The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP FUND
333 East 46th Street, Suite 1K
New York, NY 10017
(212) 370-1054
ATTENTION: FOREIGN GRADUATE STUDENTS OF JOURNALISM

The Foreign Press Association is offering a minimum of three scholarships to
foreign graduate students of journalism in the United States, one for
$10,000.00, one for $7,500.00 and the other for $5,000.00. The awards are
meant to encourage the pursuit of a career in journalism focusing on
international affairs.
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HELLO, 2009: The international students of the Class of 2008 welcome the new class and offer tips that everyone can use in this video. Take a look and post your comments. Older videos below.

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HELLO, 2008: The international students of the Class of 2007 welcome the new class and offer tips that everyone can use in this video. Take a look and post your comments.

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HELLO, 2007: The international students of the Class of 2006 welcome the new class and offer tips that everyone can use in this video. Take a look and post your comments.

Chat for International Students
Q&A with Prof. Josh Friedman
Thurday, July 19, 2007

[ See other chats and transcripts ]

JFriedman(P) This is Josh Friedman. I will be speaking to you today with Dragon NaturallySpeaking This is a voice dictation program so you may see some weird mistakes that don’t make sense. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out what I’m trying to say. Otherwise, just ask and I’ll clarify what I’m saying.
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Dear Colleagues:

My name is Sree Sreenivasan, and I am the Dean of Students at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Melanie Huff, Asst. Dean of Students, and I will be getting to know all of you well during your time here. To e-mail both of us at the same time, please write to dos@jrn.columbia.edu (you may want to add this address to your e-mail system right away).

Congratulations on getting into the School - it’s a very competitive process and your being selected is a major accomplishment.

We look forward to having you here as a student (the Part-Time Program starts in May; the Full-Time Program in August). I know many of you have already accepted our invitation to attend, while others are awaiting the Open House sessions this Friday and Saturday to make your decisions.

For those of you who will be able to attend the Open House sessions, please take a look at the schedule:
http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/prospective_students/admit_07openhouse.asp

We will be able to answer a lot of the questions you have during the sessions. We also have e-mail contacts below that you are welcome to use.

STUDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, located in 210 Kent Hall, is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., so you can stop by and see them when/if you are on campus.
Phone: 212-854-4206 (press 2 for financial aid and loans)
Web Site: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sfs/
Student Services - Ask Us: http://askus.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cu.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

FINANCIAL AID: Dean Sharon Handelsman: sh2553@columbia.edu

MA PROGRAM: Dean Evan Cornog: ewc2@columbia.edu

PT PROGRAM: Dean Sree Sreenivasan: ss221@columbia.edu

UNIVERSITY HOUSING: 212-854-9300 or uah@columbia.edu
University Housing Information: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ire/
University Housing Application: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ire/preform.html
User name: housing
Password: uah548947
University Housing Journalism Liaison: Melanie Huff: mgh2@columbia.edu (Only inquiries about the approval process should be directed to the housing liaison. All other inquiries regarding housing assignments, policies, and procedures should be addressed to University Housing directly)
Non-University Housing: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ire/ocha/; 212-854-2773 or ocha@columbia.edu (The Off-Campus Housing Assistance (OCHA) office helps Columbia affiliates in their search for rental housing in non-Columbia-owned buildings located in the metropolitan area. You must have made your deposit and have activated your UNI to use this system)

The international students in the Class of 2006 created a welcome video for the incoming class of 2007. It’s available on YouTube and continues to be relevant to all our students. Take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbtDbebpDf8

That’s it for now. Good luck with your decision. We hope to see you this weekend or when classes begin.

Prof. Sree Sreenivasan | sree@sree.net
Dean of Students, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism http://www.sree.net | http://www.sreetips.com

Dear students and faculty:

Every year, the University awards Maria Moors Cabot Prizes to the best and brightest Latin American journalists and North American journalists covering Latin America. President Bollinger will be conferring these prizes, the oldest international prizes in journalism, in a formal ceremony at Low Library next Wednesday.

But next Tuesday night (the 10th), this year’s four Cabot medalists will appear at the J. school in a special panel designed for you to ask them questions. Attached are thumbnail sketches of the four winners–Mario Vargas Llosa, Ginger Thompson, Matt Moffet, and José Hamilton Ribeiro.

Especially for those of you considering international reporting, this is a great opportunity to meet two distinguished Latin American journalists and two Americans who have made careers covering Latin America. Politics, government, culture and business are hopping in Latin America and, in my view, the region offers opportunities for young journalists.

