Gifts to the East Asian Languages Department goes directly to support faculty, students, and department programs. Please write to the Department Chair, Professor Shirane, if you have any questions.
Giving
The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University has long been a leader in the field and prides itself on first-class faculty research, graduate student placement and undergraduate training. Publications by our scholars, and programming from our affiliated centers strive to facilitate a greater understanding of critical issues that we hope to share with our alumni and the field at large.
We are immensely grateful to our patrons and we invite you to join us in this work, by supporting the department with a tax-deductible financial contribution. Giving in small amounts is also important, as these funds add up over time and can extend our resources. Potential donors who have specific ideas should contact the chair directly or the relevant faculty.
Friends of the Department
If you are interested in the study of East Asian Languages and Cultures, the department invites you to join the Friends of the EALAC Department. Friends receive regular electronic notices, including the newsletter reporting on departmental activities, and are invited to many departmental lectures and other events.
We also welcome news from our alumni’s recent experiences and activities for inclusion in our announcements and publications.
To join our list of friends and alumni, please email Anri Vartanov. Please write Friends of the Department on the subject line and include your name, postal address, and area of interest.
Zhongqi Shi teaching third year Chinese
Forms of Support
The department is actively seeking funds for the following areas:
1. Fellowships for undergraduates (both majors and non-majors) who seek to study an East Asian language during the summer. The need for fellowships for Japanese language study abroad is particularly acute. The costs for airfare, tuition, and living expenses for one summer begin at about $8000, depending on the tuition.
2. Fellowships to support graduate students who need to do advanced language study in East Asia during the summer. As with undergraduates, the costs for airfare, tuition, and living expenses for one summer begin at about $8000, depending on tuition.
3. Post-doctoral fellowships in East Asian studies. The post-doctoral fellowship has several major merits. It gives PhD students a temporal cushion while they seek academic positions and allows them to continue to do research and writing at a critical stage in their career. It also gives the department some teaching assistance from an advanced scholar/teacher. Post-doctoral fellowships start at $42,000 a year plus fringe and medical expenses.
Donations for these kinds of fellowships occur in two fundamental forms: 1) spend-down donations bearing the donor’s name that draw on the principal, and 2) endowed fellowships which use only the interest or income on the endowment. Endowments require a $50,000 minimum, but remain for eternity under the donor’s name.
For further information and other types of donations, please write to the chair of the department (Professor Haruo Shirane, at hs14@columbia.edu).
Click here to make your gift to the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures
If you would prefer to make a donation by check, please address your donation to “Columbia University” and send your check to:
Youngmi Jin, Department Administrator
East Asian Languages and Cultures Department
1140 Amsterdam Avenue
Room 407 Kent Hall
New York NY 10027
