Six units of full-time residency (4 for students with
advanced standing) are required by the Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences.
Advisors
Students are admitted to the program to work with a
particular research advisor. During the first 2 years,
they develop a 5 member dissertation committee members,
which normally includes the readers of their advanced
exams and literature review, as well as the research
advisor. Some committee members may be members of
institutions other than Columbia, but three must be on
the GSAS list of approved advisors, and preferably
faculty at Columbia.
Core Courses
First year students are required to take a set of 3
core courses in the areas of evolutionary morphology,
genetics, and primate behavior and ecology. Students
receiving a grade of less than B+ in any of these courses
are required to take a written exam at the end of the
first summer based on the core course material. In addition,
students must take the NYCEP
seminar in both semesters of the first two years of
study, and attendance is expected thereafter if the
student is resident in New York.
Advanced Courses
Advanced courses provide highly specialized training
in one or more of the major subdivisions of evolutionary
primatology. Students will select at least 3 such
courses from an approved list, which includes courses in
other departments at Columbia, as well as through the
consortium with CUNY and NYU. Students are expected to
take advanced statistics courses to gain the
proficiency they will need for their research.
Internships
Three research internships are required. They must
exam three distinct topics. One must be outside of Columbia,
and one must be outside the student's chosen area of
expertise. Internship sponsors may include other members
of the NYCEP consortium.
Scholarly Language Requirement
Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in
foreign languages as needed for their specific fieldwork
locations. Proficiency is assessed by university
examination or the department.
Teaching Assistantship
All Ph.D. students will serve as teaching assistants,
usually for undergraduate courses, for 2-4 semesters.
This experience provides students an opportunity to
develop skills related to many professional directions
they may eventually follow. Service as a TA is a
component of all fellowships. Students may not register
for courses they TA.
Advanced Examinations
Two advanced written examinations on general topics
relevant to the dissertation research must be taken by
the end of the 3rd year of study (2nd for those with
advanced standing), and normally by the end of the 5th
semester. Each exam is read by two faculty members of
the student's committee.
Literature Review
One in-depth review of the scholarly literature most
relevant to the proposed dissertation research, written
in the style of an article submitted to a scholarly
journal or an introductory chapter of a dissertation,
will be submitted for approval by two faculty readers by
the end of the third year of study (2nd for those with
advanced standing).
Oral Examination of the Dissertation
Proposal
A well-developed research proposal, in a style
necessary for submission to a specific granting agency,
is submitted for provisional approval by two of the
faculty members on the student's dissertation committee.
After this approval, and before the end of the third
year of study (second for students with advanced
standing), students defend their dissertation proposal
orally before their 5-member dissertation committee.
Final revisions to the dissertation proposal are
discussed and the committee recommends whether or not to
advance the student to Ph.D. candidacy.
Advancing to Candidacy
Students advance to candidacy if they pass their oral
exam (proposal defense), and have completed all other
requirements of the Ph.D. degree other than the
dissertation. A student advanced to candidacy is
eligible for the M. Phil. degree (see below).
Dissertation Research
Once a student is advanced to Ph.D. candidacy, he/she
is expected to submit the proosal to granting agencies
for outside funding.
