Getting Into Graduate School
The Graduate Physics Program
Living in New York City Around Columbia
Getting More Information
Getting Into Graduate School
Q: How important are the GRE's? Is there a minimum I need to have on the subject test?
A:
The GREs are required for your application including, most importantly, the subject test in Physics. To find out more about the GREs and when they are given, go to their website:
http://www.ets.org/. We do not have a fixed minimum for acceptance since we weigh your GRE scores, your undergraduate grades, and your letters of recommendation in making our decisions, but the typical distribution of GRE scores for admitted applicants over the past few years is given in this
graph - it should give you some guidance about the typical scores of successful applicants.
Q: I took the GREs some time ago. Are they still valid for my application?
A:
Yes. The Graduate School for Arts and Sciences accepts GRE scores that are up to five years old.
Q: Do I need to have taken graduate courses to improve my chances to be accepted at Columbia?
A:
Not really. What we are looking for is a solid background in undergraduate Physics. It is better to have an excellent undergraduate physics record than a poor one with graduate courses. Of course if you have an excellent undergraduate background and have done well in graduate physics courses, that probably indicates that you are a very strong candidate! In addition, you may be able to place out of the graduate courses in Quantum Mechanics and E&M.
Q: I have a non-traditional physics background. Can I still be accepted by Columbia?
A:
Sure, we consider every application individually. If we find that there is a good reason why you have a non-traditional background (e.g. you started late, your school didn't have a traditional physics major, etc.), and we feel that you have shown the potential to undertake graduate physics studies at Columbia, then you have every chance of being admitted. We may, however, as part of your admission ask you to make up some of the deficiencies in your background by, for example, taking the appropriate advanced undergraduate courses at Columbia.
Q: How do I get an application?
A:
You can either
download an application right now, request an application using
e-mail, or you may call (212) 854-4737 to request an application over the phone. Now you can even
apply on-line. Although you should receive it sooner, please allow up to 4 weeks for receipt of the application brochure if you are requesting one via e-mail or over the telephone.
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The Graduate Physics Program
Q: What are the requirements for a PhD in Physics?
A:
Here is some text where the answer will go.
Q: How hard are the PhD qualifying exams, and when do I have to take them?
A:
The written qualifying exam is a test of
undergraduate physics. First-year graduate students take a written qualifying exam in January followed by an oral exam the following week. The three half-day exams cover classical mechanics and E&M (first day), quantum mechanics and modern physics (second day), and general physics (third day). Most students pass this examination on the first attempt (~85%); a smaller number retake and pass the examination the following year. Interested in seeing the level of difficulty? Here is a copy of the 1998 exams, Classical, Modern, General
Q: What is the teaching load I will have as a Teaching Assistant?
A:
As a Faculty Fellow, you will be expected to:
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i) Teach an average of 10 regular 3-hour laboratory sections during each semester. This includes preparation and grading of laboratory reports. There are up to 13 students in each section. In addition, you may be asked to teach one or two make-up laboratory sections per semester.
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ii) Participate in the grading of 2 to 3 mid-term exams and a final exam each semester.
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iii) Hold regularly scheduled "office hours" for 1 hour per week in the Help Room.
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iv) Occasionally (once or twice per semester) help proctor an examination.
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v) Attend regular meetings of teaching assistants with faculty members of the course in which you are teaching.
You can expect to spend a total of about 10 hours per week to fulfill these responsibilities (of which 4 are actual "contact" hours, including working in the help room).
Q: Can I start as a Research Associate rather than a Teaching Assistant?
A:
It is possible, but rare that incoming students are given a Research Assistantship in their first year. Most students are supported by teaching Fellowships for 1-2 years.
Q: What is the typical length of time for a Ph.D.?
A:
Most students graduate in their 6th year.
Q: How big is the typical incoming class?
A:
It varies from about 15-20 students for any one class. The total number of students in the program is about 92 at present.
Q: What is the make-up of the graduate students in Physics?
A:
There are a total of 92 graduate students in all classes (this is a snapshot in '98). Of those, 10 are women, 29 are US citizens, and the others come from 11 countries spread over 4 continents.
Q: What are the fields of Physics research available to me at Columbia? And how do I get involved in research?
A:
The Columbia Physics Department has a very broad range of on-going research, both theoretical and experimental. The principal areas of research are High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Atomic Physics, Laser Physics, Astrophysics, Particle Astrophysics, and Theoretical Physics. For more details, you should check our web pages and the pages of individual faculty members. The usual route for becoming involved in research is to use the summer after your first year to explore research opportunities during that summer, with thesis research usually beginning during the summer of the second year. However, students with suitable interests and preparation may begin research sooner. The advanced students in the department are active in all these fields (for example, a snapshot of the Department in summer 98 shows 12 Theory students, 11 in cross-department research, 11 in High Energy Physics, 9 in Astrophysics, 6 in Nuclear Physics, 2 in Condensed Matter, and 2 in Laser/Atomic Physics).
Q: Can I carry out my thesis research in another Department?
A:
Certainly. Although your thesis adviser may be in a different department or at a national or industrial lab, your degree will be conferred by the Physics Department of the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. A number of students have availed themselves of this possibility by conducting research in the Departments of Applied Physics, Astronomy, Biophysics, Chemical Physics, Electrical Engineering, Geophysics, Mathematics and at Lucent Industries, IBM labs and national labs such as Fermilab (where Accelerator Physics is also offered) and Brookhaven.
Q: What kind of positions do Columbia Physics Ph.D.'s get after getting their degrees?
A:
Here is a small table that lists the first positions after the PhD for a recent sample of 57 Columbia graduates. The American Institute of Physics also provides statistics of salaries for physics PhD's.
