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For the Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The requirements listed below are special to this department and must be read in conjunction with the general requirements of the Graduate School.

Full-Time Residence Units: Six full-time Residence Units are required.

Advisors: By the end of the second semester, each student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (hereafter EEB), in consultation with the DGS, selects an advisory committee of faculty associated with the EEB program. These advisers subsequently have primary responsibility for student supervision and designing individual programs. They are likely to become the student’s dissertation committee and one of them will likely be the student’s dissertation sponsor.

Core courses: All first-year students, even if they are awarded Advanced Standing after one year, are required to take three core courses: EEEB G6110, which covers evolution, genetics, and systematics; EEEB G6112, which covers behavior, ecology and population biology; and EEEB G6990, which covers conservation biology. Students receiving a grade of less than B+ in any of these core courses are required to take a written exam at the end of the first summer based on the material covered in the core. In addition, the Research Methods Seminar (EEEB G6300) must be taken in both semesters of the first three years of the program.

Advanced courses: These provide highly specialized training in one or more of the areas of program specialization: evolution, ecology, genetics population biology, systematics, ethnoscience, and behavior. In consultation with either the DGS or his or her advisory committee, each student chooses from a list of approved courses offered by the full-time or adjunct faculty or through the Inter-University Doctoral 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 requirement: Two to four semesters of teaching are required, beginning as early as the second semester of the first year in residence. These teaching assignments are a component of all multi-year fellowships.

Directed research: Two semester-long directed research internships are required. These internships must examine two distinct topics and be sponsored by different advisors, each from a different in the CERC consortium institution.

Advanced examinations: Two advanced written examinations on general topics relevant to the proposed dissertation research are taken before the end of the third year of study. These exams have both a theoretical and a methodological focus. Bibliographies of materials to be covered must be submitted to the faculty readers (two for each exam) in the semester before the examination.

Literature review examination: 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, is presented for committee approval before the end of the third year of study.

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 written provisional approval by the student’s dissertation committee. After provisional approval, and normally before the end of the third year of study, students defend their dissertation proposals before an orals committee comprising three to five members of the student’s 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.

Environmental Policy Certificate: All students in the Ph.D. program are required to complete the Environmental Policy Certificate, a separate program (see below). Course work for the Certificate is normally completed concurrently with the requirements for the M.Phil., although it does not affect the awarding of the M.Phil.

Dissertation research: Once a student is advanced to Ph.D. candidacy, he or she is expected to submit the dissertation proposal to granting agencies for outside funding.

The M.A. degree is awarded to Ph.D. students upon completion of the core courses, two residence units, 20 points of courses taken for a letter grade approved by the DGS and the student’s advisory committee and removal of any admission deficiencies.

The M.Phil. degree is awarded upon successful completion of all Ph.D. requirements other than the preparation and defense of the dissertation. This degree must be completed by the end of the fourth year of study, except for those students granted two Residence Units of advanced standing, who must complete the degree by the end of the third year of study. Six Residence Units and 40 points of courses taken for a letter grade approved by the DGS and the student’s advisory committee are required for this degree.

The Ph.D. degree is earned after the defense and final deposition of the dissertation. The written dissertation is first submitted to the student’s sponsor, who may request revisions. After the sponsor and second reader approve the dissertation for defense, a date for the oral defense is arranged and the dissertation is disseminated to all five of the candidate’s committee members. The defense takes place before a five-member defense committee. At least two of the five faculty members must come from outside the department.

For the Ph.D. in Evolutionary Primatology

Columbia offers a Ph.D. program in Evolutionary Primatology as part of the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP). NYCEP, a consortium of the City University of New York, Columbia University, New York University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, provides a multi-institutional venue for graduate training leading to the Ph.D., which emphasizes all aspects of the behavioral, morphological and evolutionary biology of primates. Course offerings in this program are coordinated across the NYCEP institutions.

The Ph.D. in Evolutionary Primatology typically requires two to three years of course work, one to two years of dissertation research, and one to two years of dissertation write-up. The ideal time frame for completion is five years, but circumstances vary.

Degree Requirements

Students in this program must fulfill the following requirements to advance to Ph.D. candidacy:

Core courses: First-year students are required to take a set of core courses in the areas of evolutionary morphology, genetics, and primate behavior and ecology. (Students receiving a grade less than B+ in any of these courses are required to take a written exam at the end of the first year based on the core). In addition, students must take the NYCEP seminar in both semesters of the first two years of study.

Advanced courses: A second set of courses, or advanced courses, provides highly specialized training in one or more of the major subdivisions of evolutionary primatology. Students may select at least three of these courses from an approved list of courses offered in the department, in other departments at Columbia (e.g., Biological Sciences, Psychology), or through the Consortium with the City University of New York or New York University evolutionary primatology programs. In addition, students are expected to take advanced statistics courses as needed to gain proficiency in using statistics in their research.

Scholarly languages: 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 requirement: Two to four semesters of teaching are required, beginning as early as the second semester of the first year in residence. These teaching assignments are a component of all multi-year fellowships.

Directed research: Three semesters of directed research internships are required. These internships must examine three distinct topics. One of these must be outside Columbia, and one must be outside the student’s chosen area of general expertise. Each internship is carried out with a different supervisor.

