 

Required application materials: 

  • Application form 
  • Project proposal (1-2 pages for all summer grants, 3-4 pages for dissertation write-up grants)
  • CV
  • Detailed project budget
  • Official Columbia University transcript
  • letter of recommendation from a Columbia/Barnard faculty member or instructor *unless otherwise stated
  • If your project is an internship, a letter from the host organization confirming your internship (can be submitted after application)
  • If your project is language acquisition, a letter from the program confirming your acceptance (can be submitted after application)  
  • Additional fellowship-specific materials (if applicable)

* The Weatherhead Ph.D. Training Grant and EALAC Summer Grant do not require letters of recommendation. Dissertation Write-Up Grants require two letters of recommendation. All other grants (including all Undergraduate and Master's grants) require one letter of recommendation.

  1. Applications generally open in early February and close in early March of each year.

  2. Students can apply for multiple grants and fellowships using the same application platform.

  3. Fellowship and grant recipients must be current Columbia University students during the term of the funded project. Students graduating in May are not eligible for summer funding.

  4. One set of Columbia transcripts and reference letters may be submitted for application to multiple grants and fellowships 

  5. Students seeking funding for an unpaid internship may apply for the grant even if they have not yet secured an internship; however, any grant offer would be contingent upon confirmation of the internship. If arrangements with a potential organization are at an advanced stage at the time of the application deadline, students are encouraged to provide relevant documentation (email correspondence, letter from the potential host organization, etc.) with the rest of their application materials.

  6. Application materials will not be returned.

  7. Only application materials requested for each fellowship and grant will be reviewed.

  8. Application materials received after the deadline will not be considered.

  9. A committee of Weatherhead East Asian Institute faculty members makes all fellowship and grant determinations.

  10. Fellowship and grant awards will be announced as soon as possible, no later than the end of April.

  11. Students who receive an award will be required to submit a one to two page summary of their supported project activities by the end of the grant period.

  12. Grantees agree to comply with Columbia University’s policies on human subject research, if applicable. Information can be found here.

  13. Grantees must report to the Weatherhead East Asian Institute any additional funds, such as another grant they receive in support of the same activities. The total amount of funding received for the project must not exceed the limits dictated by the student’s school. Should a student receive multiple sources of funding for the same project, the WEAI will adjust or withdraw the amount granted to the student so as to remain below the cap dictated by the student’s school.

** Recipients of any of the above awards must report to the Weatherhead East Asian Institute any additional funds, such as another grant, that they receive in support of the same activities. The total amount of funding received for the project must not exceed the limits dictated by the student's school. Should a student receive multiple sources of funding for the same project, the WEAI will adjust or withdraw the amount granted to the student so as to remain below the cap dictated by the student's school.