Applicants must also meet the specific admission requirements of the department in which they intend to study. Those who hold American doctorates or their international equivalents in the same or similar fields as those to which they propose to apply are not eligible for admission to the Graduate School. The decision to review any application from a student who holds an American doctorate or its international equivalent in a different field rests with the department. When filing an application form, the student should specify the department or doctoral program subcommittee under which he or she wishes to study. In any given term, a student may apply for study under only one department or subcommittee.
Some departments require a sample of scholarly writing.
The Graduate School requires the submission of scores from the Graduate Record Examination General Test and recommends the submission of Subject Test scores for all applicants, regardless of whether the scores are required by the department to which a student is applying. GRE well in advance of the January admissions deadline. In order to guarantee consideration for Columbia-administered fellowships, complete applications must be received by January 3 for the fall semester. Applications received after this deadline and prior to April 30 will be considered for admission only at the discretion of the Graduate School. The M.A. is either a degree objective in itself or a degree in course offered by most doctoral programs.