Visiting Scholar FAQs

Once you have secured a faculty sponsor, you must be able to prove sufficient funding for the length of your stay. The University requires a bank statement indicating the amount of funds available in your account. In addition, you must procure a letter from your university or company indicating your status and the amount of funds, if any, it will be contributing to your research. Please note that the total of all grants, savings and salary must be enough to cover the following:

• $3,000 per month for the visiting scholar
• $1,000 per month for a spouse
• $500 per month for each child

For instance, you would need to show $4,300 per month if you were to come with your spouse and one child.

Make an appointment with a staff member at the Chazen Institute by email or by calling (212) 854-4750 to obtain a general overview of Columbia Business School along with necessary paperwork. After that, please visit the ISSO office.

In order to access all Columbia University buildings, you must have a Columbia University ID card. When you visit the Chazen office, we will provide you with a letter to get the CUID card free of charge. After you have met with the Chazen officer, please proceed to 3270 Broadway with your Chazen letter and official letter from the provost.

The Columbia University community is served by CUIT. In order to access and use the University's computing network, you must have a network ID (UNI) and password. Your UNI and instructions for activating your UNI will be sent to you with your official acceptance letter from the provost.

All Columbia University libraries are accessible with a CUID card. To obtain library borrowing privileges, the Chazen Institute will give you a letter to present at the Library Information Office in 201 Butler Library.

Scholars may audit a limited number of classes with the permission of the instructor. Scholars are not permitted to audit oversold classes. To determine if a class is oversold, please contact the Chazen Institute first before asking permission from the business school instructor. Visiting scholars are here to work on their own independent research and as auditors are observers to the class. Since they are not full-time students, there is a limit to the number of classes visiting scholars are able to audit at one time.

U.S. Department of State regulations require all J-1 visa holders and their dependents to have health insurance, with specified minimum coverage, while in the United States. We encourage you to review the University's information on this.

Housing in New York City is expensive and difficult to obtain, so be sure to allow ample time to arrange a place of residence. Unfortunately scholars are not eligible for university housing. Some useful links for your housing search follow:

• International House: A residence specifically intended for international scholars and students.
• Craig's List: An online community that offers real estate and more.

The difference between the three designations is determined by the type of research that the visitor will be pursuing. Visiting Scholars are not permitted to represent themselves as having a formal Columbia affiliation, are not permitted to partake in collaborative research, and must be pursuing their own, independent study, whereas Officers of Research or Staff Officers of Research are permitted to collaborate with Columbia Faculty and may represent themselves as having a formal visiting Columbia affiliation. All three designations provide the scholar with library access and borrowing privileges, a temporary Columbia University ID and email address, and the option to audit up to two open courses per semester.

Some examples of collaborative research include, but are not limited to; coauthoring papers, chapters or books, collecting and analyzing data together, or co-PIs on grant(s). The Chazen Institute and the Dean's Office have the final decision in choosing the proper designation for the applicant.