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| GSAS & Department Administrative Guide |
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Advisors. Every entering student is assigned a faculty advisor, usually in the student’s major field of interest, and is informed of the assignment upon arrival at Columbia. Students are given the opportunity to voice their preferences for advisors prior to arriving at Columbia for their first semester. Students normally keep their first-year advisors until they have chosen sponsors to chair their oral examinations and/or direct their dissertations. First-year students must meet with advisors during registration.
Brebner Travel Fund. A fund bequeathed to the department by the late Professor J. Bartlett Brebner provides limited funds (up to $250) for travel expenses of graduate students invited to deliver papers at meetings of scholarly organizations. To be eligible, students must hold the degree of M.Phil. and must not have exceeded their seventh year of study in the Graduate School. To apply to this fund, students must write a letter to the Department Chair asking for reimbursement for their travel-related expenses. A copy of the conference invitation must accompany the request. An original receipt from a car rental, or a plane, train, or bus ticket, that clearly shows the cost of the travel, should be given to the Administrative Assistant for Financial Affairs in the department office after travel has been completed and after approval has been given by the Department Chair. Copies of both of the above-mentioned documents must also be submitted to the Academic Department Administrator. Reimbursement for food and lodging is not available. Students applying for and receiving travel funds from the department may also be eligible for matching funds (up to $250) from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Due to budgetary constraints, a student may only apply for travel funds once per academic year. Students applying for reimbursement for travel expenses must meet the application deadlines set by the History Department and by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Please submit your letters to the Chair by the following deadlines:
- Summer semester: July 1
- Fall semester: November 1
- Spring semester: March 1
Students should contact the Administrative Assistant for Financial Affairs in the Department of History for more details and specific deadlines.
Career Services. Columbia University offers a dossier service to those graduate students who are on the job market as well as several workshops about careers in and out of academia. Students should contact the Center for Career Services in East Campus, 212-854-5609 for further information.
Communications. Students must keep the department office up-to-date on their local address and phone number. The Graduate Administrator maintains an e-mail list of all of the department’s active graduate students and regularly posts announcements about departmental events, academic job openings, administrative deadlines, and University lecture dates. Most announcements are only made via email. There are graduate student mail folders in the alcove opposite 616 Fayerweather. Students on leave or away from campus for research are responsible for making their own arrangements to have mail forwarded to them while they are away. The department will not handle this matter.
Fellowship Stipend and Teaching Salary Checks. All departmental fellowship students (multi-year, HDTF, and term-TA) will be issued stipend checks in September, November, January, and March. These checks can be picked up in the Bursar’s Office. Fellowship students with teaching appointments will receive smaller stipend checks than students not teaching; the balance owed is paid out in TA salary checks. These checks can be picked up in the department office on the last business day of every month during the academic year (September through May). CC, LitHum, and University Writing Program instructors receive stipend/salary checks on the same schedule as fellowship students on appointment. All students with teaching appointments (departmental fellowship students AND College instructors) must fill out employment documents in the History Department Office or they will not be paid. Work-study checks are sent to the department office twice monthly; please see the Administrative Assistant for Financial Affairs in 611 Fayerweather for information on time-sheet due dates and details of the payment schedule.
Graduate Education Committee (GEC). The Graduate Education Committee is charged with supervising the graduate curriculum and working with graduate students to develop policy for the graduate program. It is chaired by the Director of Graduate Studies and includes at least six faculty and three elected student representatives with rotating two-year terms.
Graduate History Association (GHA). Graduate students in history are automatically members of the Graduate History Association and are encouraged to join the GHA e-mail listserv to remain informed of events and to be able to participate in discussions and debates among graduate students. The purpose of the GHA is to give students a voice in departmental affairs and to provide a forum for improving graduate student life. It is an effective means of communicating with faculty and the administration, and of exchanging information among students. Periodic workshops on issues of interest to graduate students and other social events are some of the continuing activities of the GHA. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend meetings. Please visit the GHA website for more information.
Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC). This group is the sole university-wide student government for Ph.D. students and other students of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. One representative from each department serves as a voting member on the Council. GSAC’s goal is to improve graduate student life at Columbia. This is accomplished by allocating the student activity fee, advising the GSAS Dean and other administrators, keeping GSAS students informed of community activities, planning student activities, and appointing students to various university-wide positions.
Inter-University Doctoral Consortium. The Consortium is open to doctoral students from participating schools who have completed at least one year of full-time study toward the Ph.D. M.A.-only students are not eligible. Participating schools are: Columbia University, the CUNY Graduate Center, Fordham University, The New School, New York University (including the Institute for Fine Arts), Princeton University, Rutgers University, and Stonybrook University. Registration instructions can be obtained from the Office of Student Services, 106 Low Library.
Leaves of Absence. Under certain circumstances, a student may, with the Dean’s permission, be granted a Leave of Absence. Application for a Leave of Absence should be made through the Dissertation Officer at 107 Low Library.
Orientation. Each year, the Department holds a new student orientation during the week prior to the beginning of classes. New students are strongly urged to attend. All information regarding registration, advisor assignments, first-year requirements, fellowships, etc. is covered at the meeting, after which students are given the opportunity to meet with other graduate students and faculty in their particular areas of study.
Professional Development. The GHA and a faculty Professional Development Officer offer a variety of programs throughout the year. These include mock interviews and job talks for candidates on the job market, and occasional workshops on such topics as giving papers at professional meetings, publishing articles, and working with presses. The faculty Financial Aid Officer also organizes a series of grant-writing workshops each semester. Announcements concerning all of these activities are made via e-mail.
