Support for Students and Scholars Affected by the War in Ukraine

To: The Caltech Community 
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, President
David A. Tirrell, Provost
Date:March 29, 2022

In a community-wide message on March 6, the Institute stated its commitment to supporting scholars affected by the war in Ukraine. Since that time, we have been working to identify practical approaches for hosting students and scholars from the region, either through enrollment in our degree programs or through visits hosted by members of the Caltech faculty.

Enrollment in degree programs will be managed through our normal admissions processes. We encourage our undergraduate and graduate admissions committees to consider candidates affected by the war who are qualified for admission to Caltech, but who have not met the normal deadlines for application. Support will be available for undergraduates based on financial need. Graduate students will be supported through the usual combination of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. As always, standards for admission will be maintained; it is only the timing of decisions that may be relaxed.

For visitors who do not enroll in our degree programs, the provost's office will serve as the point of contact for faculty members who are interested in serving as hosts. All visitors must have faculty hosts who will integrate the visitors into their research groups and take responsibility for the visitors' interaction with the Institute.  

The Caltech International Offices will offer help with immigration issues.  

Caltech will contribute a maximum of $5,000 toward travel expenses (family members may be included in this amount) and a maximum of $62,400 toward living expenses for one year for scholars at the postdoctoral level or above. Non-degree graduate students will be offered stipends commensurate with those paid by the host graduate options. No commitments will be made beyond one year for non-degree students and scholars.

Travel and living expenses, up to the maxima cited above, will be split 1:1 between the faculty/division host and the Institute.  

We will coordinate our effort with other organizations that are working on relocation (e.g., Scholars at Risk, the National Academies, the American Physical Society). The Institute has established contact with several such organizations.

Many members of our community have expressed outrage at the invasion of Ukraine and eagerness to help those affected by the war, irrespective of citizenship. We hope that the actions outlined above will allow Caltech to support students and scholars who face personal risk and extended disruption of their scholarly activities, and to accomplish this in a way that encourages visitors to be able to return to the region at an appropriate time to rebuild their institutions and their personal and professional lives. We welcome your advice and participation.