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With a small student to faculty ration, students have the opportunity to get to know and work closely with EHS faculty members. Additionally, there are ample research opportunities as all faculty members are conducting research projects.

The Department is home to two research centers; the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health and the Columbia Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan. The Columbia Center for Children's Environment Health supports research on the health effects of various environmental toxins on children while the Columbia Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan supports research on environmental hazards prominent within underrepresented populations. As several investigators have projects conducted abroad, in locations such as, Bangladesh, China, Kenya and Poland, there are opportunities for students to be involved in international research projects. The faculty members also carry out collaborative research projects that span across the Columbia University campus as well as outside of Columbia. The research is broad in scope ranging from molecular epidemiological, to nutrition, to genetics. The department will be moving into state-of-the-art laboratories by spring 2010. 

Fellowships are awarded in recognition of academic achievement and in expectation of scholarly success. Teaching and research experience are considered an important aspect of the training of graduate students. Thus, graduate fellowships include some teaching and research apprenticeship.

In addition to the requirements listed below, all students must submit 1 official transcript showing courses and grades per school attended, a Statement of Academic Purpose and 3 letters of evaluation from academic sources. All international students whose native language is not English or whose undergraduate degree is from an institution in a country whose official language is not English, must submit scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS. For more information, refer to our Admissions Information and Frequently Asked Questions pages.

*Undergraduate majors in the basic sciences, particularly biology and chemistry, are considered to have good preparation for this doctoral program. As a minimum, applicants must have completed one year each of the following: general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and mathematics. For more detailed information, see the bulletin of the Mailman School of Public Health.