The Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholars Program seeks to develop undergraduate research and leadership skills by supporting first-year students who wish to pursue innovative projects and community engagement that will help them develop the knowledge and skills to serve as future leaders in their respective fields.
The Scholarship Program funds up to 25 undergraduate students over two consecutive summers, before and after the sophomore year in the College. This program is funded by the Laidlaw Foundation, which has instituted similar programs at a number of leading universities in the United States and internationally, creating a robust network of scholars and alumni who are affiliated with the program.
The Scholarship provides 16 months of programming that begins in the spring semester of your first year in the College, and ends in the fall of your junior year in the College. These activities allow you to:
- Develop leadership skills through training and community engagement;
- Develop research and analytical skills and pursue a research project;
- Build your network by collaborating with leaders in your field, be they faculty members or community leaders;
- Learn from an academically talented community of students at Columbia and across the world who are future leaders in fields across the disciplines;
- Strengthen your resume and your competitiveness for future opportunities.
Visit the URF database to view eligibility requirements, the application timeline, and to start an application. Questions about the program should be directed to Ariella Lang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
Learn more about the Laidlaw Foundation and the scholarship by visiting their website.
Current Laidlaw Scholars: For the second summer proposal form click here.
Current Laidlaw Scholars
Class of 2022
- Jaala Alston
ja3318@columbia.edu
Economics; Ethnic and Racial Studies - Darwin Arias
daa2170@columbia.edu
Neuroscience & Behavior - Diogene Artiles
dua2103@columbia.edu
Comparative Literature; Linguistics - Tyler Campbell
t.campbell@columbia.edu
Creative Writing; African American Studies - Michael Duarte
mmd2232@columbia.edu
Economics-Mathematics - Jake Fisher
jcf2187@columbia.edu
Economics-Political Science - Lily Friedland
lhf2116@columbia.edu
Sustainable Development; Public Health - Beatrix Cathryn Geaghan-Breiner
bcg@columbia.edu
History - Devyani Goel
devyani.goel@columbia.edu
Economics; Political Science - Hunter Holland
hwh2114@columbia.edu
Astrophysics - Sean Le Van
sel2183@columbia.edu
Political Science-Statistics - Grace Lim
gyl2106@columbia.edu
Sociology - Chandler Morris
cam2378@gmail.com
Environmental Science - Radhika Patel
rp2918@columbia.edu
Medicine, Literature, and Society - Isaac Pope
imp2116@columbia.edu
Physics - Arya Rao
asr2210@columbia.edu
Biochemistry - Herbert Rimerman
h.rimerman@columbia.edu
Classics - Helen Ruger
hwr2109@columbia.edu
Classics - Sabrina Jade Shih
sjs2281@columbia.edu
Data Science; Human Rights - Beatrice Shlansky
bds2142@columbia.edu
History; Political Science - Malia Simon
ms5753@columbia.edu
Philosophy - Kristoff Smith
ks3664@columbia.edu
Theatre - Daiki Tagami
dt2631@columbia.edu
Statistics; Biology - Steven Zeldin
sdz2109@columbia.edu
Neuroscience and Behavior - Susan Zhou
slz2112@columbia.edu
Economics; Sustainable Development
Laidlaw Alumni
CLASS OF 2021
- Jack Becker
jnb2145@columbia.edu - Heather Hsun Chang
- Donian Chyong
dic2108@columbia.edu - Makena Cosen
mjb2290@columbia.edu - Mary Soledad Craig
msc2214@columbia.edu - Cori Fulcher
cef2164@columbia.edu - Midori Hosoda
mh3793@columbia.edu - Diane Huang
dxh2002@columbia.edu - Julienne Seung Jeong
jsj2133@columbia.edu - Christina E. Lee
cl3578@columbia.edu - Jennifer Gayoung Lee
jgl2153@columbia.edu - Debbie Leung
dsl2162@columbia.edu - Caroline Magalhaes de Toledo
cm3522@columbia.edu - Collins Mokua
cm3696@columbia.edu - Ivana Moore
icm2113@columbia.edu - Klara Pokrzywa
kap2212@columbia.edu - Peter Rutkowski
pfr2112@columbia.edu - Isaac Schott-Rosenfield
is2573@columbia.edu - Manasi Sharma
ms5510@columbia.edu - Jihae Simpkins
jss2256@columbia.edu - Shirley Tan
xmt2001@columbia.edu - Arnav Tandon
at3216@columbia.edu - William Wang
ww2472@columbia.edu - Michael C. Wang
mcw2183@columbia.edu - Alena Zhang
axz2001@columbia.edu