Ph.D. Program F.A.Q.s
If you have a question about the program that is not answered in the list below or elsewhere on the department website, please contact us.
Yes, the PhD is fully funded. You can read about funding opportunities for Columbia PhD students here.
Yes, the GRE General Test is required for admission to the PhD program. GRE subject tests are not required.
The Department of Sociology is unable to provide GRE fee waivers. However, we recommend that you see Columbia's fee waiver policies and the GRE fee waiver policies.
According to the Introduction to GSAS Admissions, "Failure to submit complete, accurate, and authentic application documents consistent with these instructions may result in denial or revocation of admission, cancellation of academic credit, suspension, expulsion, or eventual revocation of degree.”
You may submit your online application even if your letters of recommendation have not yet been submitted. If a recommender submits a letter after the deadline date, it will be added to your file. If a letter arrives more than two weeks after the application deadline, however, there is no guarantee that it will be seen by the admissions committee when they begin their review.
Regarding sending updated GRE scores after the application deadline, please contact us directly.
Contacting faculty for the purposes of admission is discouraged. Students are admitted by a committee, not by individual faculty members.
Please inform your recommenders of the application deadline. Ideally, letters should be submitted before this date.
You may submit your online application even if your letters of recommendation have not yet been submitted. If a recommender submits a letter after the deadline date, it will be added to your file. If a letter arrives more than two weeks after the application deadline, however, there is no guarantee that it will be seen by the admissions committee when they begin their review.
It depends. The English proficiency requirement is based on the official language of the country in which your undergraduate (or bachelor's) degree was earned, regardless of your citizenship.
Please see this page for additional information about applying as an international student. You may email [email protected] with any additional questions.
Students generally serve as teaching assistants (TAs) in introductory undergraduate courses. Typically, this occurs in the second, third, and/or fourth years of study. However, and depending on other funding opportunities, not all of our students follow this pattern.
No, Columbia does not provide a relocation stipend.
We cannot offer general advice on your application, but we encourage you to reach out to us if you have any specific questions.
International applicants should refer here for more information. If you have any follow up questions, please email [email protected].