Resources

Hiring Research Assistants and/or Consultants

Important Note: No one conducting a service (research, editing, photography, etc.) may be given an offer, start to work, or be paid prior to receiving clearance. Please contact Lawino S. Lurum before any offer is made so we can ensure that the person is hired properly.    

We typically get a handful of applications every year from students outside of Columbia seeking research assistant opportunities.  These applications/CVs will be posted on the Confluence Site (under Faculty Resources – ‘Resume Repository – RAs’) for your consideration. To hire a non-CU RA from this pool or any other student, please contact Lawino S. Lurum for guidance.

Every student who works at Columbia must have an active appointment in order to be paid.

Undergraduate Students: Full-time undergraduate students with a valid work authorization can be hired as Casual Employees to work on research and/or administrative tasks.

Graduate Students: Full-time graduate students with a valid work authorization can be hired as Department Research Assistants to work on research projects, or as Casual Employees to exclusively work on administrative duties.

To initiate a student hire, please send a request to Lawino S. Lurum via email as much in advance as possible. The Business Office will then reach out to the individual student to determine the appointment classification and request their hire documents. The student may not start working – and will not be paid – before all hiring paperwork is completed and processed.

What is a Consultant?

University schools and departments may contract consultants for the purchase of professional services to accomplish the objectives of the University when such services are specialized, highly technical and cannot be economically or satisfactorily performed by University employees as part of their normal duties.

Please contact Lawino S. Lurum at sl4000@columbia.edu if you would like to hire a consultant to determine eligibility and the next steps.