In 2020, the University Committee on Asia and the Middle East (UCAME) announced the Allison Busch Memorial Language Study Fellowship, to honor the late Allison Busch, Professor of Hindi Literature in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. The fellowship supports international undergraduate students at Columbia and Barnard Colleges, and the Schools of Engineering and General Studies. The fellowship is meant to support students studying a language of South Asia during the summer.
Busch Fellows must attend an approved program of intensive summer language study for a minimum of six weeks and 140 hours of classroom contact. Applicants must have already completed a minimum of one year of language study, and a competition preference will be given to students who plan to attain an Advanced level of proficiency upon finishing their degrees.
The fellowship consists of between $5,000 to $10,000 to cover tuition, travel, and living expenses to attend an intensive summer language institute in the US or abroad. This includes online classes in 2025. Note that this grant does not cover travel expenses for online courses. Funding is limited to two students per year.
Language of Study
Students may study Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, and others South Asian languages, i.e., Marathi,
Telugu, Sinhala, etc. Students must study at the Intermediate or Advanced levels. Students with Advanced Proficiency in one language of South Asia may apply to study at the Elementary level for a second language.
How to Apply
Applications must include the application form, a statement of purpose (no more than three pages), a current transcript including Spring 2025 term enrollment. Applicants must include also a summer budget which may include tuition, books and materials, housing, airfare and local travel, and living expenses. Applicants may include a resume with the application, but it is not required to apply. The application page must include the following: name, address, telephone, and email contact; Columbia UNI; School and major (undeclared majors may apply); date of entrance to Columbia and anticipated date of graduation; country of citizenship; language and level to be studied during the fellowship term; and the name and URL of the language you plan to attend. The statement of purpose can be used to talk about your academic and career goals, research interests, and how the pursuit of language skills fit into those plans.
Download the 2025 Application Form Here
Applications, and questions, can be sent to Jess Rechtschaffer at jr650@columbia.edu.