Columbia Global Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program

Benefits & funding

• Gross annual stipends are US$30,000 for fellows hosted in Amman or Santiago and US$25,000 for fellows hosted in Nairobi, before local taxes and insurance deductions.
• The program covers airfare to and from the host-center city. Fellows pay for housing, local transportation, other living expenses, and required health insurance.
• A discretionary supplemental family stipend of US$5,000 may be available to fellows with children.
• Fellows receive office space, internet access, a laptop, meeting facilities, library resources, online research-skills courses, faculty mentorship, and up to 15 business days of paid annual leave.
• The program page also lists a small research and travel fund, academic training, and inclusion in the alumni network.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be displaced scholars whose academic work in the humanities or humanistic social sciences was interrupted. Interdisciplinary researchers, creative writers, artists, and curators are encouraged to apply.
• A PhD in the humanities is normally required. In some cases, applicants with a non-terminal MA or whose PhD study was disrupted may be considered.
• The highest academic degree must normally have been received within the previous 12 years, with exceptions considered for career trajectories or other circumstances.
• Applicants to Amman must currently reside or have resided in the Middle East or North Africa; applicants to Nairobi must currently reside in Sub-Saharan Africa and hold a passport or Conventional Travel Document; applicants to Santiago must currently reside in Latin America or the Caribbean.
• At least intermediate English proficiency is required. No nationality, age, gender, or fixed work-experience requirement is published.
• Full-year in-person participation is preferred. When that is not feasible because of immigration, family, or other circumstances, at least six months must be spent in person at the relevant center.

Application process

1. 1
   Select one Columbia Global Center according to the applicable regional residence route.
2. 2
   Apply through Submittable during an open cycle. The fellowship form is not currently listed because the 2026–27 cycle has closed.
3. 3
   Submit a CV, a personal statement of up to 500 words, a research proposal of up to 600 words with a monthly or quarterly work plan, one writing sample or publication, academic transcripts, and one academic recommendation submitted by the recommender.
4. 4
   Applicants are encouraged to provide documentation of displaced status; Columbia may consider recognized civil, nongovernmental, or international-education documentation when standard documents are unavailable.
5. 5
   Shortlisted applicants are interviewed by a committee of Columbia faculty and local or regional academics.

Program timeline

1. Request for applications issued.

   January 20, 2026

2. Extended application deadline.

   March 24, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT

3. Date not published

   Shortlisted-candidate interviews and decisions.

4. Fellowship begins.

   September 2026

5. After the 12-month fellowship

   Fellows present their completed work publicly.