We welcome Visiting Scholars to participate fully in the creative and intellectual community of the Department.
Per the Office of the Provost, faculty and researchers from other academic institutions or researchers or professionals from industry, museums, or other entities who want to use University facilities to pursue their own independent research with no collaboration with or mentorship from Columbia faculty or officers of research should be designated a visiting scholar.
The Visiting Scholar designation is a courtesy designation which carries no formal association with the University. Visiting scholars may not claim a University affiliation for the purpose of applying for grants and contracts or in publications or other correspondences. Since persons with this designation do not hold appointments, they receive a special Columbia University identification card which allows them limited library borrowing privileges. They are not given office space and are not entitled to administrative assistance. Visiting scholars/scientists are responsible for arranging for their own financial support and benefits.
In exceptional circumstances graduate students enrolled in a degree-granting program in the Humanities, Social Sciences, or certain professional fields at another academic institution who want to use University facilities to pursue their own independent research for their Master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation without any collaboration, training, or mentorship from Columbia faculty or officers of research may be designated a visiting scholar/visiting scientist, depending on their field.
Application procedure
Applications will be considered twice a year.
—August 15: for visits starting between January 1-May 31
—January 15: for visits starting between September 1-December 31
Applications submitted after these deadlines will not be considered.
To apply, and after consulting a faculty member in the Department of French about your visit and confirming their sponsorship, please provide the following for departmental committee review to the Director of Academic Administration and Finance (Nicole Meily, [email protected]) and the Manager of Academic Operations (Troy Freeman-Cheng, [email protected]) WITH your proposed faculty sponsor in cc.
- Curriculum vitae
- Research proposal - this proposal must outline the specific research you plan to do within the context of their overall research project while using the University’s libraries or other research facilities AND its relevance to the department’s larger mission. Please see the Office of the Provost page above.
- Invitation letter from your faculty sponsor that indicates a willingness to host pending Provost office approval.
- Acceptable evidence of English Language Proficiency.
- Proposed dates of your visit. The length of a visit can be up to one year.
- Indication of whether or not a J-1 visa will be necessary for your visit. Please note that Visiting Scholars should not enter the U.S. as tourists
- If you are funded for the proposed period, provide information on the source of support. If you are in the process of seeking funding and require us to attest that we will accept you as a visitor (sometimes the case with Fulbright and other fellowships), we will do so after we have approved your application.
Please note that all applications for the Visiting Scholar designation are subject to the approval of the Department of French, the Office of the Executive Vice President of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Provost, and the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO).
Columbia University is on summer break from mid-May through August 31 every year. During the summer we do not have faculty meetings and cannot act on Visiting Scholar requests. In general, we discourage such requests during the summer months, although you may make individual inquiries with possible faculty sponsors for your proposal.
The Department does not cover the administrative fee for processing the J-1 visa, nor does the Department offer funding support for the duration of a visiting scholar's stay. You or your home/sponsoring institution are expected to cover the fees.
**Please be aware that the review and approval process may take several months.**
- Please note that Columbia University provides no financial compensation, assistance, or support, and no health insurance, to Visiting Scholars. We cannot provide office space, support services, or other major resources. A visiting appointment is a courtesy status, with very limited privileges beyond the affiliation as such.
- Visiting Scholars are generally not expected (nor generally encouraged) to attend classes or seminars, but may do so as auditors only, and with the individual instructor permission only.
- All visitors must have a "sponsoring" faculty member during their residency. We generally show preference for visitors whose work is of direct enough interest to at least one member of our faculty to incline them to undertake such sponsorship(s). If you already have a relationship with (or a referral to) a faculty member, approach that person first to determine their interest in sponsoring your Visiting status. The duties of such a faculty sponsor are minimal, and not a major imposition in terms of time or effort. But the sponsor provides a point of contact for the visitor in case of difficulties, or if communication is required between the Department and the visitor's home institution.
- All visiting Scholars are asked to present their work to one of the centers or working groups affiliated with the department, i.e. the Maison française; the Early Modern Salon or the Beyond France workshop. Their faculty mentor will help to make the arrangements.
- Visiting Scholars do not teach in any formal capacity at Columbia while they have Visiting status. (Do not confuse the status of "Visiting Scholar" with the appointed status of "Visiting Professor." A Visiting Scholar is not considered to be a member of the faculty of Columbia University in any sense, at any time, and should never claim otherwise.)
- Per University policy, former and current visiting scholars SHOULD NOT claim to have a Columbia University affiliation for such professional purposes as conference presentations, media appearances, or publications.