Application GuidelinesM.A./Ph.D due 12/15/09Free-Standing M.A. due 4/15/10 Degree Programs Master of Arts Master of Philosophy Orals Reading Lists Doctor of Philosophy Program Particulars Registration Courses Teaching & Fellowships Leaves of Absence Prizes & Travel Grants Placement & Employment Dept Organization Department Officers Staying Informed Graduate Student Directory Graduate Student Council Carnegie Initiative University Resources Libraries & Computing Centers & Organizations Student Services TEACHING & FELLOWSHIPS Criteria for Financial Aid Year-by-Year Summary of Teaching Expectations and Fellowships Evaluations of Teaching Work-Study Research Literature Humanities Outside Awards Whiting Fellowships Summer Research Fellowships CRITERIA FOR FINANCIAL AID First-year fellowships, awarded to sequential students only, carry no service requirement. All M.Phil. students--who each year meet both academic and service requirements--receive funding for five years of study beyond the M.A. Fifth-year students must submit evidence of application for external funding for their dissertation work. Students who win external fellowships can choose whether to receive top-up funding from the Graduate School, or to extend their support from Columbia by an additional year. Students with substantial external funding should consult the Department Administrator to establish their funding level and service requirements. Each April, students must apply for renewal of fellowships. Offer letters come from the Dean; all enclosures should be read carefully and all deadlines respected. Back to index SUMMARY FIRST YEAR. (M.A. year for sequential M.A./Ph.D. students). Fellowship without service requirements. SECOND YEAR. As second-year Departmental Teaching Fellows, students assist professors who teach large lecture courses. They are expected to work an average of ten hours per week. They should make sure that their end-of-term travel plans do not take them off campus before final exams are graded. Students admitted with advanced standing receive a fellowship without service requirements. In the Spring term, all second-year students register for Teaching Writing (G6913y), which must be completed satisfactorily for a teaching appointment (and funding) to be awarded. Students with compelling reasons for delaying training must speak to the DGS and the Director of the Undergraduate Writing Program either in the Fall or at the very beginning of the Spring term. THIRD YEAR. Teaching Fellows, teaching one undergraduate writing course each semester; registration for Teaching Writing (G6914x).. FOURTH YEAR. Teaching Fellows, one course each semester in the Undergraduate Writing Program or in Literature Humanities. Applying for an external fellowship is required. FIFTH YEAR. Students who have completed a dissertation chapter by May 15 of their fourth year may elect to take a dissertation fellowship in the fifth year, without service requirements. All other students serve as Teaching Fellows, teaching one course each semester in the Undergraduate Writing Program or in Literature Humanities. Application to external sources for sixth-year funding. Applying for an external fellowship is required. SIXTH YEAR. Students who received the fifth-year dissertation fellowship serve as Teaching Fellows (one course each semester in the Undergraduate Writing Program or in Literature Humanities). Students who taught in the fifth year receive fellowships without service requirements to complete the dissertation. SEVENTH YEAR AND BEYOND. No Departmental fellowships are available after the sixth year, though there may be teaching opportunities or extra-departmental dissertation awards. Back to index EXTERNAL FELLOWSHIP POLICY Ph.D students in the Department of English and Comparative Literature who win fellowships of $6,000 or more from sources outside Columbia University can choose whether they would prefer a "top-up" award from the Graduate School, with combined stipend of not more than $28,000 for the year, or whether they would prefer to defer one year of their Columbia Graduate School funding (in effect, extending their funding package by one year). For details, consult the GSAS webpage on the External Fellowship Policy: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/sub/finaid/external/new-topoff/. Back to index EVALUATIONS OF TEACHING Second-year Departmental Teaching Fellows are monitored by the department's Committee on Guidance and Evaluation (CGE), following written faculty comments on responsibility, timeliness, and acceptable level of competence. Writing Program instructors are monitored and assessed by the Directors of the Undergraduate Writing Program. Humanities instructors are monitored by the Director of Humanities and the Associate Dean of the College. Students not performing adequately will receive mentoring, followed (if necessary) by a written warning; if no improvement is shown, the CGE may deny further funding. Back to index WORK-STUDY Research positions are available to students eligible for the Federal Work-Study Program. Back to index RESEARCH Occasionally, students may be assigned to professors as research, rather than teaching, assistants. Back to index CORE CURRICULUM TEACHING Once all M.Phil requirements have been completed, students may apply to teach Literature Humanities or Contemporary Civilizations for the Columbia College Core Curriculum. Applications are obtained from the Core office (202 Hamilton) in the Fall term. The Department comments on candidates, as does the Director of the Undergraduate Writing Program. Core instructors are expected to teach for two years; if students are appointed for their 5th and 6th years, the dissertation fellowship will be held over to the 7th year. Preceptors who begin to teach Lit Hum or CC in their 6th year gain the extra year of funding but lose their dissertation fellowship. Back to index EXTERNAL AWARDS All students are encouraged to apply for external awards; advice and applications are available in 107 Low Library. Fellowship questions: Rebecca Hirade; (212) 854-6722; rst1@columbia.edu. Questions regarding loans, work study, and external funding: Sandra Peters; (212) 854-3808; scp3@columbia.edu. Sample applications from students in our department who have won awards in the past years can be consulted: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/english/posters/proposal_samples.htm. Back to index WHITING FELLOWSHIPS Whiting Fellowships are for the completion of the dissertation. Applicants must have submitted at least one chapter to their advisor at the time of application (early February). Whiting Fellowships are not external awards: the Department sends a ranked list of applicants to an interdepartmental committee. Absolutely no funding from departmental or GSAS sources is available after a Whiting Fellowship. Back to index SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS Summer Fellowships provide at least $3,000 toward travel and/or living expenses. Awards are given to students in their second to fifth year with priority to students who have been teaching in the Undergraduate Writing Program. Applications for these awards are due in 602 Philosophy in mid-March. Further information is available in the Department. Back to index