Emergency Funding for International Students

December 22, 2020

Dear Students:

I write to follow up on my announcement below regarding the federal CARES Act funds being made available to the School of the Arts to help alleviate expenses due to COVID-related disruption of campus operations. Because these funds are provided by the Federal Government, as with all federal student aid, they are available only to US Citizens and Permanent Residents. That being said, we understand the many challenges the pandemic has presented to our international student population. We will therefore do our best to ensure that an equivalent allocation will be made available for our international students. We will send out more information on the distribution of these funds in the new year.

Wishing you all a restorative break and the best for the coming year. Carol

Carol Becker
Professor of the Arts
Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

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Dear Students:

This afternoon, the University announced the decision to accept the CARES Act funding allocated through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

To be eligible for CARES Act funds, students must be registered and eligible for federal financial aid, generally defined as US citizenship or other non-citizen eligibility. Students who have not submitted a 2020-21 FAFSA will be required to do so to be considered for CARES funding. To align with the methodology of the US Department of Education's allocation to Columbia, the University will allocate the majority of the funds to undergraduate students, with a smaller portion of the funds available to the professional and graduate schools.

Priority will be given to eligible students with substantial need or who demonstrate extenuating circumstances due to the pandemic to assist with eligible expenses, as described under the CARES Act. Such expenses include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care.

Eligible students who recently applied for the third round of Student Relief Fund grants will automatically be considered for CARES Act Funding (additional information may be required).

All students will receive additional information about the awarding process in early January 2021. General information about the grant can be found here: https://www.sfs.columbia.edu/content/cares-act-higher-education-emergency-relief-fund.

We hope you have a restful break. Wishing you all the best for the New Year,

Carol

Carol Becker
Professor of the Arts
Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

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