Among the tens of millions of people around the world who have been forced from their homes in recent years by violence, persecution, or political instability are many young men and women who have had their education interrupted.
In response, Columbia University has launched a first-of-its-kind scholarship program for displaced students. Administered by Columbia Global Centers, the program will provide financial support for up to thirty students annually, covering full tuition, housing, and cost-of-living expenses at any of the University’s eighteen schools. It is open to foreign nationals who are internally or externally displaced, with refugee status anywhere in the world, as well as people who have either received asylum or submitted an application for asylum in the United States.
“The program sends a powerful message about the role that colleges and universities should be playing to help young people whose educations have been disrupted because they have been forced to flee violence and persecution in their home countries,” says President Lee C. Bollinger.
