Welcome to the website of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. Situated in New York City among many of the world's finest cultural institutions, Columbia has one of the country's oldest and most distinguished graduate schools. To help you make the most of your graduate education here, this set of web pages delineates our regulations and procedures and describes various resources available to you.

The Graduate School's mission is to ensure excellence in the training of graduate students at Columbia. The education we offer here is applicable to a wide range of careers inside and outside the academy. To prepare students for the many opportunities that await them upon graduation, the Graduate School makes every effort to ensure excellence at all levels of graduate education.

The Graduate School promotes the integration of graduate students into the research and educational missions of the University. It oversees the quality of all aspects of graduate education in the Arts and Sciences departments and establishes policies and standards that define best practices in these programs. To this end, I meet annually with department chairs and Directors of Graduate Studies in the Arts and Sciences and organize periodic reviews of M.A. and Ph.D. programs. The Graduate School pays close attention to the diversity and intellectual collegiality of its programs; we maintain an Office of Minority Affairs and support a number of student groups and work closely with the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) and the Office of Diversity Initiatives.

GSAS is the chief advocate for our graduate students' needs qua students. An important goal of my office is to ensure that any service roles you hold are treated as secondary to your need to have the time and resources to complete your degree expeditiously and efficiently.

The Graduate School actively supports those areas of graduate student life that are not considered academic but are critical to success. It works with the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC) and University support offices to promote the interests of graduate students in areas such as financial aid, health care, counseling, and housing. It also has a special interest in supporting students in their professional development. Through the GSAS Teaching Center, GSAS recognizes its role in training the future professoriate and, through its support of the Center for Career Education, it recognizes that there is a vast range of career options for M.A. and Ph.D. recipients.

We are here to assist you and make sure that you have the best possible experience as a student, as a scholar, and as a person.

With my very best wishes for success at Columbia and beyond,

Henry C. Pinkham, Dean