Position
|
%
|
|
Research Physicist in US Industry
|
7
|
|
Research Physicist in US National Labs
|
26
|
|
Research Physicist in US Universities
|
32
|
|
Research Physicist Abroad
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14
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Other Employment as Physicist
|
5
|
|
Non-physics Positions (Business, etc.)
|
16
|
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Living in New York City Around Columbia
Q: How much is the stipend?
A:
All students are offered Teaching Fellowships for their first 1-2 years, after that they are generally supported by Research Assistantships. The annual stipend (including the summer stipend) is $30,666 for the 10-11 school year. The typical "take-home pay" (after taxes, etc.) is about $2,500/month -- remember this can vary
significantly from student to student depending on your tax status. There are opportunities to supplement that during the semester by grading, teaching recitations, tutoring, etc. In addition, all tuition and health insurance premiums are covered by the Fellowship.
Q: Will I be able to afford living in New York City? Where will I live?
A:
The Graduate School has a
summary page with information. Most students rent shared apartments in
university-owned apartment buildings near campus. Rents vary, but
typical rents average about $1,000/month for a shared apartment, so the stipend will allow you to live and eat in New York. A much smaller number of students choose to live in
University Residence Halls (dorms). Others may choose
to live off-campus.
Public transportation is fast, safe, and inexpensive ($2.25 or less per trip on a transit card that allows a single subway/bus transfer). For the times when you are not studying,
NYC offers a vast array of entertainment opportunities (discount theatre, movies, museums, sports events, etc.).
Q: What is graduate student housing like?
A:
Here is an excerpt from the
Columbia housing page that gives a sense of what it is like:
"Columbia University owns and directly manages approximately 5,700 residential units in 143 buildings in the immediate vicinity of the Morningside Heights campus. This housing is primarily used to house faculty, staff and students and is managed by the University Apartment Housing (UAH) department of Columbia University's Office of Institutional Real Estate, which manages all of the University's off-campus real estate properties.
UAH consists of student apartments and dormitory-style rooms located within walking distance of the campus. Housing is available to single students, and in limited number, to couples, and students with dependent children. Due to space limitations we are unable to provide housing to accommodate friends or relatives other than, in limited number, dependent children and spouses/ partners of students. We are unable to provide additional space to satisfy unusual work or activity needs.
The purpose of University Apartment Housing is to provide Columbia University graduate, professional and General Studies students registered as full-time degree candidates at the Morningside campus with subsidized housing near the University. There are five basic categories of accommodations available to students; several are available with or without furnishings. The majority of student housing is comprised of apartment shares. All furnished units typically include a single bed (double for couples’ housing), a desk, chair, dresser and lamp in each bedroom, and a couch, chairs, and coffee table in the living room, as well as dining table with chairs in the kitchen or living room. A stove and refrigerator are provided in all units; laundry rooms are available to all student tenants. UAH does not provide linens, cooking utensils, dishes, cutlery, air conditioners, dishwashers, or area rugs. Students are responsible for providing rugs that cover 80 percent of the floor area to comply with the terms of the lease. Please carefully review the descriptions and rate information presented below to determine the type of housing unit most suitable for your needs and budget."
Q: Is it safe to live in New York? What is the Columbia neighborhood like?
A:
Overall, yes it is safe, with crime rates having fallen dramatically over the last few years. As in most large cities, as long as you use some
common sense, you will be safe. The campus area and the surrounding Columbia owned apartment area is well lit, with many people out and about until quite late. There is a
shuttle bus that runs around the campus in the evenings. Columbia is located (see
map) in the Morningside Heights section of NYC (centered at W116th St between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave), bounded by parks on the eastern (Morningside Park) and western (Riverside Park) sides. The immediate neighborhood has a good selection of coffee houses, bookstores, pubs etc (follow this link for a more
complete listing of the facilities in the neighborhood), similar to the areas surrounding large college populations such as Cambridge or Berkeley. You can also download the
FACETS manual that has a lot of useful information about the neighborhood and local facilities.
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Getting More Information
Q: How can I learn more about Columbia and the Physics Department?
A:
Well, if you are here, you must know about our physics web site. The Columbia web site is http://www.columbia.edu/.If you want some more facts on the Department from the "1999 Graduate Programs in Physics, Astronomy, and Related Fields" then have a look at this reprint. The AIP site also has interesting reports such as the "1997 Graduate Student Report" about overall statistics on the graduate student population in Physics.
Q: I would like to talk to a graduate student. How can I get in touch with a graduate student to get more information?
A:
So you want to get the real story about being a graduate student in Physics? Here are a number of graduate students in the department that have agreed to answer e-mail about life as a graduate student in Physics at Columbia.
Pontus Ahlqvist - a
student working in theorectical high-energy particle physics.
Dennis Perepelitsa - a student working in experimental nuclear physics.
Yujiao Chen - a student working in experimental nuclear physics.
Q: I would like to come and visit. How do I arrange that? and how do get there?
A:
We would be delighted to show you around the Department, arrange for you to talk with faculty members and meet graduate students. Please send us an
e-mail to arrange such a visit. It is easy to get here, just follow these
directions. The Physics Department is in a building by the name of
Pupin, in the northeast corner (the section labelled D) of the
campus on the corner of 120th St and Broadway (but you have to enter at 116th St and Broadway).
Q: How can I find more information about New York City?
A:
There are innumerable web sites dealing with information about New York City. Columbia has a
page with many links to get you started.
Q: I have a question that isn't answered here. Who do I contact to get it answered?
A:
We want to make this FAQ as useful as possible, so we would be happy to both answer your specific question, and get suggestions about how to improve this FAQ. Please send your question to the Departmental Administrator handling graduate admissions. If he cannot answer it, she will make sure to forward it to someone who can.
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