Advisors: Students entering the Ph.D. program in Evolutionary Primatology normally have a dissertation sponsor in place. By the end of the fourth semester, each dissertation sponsor, in consultation with the student, selects a set of three to four additional advisors who participate as readers for the Advanced Certifying Examinations and literature review. One of these advisors hold a faculty position at an institution other than Columbia, but three must be Columbia faculty. These advisors usually comprise the orals and dissertation committees of the student.

Advanced examinations: Two advanced written examinations on general topics relevant to the proposed dissertation research are normally taken by the end of the fifth semester; they must be taken prior to the end of the third year of study.These exams have both a theoretical and a methodological focus. Bibliographies of materials to be covered must be submitted to the faculty readers (two for each exam) during the semester prior to the examination.

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, is presented for approval to two of the student’s committee members. The literature review should be completed by the end of the third year of study.

Oral examination of the dissertation proposal: A well-developed research proposal, in a style necessary for submission to a specific granting agency (e.g., National Science Foundation), is submitted to two of the faculty members on the student’s dissertation committee for their written provisional approval. After provisional approval, and prior to the end of the third year of study, students defend their dissertation proposal before an orals committee comprised of three to five members of the student’s dissertation committee. Final revisions to the dissertation proposal are discussed and the committee recommends to the department whether or not to advance the student to Ph.D. candidacy.

Dissertation research: Once a student is advanced to Ph.D. candidacy, he or she is expected to submit the dissertation proposal to granting agencies for outside funding.

Awarding of Degrees

The M.A. degree is awarded to Ph.D. students upon recommendation of the DGS, typically after two semesters of successful course work.

The M.Phil. degree is awarded upon successful completion of all the requirements (except the dissertation), including the advanced written exams, literature review, and oral defense of the research proposal.

The Ph.D. degree is earned after the defense and final deposit of the dissertation. The written dissertation is first submitted to the candidate’s sponsor, who may request revisions. After the sponsor and the second reader approve the dissertation for defense, a date for the oral defense is arranged and the dissertation is disseminated to all five of the candidate’s committee members. The defense takes place before the five-member defense committee. At least two faculty members must come from outside the student’s department.

For the Free-Standing M.A. in Conservation Biology

See under Conservation Biology.

For the Environmental Policy Certificate

This program is designed to provide candidates in the EEB Ph.D. program or other GSAS natural or social sciences programs with a strong foundation in those social sciences that most enable them to contribute, as scientists, to the formulation of environmental policy. All Ph.D. students in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology are required to complete this program, for which they receive a separate certificate. Additional candidates for the certificate are expected to declare their candidacy as soon as possible after admission to one of the University’s graduate degree programs. Students admitted to the certificate program must discuss their course of certificate study with the Environmental Policy Certificate director at the beginning of each semester and obtain written course approval.

At least two Residence Units and 24 points of courses taken for a letter grade are required for the certificate. One course is required in each of the following four areas (a few sample courses are included here): (1) Environmental Politics and Policy: U6243. International Relations of the Environment; (2) Environmental Law: L6242. Environmental Law; L8036. Seminar: Environmentalism and the Protection of Natural Resources; L9056. Seminar in Hazardous Waste Law; L9379. Seminar in International Environmental Law; (3) Economics: W4329. Economics of Sustainable Development; W4625, Economics of the Environment; (4) Cultural Anthropology or Public Health: G4124. People and Their Environment; G4086. Ethnobotany; U4740. Introduction to Environmental Sociology. In addition, students must complete three electives. Upon recommendation of the Environmental Policy Certificate director, up to six points of advanced standing credit for similar courses taken at another university may be accepted, and students may be able to substitute some of the above course work with internships. All students must enroll in the problem-solving workshop (G6103. Environmental Policy Workshop, U8903. Workshop in Cross-National Environmental Problems) at Columbia. The workshop is usually taken with an associated Directed Readings course, which counts as one of the three required electives. The certificate is awarded on the recommendation of the Environmental Policy Certificate director.

For the Conservation Biology Certificate

Students in the social sciences who are enrolled in a degree program at the School of International and Public Affairs, or those in other departments in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences who wish to obtain a strong background in biology, may pursue a Certificate in Conservation Biology. Candidates for the certificate are expected to declare their candidacy as soon as possible after admission to one of the University’s graduate degree programs and discuss their course of study with the DGS. A Certificate Committee reviews the admissions packet of candidates to verify whether they have enough background in biology to complete the program. Students are assigned a Committee member as an adviser. They discuss their program of certificate study with their adviser at the beginning of each semester and obtain written course approval.

At least two Residence Units and 24 points of courses taken for a letter grade are required for the certificate. Advanced standing credit is permissible for up to six points of relevant course work in organismal biology taken at other universities; all other courses must be taken at Columbia. The following courses are required: (1) two semesters of Conservation Biology (EEEB 6905 and 6990); (2) two advanced course in conservation biology; (3) one elective chosen in consultation with the advisor; (4) a problem-solving workshop course (either G6103. Environmental Policy Workshop; or U8903. Workshop in Cross-National Environmental Problems). The certificate is awarded on the recommendation of the EEB Certificate Committee.

Financial Aid

All Ph.D. students receive financial aid, for up to five years, through the Faculty Fellows program. Faculty Fellows are supported by a combination of University, CERC, CERC institutional, and other outside funding. All students are supported at the same level, but the number of years and the components of that support are worked out on a case-by-case basis. If students receive a year of advanced standing, they are entitled to four years of fellowship funding.