C

OLUMBIA

U

NIVERSITY

I N T HE C I T Y O F N E W Y O R K

D E P A R T M E N T O F E N G L I S H A N D C O M P A R A T I V E L I T E R AT U R E

602 Philosophy Hall Mail Code 4927 1150 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10027 212-854-3215 Fax 212-854-5398

All students apply to the doctoral program in English and Comparative Literature through

September on the GSAS Admissions website. The application deadline generally falls in

early-mid December. Check here for the current deadline.

Application Requirements

The most important parts of the application are the Statement of Academic Purpose and

Writing Sample. In both these documents, our admissions committee looks for a sense of a

personal voice and direction, an awareness of relevant scholarly debates, and a good match

between the applicant's interests and those of our faculty. The committee pays close

attention to applicants’ overall undergraduate record (and prior graduate record, if any) and

Application Fees

GSAS charges a nonrefundable fee of $120 to apply to Columbia. (Please note: this fee is

not levied by, nor does it go to, the Department of English and Comparative Literature.) If

you cannot afford this fee, you may apply for an application fee waiver. For information,

please see this website.

Selectivity, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Our doctoral program is highly selective. We typically receive around 600 applications per

do not need to have been an English or Comparative Literature major to apply, but it will

certainly help your application if you can show experience in literary or cultural studies, or

training in a related discipline such as art history, classics, history, modern languages,

philosophy, or religion.

“Subfield” Designations

The online application system requires you to select from a short list of two subfields of

literary study that best reflect your academic interests (e.g., Renaissance, Postcolonial and

Global South). We refer to these as your Primary Subfield and Secondary Subfield and they

commitment to some narrow area of study. Graduate education should be a process of

experimentation, and we expect that some students will change their areas of interest over

time.

Students with an Interest in Comparative Literature

If you are planning to study Comparative Literature – i.e., literature in more than one

interest.

Many of our doctoral students also have an affiliation with the Institute for Comparative

Literature and Society, the interdisciplinary home for comparative cultural and social

analysis at Columbia, where many of our faculty hold joint appointments. You may check a

box on the online application signaling your desire to be considered for ICLS affiliation, or

you may apply to be affiliated with ICLS after your arrival at Columbia. Visit the ICLS

website for further information about the requirements of its graduate certificate program.

Program Structure

Like all doctoral programs in New York State and at Columbia, ours is sequential in nature,

with students proceeding through three degree stages:

•

•

of students who leave the program without receiving the PhD) was only 9%.

Progression through the three stages is not, however, guaranteed. At the end of Year 1 and

Year 3, we encourage students to talk to their advisors if they have any doubts about

continuing in the program. Faculty will also sometimes initiate this discussion, especially if

a student has struggled with exams, research, writing, or oral communication. In most cases,

the decision to continue in the program is easily reached. Still, the sequential nature of our

program provides two natural departure points for students having second thoughts or

experiencing academic difficulties.

apply, nor do we discourage students with an MA from applying.

We do not, however, offer advanced standing to students with an MA. All doctoral students

must complete the full first year of coursework, including all MA requirements, before

applying to transfer any credit from a previous graduate degree. We allow for a maximum of

four classes of transfer credit, but generally recommend fewer so as to ensure that students

get the full benefit of Columbia coursework before beginning research.

Program Size

subject areas.

Funding

All doctoral students are fully funded with tuition, fees, and a stipend. Funding is guaranteed

for 6 years. International students and U.S. citizens receive the same funding.

Teaching

We pride ourselves on the excellence of our graduate student teachers, as well as the range

of teaching opportunities available to them.

The standard teaching schedule for our doctoral students is as follows:

Year 1: Coursework (no teaching)

Year 2: TA for departmental lecture class

Year 3: University Writing (instructor of record)

Year 5: Dissertation Fellowship (no teaching)

Year 6: University Writing/Teaching Scholars/Core Preceptorship

You should feel free to email professors whose interests align with yours, or whom you

envisage as potential advisors. (See the faculty directory for more information.) Please note,

however, that our professors receive many such emails and cannot reply to them all, so

a lively email exchange with a professor does not guarantee admission, even if they express

interest in working with you. Entry to our doctoral program is decided by committee vote

and no individual professor can guarantee admission.

Further Information

Graduate Studies, at m[email protected].

For more information about our doctoral program, including academic requirements and key

academic benchmarks, please browse the department website. Given the volume of queries

we receive from applicants, please do not write or call until you have consulted the website.