Prospective Students

• For further information or updates about the admissions process, please visit the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences website periodically or email with your inquiries.
• International students should also check on special requirements that are also described on the GSAS website.

Take the GRE in the fall so the official scores will have been submitted well before the December 2nd Columbia application deadline.

Send your scores to Columbia University GSAS using school code 2162. Applicants should not send application materials to the Psychology Department. This department strongly encourages a combined verbal/quantitative GRE score of at least 310 to be considered for admission to the program.

Send your scores to Columbia University, not the Psychology Department, using school code 2162. 

International students must hold the equivalent of an American university baccalaureate (B.A. or B.S.) and be fluent in both written and spoken English. For more information on testing or degrees, please check the GSAS Admission page. 

Ask the professors from whom you are requesting evaluations to use our on-line system for submission of your recommendations. You will need to obtain the email addresses of your professors. If professors are unable to submit academic references on-line, those documents should be mailed to the GSAS Office of Admissions with a Letter of Recommendation Cover Sheet which can be downloaded from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences site.

• A statement of academic purpose – submit a statement on-line of approximately 1000 words concerning your plans for graduate study and a professional career. Please be sure to include the areas in which you are interested and the names of faculty whose research attracts you.

• Official Transcripts – official transcripts submitted on-line are required from each undergraduate (and graduate) school attended showing all courses, grades and degrees received, if any. Upon acceptance into GSAS, you should then submit your sealed transcript(s) with the signature of an authorized official across the envelope seal.

A certified translation may be done by the consulate or a professional agency if your school does not provide one.

• Applicants must use the online application. Applicants must use a credit or debit card to pay the application fee of $100.
• The fee should be in the form of a personal or bank check in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank, U.S. Postal Money Orders or Travelers Checks made payable to “Columbia University.” If you are an international student, applying from outside the United States, these are the following conditions: pre-printed on the check must be: a) the U.S. address, and b) the nine-digit ABA or routing number at the bottom. Applications are not considered complete unless accompanied by the fee.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is no longer printing applications to be mailed. Read about the online process.

Before applying online, please check first to be sure you meet the following system requirements:

• You will need a web browser that has Javascript activated.
• Supported web browsers include Internet Explorer 5 and above, Netscape 6 and above, Safari (for Macintosh users), and Mozilla/Firefox.
• Do not use AOL's internal browser.
• Pop-up blockers should be disabled.
• You must logout of the online application after each session.

When the reference letters are submitted, they will be attached to your application. The application deadline is December 7, 2018.

• A completed on-line application.

• A non-refundable fee of $100 for on-line application made payable to Columbia University.

• One official complete set of transcripts submitted on-line reflecting all undergraduate and graduate work, if any. Upon acceptance into GSAS, sealed transcript(s) with the signature of an authorized official across the envelope seal should then be submitted to GSAS.

• Three letters of recommendation - if professors are unable to submit academic references on-line, the recommendations should be mailed to the GSAS Office of Admissions in a sealed envelope signed by the professor with a Letter of Recommendation Cover Sheet to the GSAS address listed below: 

  
  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
  108 Low Memorial Library
  535 West 116th Street, MC 4303
  Columbia University
  New York, NY 10027
  
  (phone) 212.854.8903
  (fax) 212.854.2863

• A statement of academic purpose submitted on-line.

• GRE scores (official copies must be sent directly from ETS).

• If applicable, results of the TOEFL or IELTS examination.

You must save all information each time you use the on-line system. 

You can view the status of your application in an on-line PDF form in the GSAS Apply Yourself Application found in the DOWNLOADABLE FORMS section of the application 5-10 business days after you have submitted your application materials. When documents such as academic references are submitted on-line on your behalf, you will receive a confirmation from GSAS Apply Yourself. Documents submitted on your behalf by post may take longer to appear on your application status PDF.