Registration. Every student, whether new or continuing, is expected to be registered continuously until completion of the Ph.D. Students usually move through four registration categories during their years in the program. For the first three years of the program, full-time students are considered “in residence,” and must register for one “Residence Unit” (RU) each semester. Students must complete two residence units to be eligible for the M.A. and six residence units to be eligible for the M.Phil. and the Ph.D. Ph.D. students who are granted Advanced Standing are normally excused from two residence units. All Residence Unit requirements must be satisfied before a student can register for either Extended Residence or Matriculation and Facilities. Students who have completed their Residence Unit requirements but continue to hold a University teaching appointment must register under the category of “Extended Residence” (ER). In addition, students who have completed their residence requirements must be registered for Extended Residence in the semester in which they take the oral examination. Tuition for Extended Residence is half that for full residence. Students who have completed their residence requirements and are not holding University teaching appointments or taking orals must register for full-time “Matriculation and Facilities” (M&F). M&F students may not register for courses, but are entitled to use the resources and facilities of the University. M&F is also the correct registration for students defending the dissertation (unless on a teaching appointment).
Summer Session Registration. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in History may not use courses taken in summer school, whether at Columbia or anywhere else, toward their degree. There are no exceptions to this rule. Ph.D. students may, however, receive tuition credit for certain courses in Columbia University’s Summer Session. The courses must be language courses essential for the student’s program of study. These may include courses taken in the summer preceding the first semester. Fellowship students can obtain an application for summer tuition credit at the Office of Student Services, 107 Low Library. This application must be approved and signed by the student’s advisor and is also subject to approval by the Office of Student Services. Ph.D. students eligible for this financial benefit must enroll for a full Residence Unit or for full-time Extended Residence in the fall term immediately following the summer in which the summer session course is taken. Financial credit for the course is awarded differently to fellowship students than it is to students not holding a multi-year fellowship from Columbia University. Those students holding a History Department multi-year fellowship will be exempted from paying the tuition due for the summer session course (or courses). They must, however, pay all fees, including the mandatory Health Services Extension fee, associated with the course. Students not holding such a fellowship must pay the tuition at the time of registration for the summer session course. They will, however, receive financial credit for that payment when they register for the fall, thus reducing the cost of their fall Residence Unit or Extended Residence Unit by the amount paid for summer session tuition. Students enrolled in the M.A.-only program in History may count courses taken in Columbia University’s Summer Session toward their M.A. degree. For course information, students should contact the Summer Session Office in 203 Lewisohn Hall.
Suspension of Responsibilities for Childbirth: History Departmental Policy. The History Department acknowledges that many graduate students in the department are parents or may become parents during the years of their graduate education. The department seeks to help ease the conflicts that occur between the biological and research or career clocks for graduate students. The department understands that many of its students may bear responsibilities for the care of dependent children, and that these responsibilities (particularly at the birth, adoption, or illness of a child) may temporarily interrupt students’ academic work and their teaching. It is in the interest of insuring the retention and future success of a diverse group of historians to ensure that students may take time for these responsibilities and return to their work in good standing after a specified period of leave.
The GSAS policy on Suspension of Responsibilities for Childbirth provides female graduate students who give birth a minimum of six weeks paid leave from their teaching, research, or coursework responsibilities, and one semester additional time for degree-completion requirements. Funds for financial costs the department incurs from such leaves (such as replacement TA salary) are covered by GSAS. The GSAS policy encourages continuity of instruction for undergraduates, and thus the History Department interprets this policy to mean that students take a full semester of leave from teaching. This policy cannot anticipate all eventualities. Students should speak with their advisors and the DGS about their schedules. The GSAS policy includes students who are taking courses in its leave provisions. Adjustments may include extended time for incompletes or postponing coursework.
The GSAS policy does not yet cover graduate students whose partners give birth or who adopt. However, the policy does cover “care of a newborn,” which involves both parents. The Department encourages faculty members to offer as much flexibility as possible in terms of coursework.
Graduate students who are pregnant (or whose partners are pregnant, or who are adopting a child) are asked to meet with their advisors and the Director of Graduate Studies as soon as possible to plan for time off. So that the Dean’s Office and the Department can make appropriate arrangements, students covered by the GSAS policy should submit the Suspension of Responsibilities for Childbirth form to GSAS no later than four months before the pregnancy due date. The Department will work with the student to develop a plan to replace necessary responsibilities (such as teaching and research). Students should communicate with the Department their revised timeline for completion of degree.
Students using the Suspension of Responsibilities for Childbirth Policy are offered an extra semester for completion of the M.A., M.Phil, and Ph.D. degrees. Eligibility for Teaching Fellowships and other awards is also extended for one semester.
Ph.D. students in Arts and Sciences departments in years six and seven who are not on fellowship are also eligible to have regular responsibilities associated with their Ph.D. program suspended for pregnancy, birth, and/or care of a newborn. Responsibilities that may be suspended include class attendance (if applicable), dissertation progress, and other academic requirements.
Students using this policy will be offered an extra semester for completion of the Ph.D. degree. Eligibility for Teaching Fellowships and other awards are also extended for one semester. Students should submit the Suspension of Responsibilities for Childbirth form to GSAS no later than four months before the pregnancy due date (and indicate on the form non-funded status). This policy does not apply to students beyond their seventh year of doctoral study.
Tuition. Tuition for graduate students in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is a “flat rate,” rather than a per-point rate. For 2007-2008, the tuition prices per semester are as follows:
- Full Residence Unit: $16,682
- Extended Residence: $8,341
- Matriculation and Facilities: $1,395
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