Each OHMA student is allocated $400 in research, travel and training money, which they can use to be reimbursed for conference or research travel, equipment needs, or professional development.

GSAS provides matching funds for M.A. student research projects. OHMA provides $300 in seed money for a few student research projects selected through a competition each year, which GSAS matches, bringing the total awards to $600 per student. This support can be used for research travel, transcription, technical support, equipment, etc. Information about the program, and the application form, are here.

Our past research grant award recipients include:

*Jonathon Fairhead (2014), 2015

*Fernanda Espinosa (2015), 2015

*Christina Pae (2015), 2015

*Eylem Delkani (2015), 2016

*Lynn Lewis (2017), 2017

*Carlin Zia (2017), 2017

*Nairy AbdElShafy (2018), 2018

*Rebecca Kiil (2018), 2018

*Anne Cardenas (2018), 2019

*Lauren Instenes (2019), 2019

*Courtney Scott (2019), 2021

*Kae Bara Kratcha (2020), 2021

*Margie Cook (2020), 2021

*Chris Pandza (2021), 2021

*Han Powell (2021), 2021

*Lindsay Szper (2022), 2022

*Ru-Jün Zhou (2020), 2023

GSAS provides matching funds for M.A. students who are presenting at conferences. GSAS provides up to $500. Information is available through GSAS and the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC):

Past recipients of the GSAS Conference Matching Travel Fund include:

*Benji de la Piedra (2014), 2015

*Nora Waters (2018), 2019

Note that in order to take advantage of this GSAS and GSAC funding you must be presenting at a conference, so you would need to plan ahead and submit a proposal well in advance to be eligible for it. 

OHMA offers conference travel funding for at least one alumni each year, supporting presentations on completed theses and new oral history work. Our past Alumni Conference Travel Award recipients include:

*Cindy Choung (2009), 2016

*Svetlana Kitto (2009), 2018

*Lynn Lewis (2017), 2018

*Carlin Zia (2017), 2019

*Benji de la Piedra (2014), 2023

*Rebecca Kiil (2018), 2023

*Nairy AbdElShafy (2018), 2023

A number of our students have also met success applying to outside funding to help support their thesis work:

Crowdfunding

*Katy Morris (2011), 2012: Wild Abandon: A Documentation of Wyoming Lesbians - Kickstarter

*Allison Corbett (2013), 2014: Failure to Materialize: An Oral History of Puente de Fierro, A Memorial that Never Was - Indigogo

Blinken European Institute Summer Travel Grants

Erica Fugger (2012), 2013: Listening Deeply: An Oral History of the Riverside Sangha

Cameron Vanderscoff (2013), 2014: The Relational Author: Ethics, Care, & Responsibility in Oral History

The Columbia library system has over twenty-two physical libraries and also hosts many electronic resources.

Click here to learn how to use the Columbia Center for Oral History collection at Butler Library.

A useful resource for some OHMA students is the Data Service, operated by the Digital Social Science Center. It is a lab and service point for users doing quantitative work and needing assistance with either GIS or statistical software. It also helps provide access to a large number of data collections.

Columbia pays for access to most of the online academic databases, so students can access any of them easily, and without logging in, if you access them on the Columbia campus. If at home or somewhere else, Columbia affiliates can still access all of the same resources, but must connect through Columbia using their UNI. There are two ways to do this:

1. Go to the "databases" section on the library website and select whichever database you wish to use. You can also access E-journals etc, by clicking on the "E-Resources" tab at the top of the page. When attempting to connect to the database, it should prompt you to enter your UNI and password.

2. On the Columbia home page, search in the upper right search box for the name of the database you wish to use, and go to the first result in the results page. For example, if you search JSTOR - it will take you to this, and then click "Connect."

Consultants at the Writing Center will work with you on any type of writing, at any stage in the process. Students may even visit the Writing Center to brainstorm. Consultants are also willing to help you read difficult texts or create outlines. There are limited drop-in hours, as well as appointment times. Try to make an appointment about a week before you would like to visit the Writing Center, as they can be very busy, especially around midterms and finals seasons. For more information and to make an appointment, see their website. 

A four-module asynchronous course to assist students in the basics of a job search--resumes and cover letters, networking, interviewing, and negotiation.

A monthly series that covers topics like applying to PhD programs, public speaking, career planning for MA students and more. Workshop facilitators are GSAS staff and MA Program Directors. Have a topic you'd like to share? Please fill out this very brief form to volunteer to help facilitate a session this year--we cannot run this series without you! GSAS Compass coordinates all logistics.

This is where students make one-on-one career advising appointments, sign up for our workshops and events, access career resources, and look for jobs and internships. Incoming students will gain access on September 1.

An annual public speaking competition for GSAS MA students and a celebration of their research.

Please join GSAS Compass staff for an information session and Q&A for incoming students about graduate career development. We will give a brief overview of our services and resources, and will be available to answer any questions you have about career development at Columbia. Please register here.