The theme of this year’s panel, which I will moderate, is self-censorship– a terrible problem both in Latin America and, increasingly, in the United States. An article on self-censorship is attached.

THIS IS THE ONLY PUBLIC APPEARANCE BY THE CABOT WINNERS.

This event takes place on Tuesday, October 10 on the 3rd Floor of the Journalism School at 7 PM. No RSVP is necessary; make sure to be in the Lecture Hall PROMPTLY at 7 PM.

I hope to see you Tuesday night,

Josh Friedman, Director of Cabot Prize Program

Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s 2006 international students prepared a 6-minute video for the incoming international students in the Class of 2007. There’s plenty of useful stuff for our American students as well. [That’s Heamakarn Sricharatchanya from Bangkok, Thailand, in the freeze frame below.]

Many thanks to Prof. Josh Friedman, director of the International Program; student producers Dan Fishel (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Scott Willyerd; student photographers Rebecca Castillo and Kathryn Maier; and all the international students in the Class of 2006.

When you play the video below, you will need to let about 20 seconds pass, as the first pictures don’t start until then.

PLEASE NOTE: If you click on this link instead, you can blow up the video nice and big by clicking on the icon on the lower right portion of the player, over where it says “Size:”

The ISSO is offering 5 informations sessions. They are summarized at
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso/activities/spring_break.pdf.

Information Sessions
Monday, March 13 Summer Employment in F-1 status
Monday, March 13 Working on Optional Practical Training (OPT) after graduating
Tuesday, March 14 Immigration Attorney: Employment-based visas
Thursday, March 16 J-1 Student Academic Training
Thursday, March 16 Tax Filing Workshop for International Students

F-1 Post-Completion Practical Training

Are you completing your program this semester and interested in seeking employment after you graduate? You may want to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), i.e. work authorization in your field of study. OPT requires an application to, and authorization from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), and can take up to 3 months to be processed.

Optional Practical Training (OPT)
You are eligible for up to 12 months of OPT following completion of your degree program. The application is a two-step process:
1. You must first apply to the ISSO for an OPT recommendation to be processed in your SEVIS record and printed on a new I-20

2. After obtaining the I-20 for OPT and application instructions from the ISSO, you must send the application to USCIS. The OPT application must be RECEIVED by USCIS before the completion date on your I-20. A job offer is NOT required in advance of application.

Application period and timing
You may request a start date of OPT authorization within a 60-day period.
The 60 days begins the day after completion. For example, if you are graduating on May 17, you can request a start date from May 18 through July 16. OPT cannot be extended beyond 12 months. The earliest you can apply is 120 days in advance of your requested start date (unless this is your first year in F-1 status. In that case, you may not apply more than 90 days in advance of completing the spring term).
For detailed information, refer to
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso/visa/F-1/F-1_PT_post_completion.html

International Orientation 2005 – 8/3; 8/4; 8/5

Wednesday, 8/3 (601B)

9:00-10:00 a.m.: Welcome/coffee & pastries
1. Josh Friedman
2. David Klatell
3. Sreenath Sreenivasan
4. Melanie Huff
5. Elizabeth Fishman
6. Robert Mac Donald

10:00 a.m.: Students travel via bus to
Josh Friedman’s home:
435 Rt. 9W
Palisades, NY 10964

10:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Students have picnic lunch, introductory discussion at Prof. Friedman’s home and a peek at a typical American suburb.

4:30 p.m. - Students leave Palisades for return trip home

Thursday, 8/4 (601B)
9:30 a.m.: *ISSO Presentation and paperwork

11:00 a.m. Journalism Computers/E-mail/Meningitis/Biz Cards
Abraham – Lee: Room 601A
Lo – Vieira: Room 607C

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Box Lunches provided

1:00-4:00: Grammar & Writing Diagnostic

Friday, 8/5 (601B)

9:30 a.m.: Josh Friedman will present an overview of local and national politics, education and religion

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Box Lunches provided

1:00 p.m. Walking tour of the city

7 p.m.: Group dinner at a downtown restaurant

*If you have not had the opportunity to report to the ISSO before Thursday’s meeting , you are required to bring your passport, I-20 or DS-2019 and I-94 card (white card usually stapled into the passport) along with a photocopy of the I-20 or DS-2019 that was used to enter the United States. Be sure that it is legible, because it will be scanned into your computer file. The ISSO will be collecting information regarding your documents, as well as your local address.