Graduate: Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Department's faculty and research scientists currently working on?
What are the Department's prerequisites for admission?
Are Spring applicants accepted?
What is the cost of living for a typical graduate student?
Do I have to take the subject GRE?
Can prospective students come to visit?
What are the demographics of the graduate student body?
What kind of jobs are available to your students upon graduation?
Do students have a teaching commitment as part of their fellowship?
How long does it take to finish a PhD in the Department?
Is financial aid available?
Yes. All PhD students admitted receive fellowships or assistantships including full tuition, health insurance, and a uniform monthly stipend for the academic year. Funding is guaranteed for five years for PhD students in good academic standing; petitions are required for a sixth year of support and are usually granted if the student's progress is satisfactory. Financial aid in the form of loans, work-study positions, etc., is available for master's degree candidates in Earth and Environmental Science Journalism. Summer stipends are also available for most students.
What are the Department's faculty and research scientists currently working on?
See faculty biographies elsewhere on this site; each faculty member has listed at least three representative papers alongside his or her biographical statement.
What are the Department's prerequisites for admission?
Undergraduate grades, science background, GRE scores, statement-of-purpose, and reference letters are all important predictors of success in our PhD program. An undergraduate grade average no lower than a B+ in the sciences is generally expected. Each applicant is considered individually and thoroughly -- not according to arbitrary numerical cutoffs, etc. An applicant will not be admitted with deficiencies in more than two of the basic sciences. Anyone with entering deficiencies is expected to correct them during the first year of his or her studies.
One potential deficiency is the ability to communicate in English. This is so important to one's success here that students whose first language is not English are expected to reach the highest grade level in Columbia's English Placement Test by the end of their first year or they will not be able to continue in the program. Intensive English courses are available to all who need them through Columbia's American Language Program.
Are Spring applicants accepted?
Under special circumstances, we may consider outstanding applicants to begin in January. Generally, however, we prefer to judge all applicants at the same time for comparison purposes.
What about graduate housing?
Each admitted student is offered Columbia housing near the main campus in NYC for five years (up to two more years are possible depending on timely progress toward the degree and the approval of the GSAS dean. Students who prefer to live outside the Columbia area are on their own vis-a-vis finding housing. Some Lamont-based students prefer to live in Rockland County or nearby New Jersey. The Department keeps an informal housing book with listings of local landlords, and will be happy to assist incoming students to find a place to live near Lamont. This choice virtually necessitates owning a car, whereas for those living near Columbia, a car is not needed; also, parking and jockeying a car around the city streets can be tedious.
What is the cost of living for a typical graduate student?
The greater New York City area is a fairly expensive place to live. But it is entirely manageable on the stipend we pay, especially if one is willing to share living quarters. (Living alone can be prohibitively expensive, while renting a room in someone's home can be correspondingly cheap.) Most students share apartments or houses with other students, at a monthly rental of between $500-600. Overall, there is no appreciable difference in the cost of living in the Columbia area vs. the Lamont area.
Do I have to take the subject GRE?
Submission of a GRE Advanced Test in a specific discipline is not required (only recommended). The GRE general aptitude test is a firm requirement.
Can prospective students come to visit?
Any prospective student is welcome to visit at any time. Just call ahead so we can be sure the most relevant faculty and research staff are available to see you. (This is crucial, since earth scientists travel so much.) We will be happy to help you locate accommodations should you need them, and to make your visit as fruitful as possible.
What are the demographics of the graduate student body?
Currently, there are 85 graduate students in residence, about a quarter of whom are over 30 years old (2 are over 50). 50% are male, 34% are foreign nationals. About 35% entered our program with external master's degrees in hand. Most had some post-college work experience before beginning to study here. We enroll 15-20 new students each year. As to fields of study, they break down roughly as follows:
- Paleoclimatology: 15
- Marine Geology and Geophysics: 5
- Solid Earth Geophysics: 9
- Geochemistry: 8
- Ocean and Atmospheric Science: 24
- Geology, Petrology, and Paleontology: 17
- Earth and Environmental Science Journalism: 7
What kind of jobs are available to your students upon graduation?
Our students have gone on to satisfying careers in government, industry and academia. Of all graduates since 1980, approximately 15% have entered government positions, 10% are employed in industry, and the rest (75%) are in academia, teaching and/or doing research. Some of the academic institutions employing our recent graduates are MIT, Caltech, Woods Hole, U. Chicago, Hawaii Institute for Geophysics, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Duke, Scripps/UC-SD, U. Colorado, UC/Santa Cruz, Texas A&M, Harvard, Rutgers, Cornell. As to industry, our graduates have landed jobs in both environmental consulting firms and major oil companies. Those working in government positions are at the US Geological Survey, Office of Naval Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore National Labs. Though the current overall job market is tight, our graduates tend to have a competitive edge in landing good positions.
Do students have a teaching commitment as part of their fellowship?
Yes. All PhD students serve as teaching assistants, usually for two semesters and normally not until their second year in residence.
I have never been to New York City, and am concerned about living there -- or even attending classes on the Columbia campus. Is it safe?
New York City is a wonderfully invigorating and stimulating place; however, some students may find it over-stimulating or overwhelming at times. As with most large cities, New York is a place where awareness of one's surroundings and exercising caution are essential. Crime in the city has been trending downward, and the Columbia neighborhood, Morningside Heights, has experienced widespread gentrification in the last decade. These facts, and the ubiquitous presence of on-campus Columbia University Security make the campus and its surroundings fairly safe. In general, the Department's classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the main campus, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at Lamont. The majority of our students also do their research at Lamont, and many (96%) prefer living in NYC as an antidote to the calm and quiet of the Observatory. For those not fond of the urban scene, the towns and villages of the suburbs around Lamont provide a pleasant alternative. Frequent shuttle bus service between the Observatory and Morningside campus is available six days a week, and the 30-40 minute ride provides a great opportunity for students to mix and discuss student life and research. If you are seriously considering Columbia, we strongly encourage a visit so that your decision is a thoroughly informed one.
How long does it take to finish a PhD in the Department?
Ours is a full-time PhD program; with the exception of those enrolled in the Earth and Environmental Science Journalism dual-masters' degree program, students generally cannot enroll if their stated goal is to complete a master's degree only. Students entering with bachelor's degrees take about 5.5-6 years to complete their doctorates. Those entering with master's degrees finish about a year sooner.
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