Application Steps
In order to help you navigate the complex process of applying to graduate school, here we aim to provide more information about the steps involved in applying to our Psychology PhD program. These details are intended to make the so-called hidden curriculum embedded within the PhD application process as transparent as possible. However, please still feel free to reach out with any questions. You can contact the department at [email protected].
1. Decide which faculty members you'd like to apply to work with
Which faculty members inspire you most? Who do you most see yourself working with?
Before beginning the application, you should identify one or more faculty members with whom you'd like to work. Graduate students typically apply to the program to work in the lab of one primary advisor, though students will also find a formal secondary advisor at the end of their first year, and often collaborate with many faculty members throughout their time in the program. Only full-time Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Professors are eligible to supervise Ph.D. research as primary advisors. You can find the profiles of core faculty members here and the list of approved dissertation sponsors here. Please note that Lecturers-in-the-Discipline, Adjunct Professors, and other Affiliated Professors are not eligible to supervise Ph.D. research.
The following faculty members may be supporting graduate students in the upcoming year: Mariam Aly, Dima Amso, Chris Baldassano, Peter Balsam, Niall Bolger, Lila Davachi, Geraldine Downey, Carl Hart, Larisa Heiphetz, Tory Higgins, Niko Kriegeskorte, Bianca Jones Marlin, Janet Metcalfe, Kevin Ochsner, Valerie Purdie Greenaway, Daphna Shohamy, Rae Silver, Herb Terrace, Nim Tottenham, and Sarah Woolley.
If you are interested in working with one of the Columbia Psychology faculty as your primary PhD advisor, we highly recommend that you contact them before applying to make sure they are accepting students this year. We recognize that emailing a potential advisor can be an intimidating process. For advice on how to contact a faculty member to see if they are accepting students (and even a template email for reaching out), we recommend these resources from the Tufts University Psychology Department. After you contact faculty, some may ask to schedule a call with you before the application is due.
2. Take the GRE in the before applying (WAIVED THIS YEAR)
** Due to COVID-19, the GRE requirement will be waived for FALL 2021 Admission. The Admission Committee will not consider the GRE scores in their decisions.
GRE Information from last year: Take the GRE in the fall (or earlier) so that official scores will have been submitted well before the Columbia application deadline. Send your scores to Columbia University GSAS using school code 2162. Applicants should not send application materials directly 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.
3. If applicable, take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS
The following applicants must complete the English proficiency requirement (TOEFL or IELTS):
- applicants whose native language is not English and who have received an undergraduate degree from an institution in a country where the official language is not English
- applicants who have received an undergraduate degree from a non-English speaking country and are now studying at the graduate level in the U.S. or another English-speaking country
For the 2021 season, in addition to the IELTS and TOEFL exams, GSAS is accepting the Duolingo English Test. Applicants can send scores to Columbia University, not the Psychology Department, using school code 2162. More information for international applicants can be found on GSAS website.
4. Fill out the application form through the Columbia Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS)
The application portal can be found here. You don't have to fill out your application all in one sitting, as you can save your work and come back to your application later. The application deadline is December 2, 2020. We highly recommend completing your application materials well ahead of this deadline in case you have any questions or there are unexpected difficulties with the application portal.
5. Arrange to have 3 academic references sent to GSAS (part of the application form)
Letters of recommendation must be submitted through the GSAS online application system. Letters of recommendation may not be sent via email, nor may paper letters be sent via postal mail. All letters must be uploaded by the recommender directly to the application system. You may submit your online application even if your letters of recommendation have not yet been submitted. Once the letters are received, we will append them to your applications
6. A statement of academic purpose (part of the application form)
Submit a statement (through the application system) of approximately 1000 words concerning your plans for graduate study and your professional career. Please be sure to indicate the research area(s) in which you are interested, the faculty member you would like to work with as your primary advisor, and at least one other faculty member you would be interested in working with. For some tips on constructing a strong statement, feel free to check out these resources from Rutgers and the American Psychological Association and the McNair Scholars Program.
7. Transcripts (part of the application form)
Applicants should upload a transcript or record (e.g., web-based transcripts, mark sheets, relevé de notes) of any academic work from each university-level institution you have attended for use in review of your application. Official transcripts are required only after an offer of admission has been made and accepted. More instructions on submission of transcripts can be found at GSAS Admission. Transcripts that are in a language other than English should be translated into English. The translation must be certified to be an accurate translation of the original and be notarized or otherwise authenticated.
8. Application fee OR fee waiver (after the application)
Either a nonrefundable fee of $115, or a completed fee waiver will be required for the 2020 online application. Applications are not considered complete until the fee waiver has been processed or fee has been paid. We encourage applicants to check if they are eligible for application fee waivers through Columbia's Graduate School for Arts & Sciences website. Applicants who wish to request an application fee waiver should submit the fee waiver form after submitting their application. Any questions or inquiries on the fee waiver application process should be directed to [email protected].
9. Applications will be processed and invitations for interviews will be sent!
Based on their applications, selected applicants will be contacted in late December/early January by the Columbia Psychology Department and invited to attend Prospective Days at Columbia. Applicants who are not selected to attend will also be notified at this time. During Prospective Days, students will take part in 1:1 admissions interviews with several faculty members, and also get to learn more about the graduate program and meet current graduate students and post-docs. Prospective Days will be held remotely in February 2021.