FAQs

General Questions:

1. What is a completion award?

The Weisman Award is designed to help students fund the completion of a project they have started.

2. What is a matching award?

The Weisman Award may provide up to half of the overall cost of finishing a project. The student pays the balance. For example, if you need a total of $3,000 to complete your project, the Weisman may award as much as $1,500 dollars; you are expected to procure the rest of the necessary funding.

3. Why is the deadline so early?

The Weisman Award is available to a wide range of disciplines, some of which need to complete their project during the Spring Semester. In order to fairly review applications and secure funding for those artists before they finish their projects, the application deadline was moved to December.

4. Who is eligible for the Weisman Memorial Award?

To be considered, undergraduate Columbia students must:

-have 60 or more credit hours completed by the time of the application
-be a full-time student in the semester in which you apply for the award (Fall) and in the semester in which you receive the award (Spring).

Graduate students working on a thesis project are invited to apply.

5. I'm graduating before I will finish my project; can I apply?

Yes; many Weisman Scholars receive their awards in the Spring semester, graduate, and complete their projects in the summer in time for the September 1st deadline and the exhibition in the fall.

6. I'm a recent alumni; can I apply?

No; you must be a full-time student to receive a Weisman Award.

7. What kind of projects generally receive funding?

The Weisman Award committee is open to supporting a variety of artists in a host of disciplines. There is no specific project we seek to fund, but rather, projects that show a sense of vision, clarity of purpose, potential of artistic and professional growth and practicality and accuracy of timeline and budget.

Application Questions:

8. What should I include in my project summary?

Your summary should be 3-5 sentences that provide a quick description of your project, the specific medium you intend to employ and the end result; a performance, a 10 minute film, 30 -16X20 prints, etc. This statement should be concise; you will have more room for elaboration in your project description.

9. What should I include in my project description?

Your project description should answer the following questions:
- What will your completed project be?
- Why is it important to you that this project be finished?
- Why might your project be important/relevant to viewers?
- What will you be using the Weisman funding for?

While the committee understands that your project is in progress, please be as specific in your description as you can.

10. Who can write my letters of recommendation?

Both letters must come from Columbia faculty, either full or part-time.

11. How can recommenders submit my letters?

Recommendation letters must be included with your application package. Please ask your recommender to sign the letter and the back of the sealed envelope.

12. Will you accept an unofficial transcript?

Yes.

13. What if I don?t have digital samples of my work?

You need to plan to submit your work on CD or DVD with your application. While some work may not be ideally suited to this format, in order to allow work to be judged without bias, all applicants are required to submit their work this way. We will NOT accept any hard copies of prints, stills, paintings or photographs.

The only exception to this would be a film project in which the applicant only has a script in development. In this case, the student must submit the script along with a brief statement that he/she has not yet begun pre-production.

14. Why won't you take receipts from before January 1st?

The Weisman Award is intended to help you finish your project; you should be planning to use the funds for whatever expenses you anticipate for the remainder of your project.

15. What kind of supplies are eligible for reimbursement?

The Weisman Award will fund:
-basic supplies (such as paper, film, drawing supplies, fabric paint, etc.)
-photo/film processing
-equipment rental
-framing costs
-film festival submission fees and promotional expenses (such as press kit supplies and assembly, DVD replication and packaging, etc.)
-other items that will be used solely for the completion of your Weisman project.

The Weisman Award will NOT fund travel expenses, equipment purchases, living stipends, or tuition.

16. How should I know how much things will cost?

Your budget should reflect the most accurate estimation of the cost of your supplies. You may wish to call a few vendors for price quotes, or base your estimations off past work.

17. How should I submit my application?

You will be provided with a folder at the Portfolio Center; please do not bind your application. All folders and extraneous folders will be removed and recycled.

Please drop off your completed application at the Portfolio Center, 623 S. Wabash Ave, Room 307 by 5:00PM, Friday, December 12, 2008

18. What if my question was not frequently asked?

Please email portfoliocenter@colum.edu with any further questions.

PS:  Are you just looking for the application form?

 
*The Albert P. Weisman Award is sponsored by the Portfolio Center of Columbia College Chicago.