• Our students receive very solid training in all aspects of modern statistics. See Graduate Student Handbook for more information.
• Our students receive Fellowship and full financial support for the entire duration of their PhD. See more details here.
• Our students receive job offers from top academic and non-academic institutions.
• Our students can work with world-class faculty members from Statistics Department or the Data Science Institute.
• Our students have access to high-speed computer clusters for their ambitious, computationally demanding research.
• Our students benefit from a wide range of seminars, workshops, and Boot Camps organized by our department and the data science institute.

• Requirements
  • Suggested Prerequisites: A student admitted to the Ph.D. program normally has a background in linear algebra and real analysis, and has taken a few courses in statistics, probability, and programming. Students who are quantitatively trained or have substantial background/experience in other scientific disciplines are also encouraged to apply for admission.
  • GRE requirement: Waived for Fall 2022.
  • Language requirement: The English Proficiency Test requirement (TOEFL) is a Provost's requirement that cannot be waived.
  • The Columbia GSAS minimum requirements for TOEFL and IELTS are: 100 (IBT), 600 (PBT) TOEFL, or 7.5 IELTS. To see if this requirement can be waived for you, please check the frequently asked questions below.
• Deadline: Jan. 5, 2023.
• Application process: The application is fully online.
• Timeline: P.h.D. students begin the program in September only.  Admissions decisions are made in mid-March of each year for the Fall semester.

Students are required to take 7 courses (as specified below) from the core curriculum:

STAT GR6101, GR6102, GR6103 (Applied Statistics)

STAT GR6201, GR6202, GR6203 (Theoretical Statistics)

STAT GR6301, GR6302, GR6303 (Probability Theory)

STAT GR5264 (Stochastic Processes)

STAT GR6104 (Statistical Computing)

In the first semester, students typically take GR6101, GR6301, GR6201. In the second semester students take any three of GR6102, GR6302, GR6202, and GR6104. In the third semester, students must take at least one of GR6103, GR6203 and GR5264. Students wishing additional preparation before embarking on the Probability sequence (STAT GR6301-GR6302) may take MATH W4061-W4062 (Introduction to Modern Analysis) first. Before the beginning of the second year students take qualifying exams in one of probability, theoretical statistics, and applied statistics. Every student must pass one qualifying exams before the start of the third year. A student who fails a qualifying exam may re-take that exam only once. Upon successful completion of the qualifying exams, the MA is awarded. After completing the required courses and written qualifying exams, a Ph.D. student takes a variety of advanced courses offered by this and, in some cases, related departments. While there are no formal requirements as to the number of points of courses taken for a letter grade, it is expected that students will take all core courses for a letter grade.

Length of program: Six Residence Units Two semesters of STAT GR6105 (Consulting) and attendance in at least one of the departmental seminar series (GR9201 and GR9302) are required each semester. Students must take at least one 8000-level seminar or an approved substitute each semester. Students are strongly encouraged to take classes outside the department in areas relevant to their research interests. Students participate in the instructional activities of the department, including seminars, consulting, independent study, and advanced research. An oral comprehensive exam is taken during the third year. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam, the M.Phil.degree is awarded.

The Ph.D. degree is awarded upon successful oral defense and deposit of an approved dissertation according to the rules of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The PhD specialization in Data Science is an option within the Statistics Department’s PhD program.  PhD students in Statistics can choose to do this specialization.  To participate, students need to fulfill the requirements of the specialization in addition to the usual Statistics PhD program requirements, including all the regular course requirements.  Students should discuss this specialization option with their PhD advisor.  Further questions about the specialization requirements should be directed to Professor David Blei (CS and Stats).  Click here for detailed information about the specialization requirements.

• What is the application deadline? What is the deadline for financial aid?
  Our application deadline is January 5, 2023.
  
  
• Can I meet with you in person or talk to you on the phone?
  Unfortunately given the high number of applications we receive, we are unable to meet or speak with our applicants.
  
  
• What are the required application materials?
  Specific admission requirements for our programs can be found here.
  
  
• Due to financial hardship, I cannot pay the application fee, can I still apply to your program?
  Yes. Many of our prospective students are eligible for fee waivers. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers a variety of application fee waivers. If you have further questions regarding the waiver please contact gsas-admissions@columbia.edu.
  
  
• How many students do you admit each year?
  It varies year to year. We finalize our numbers between December - early February.
  
  
• What is the distribution of students currently enrolled in your program?
  (their background, GPA, standard tests, etc)?
  Unfortunately, we are unable to share this information.
  
  
• How many accepted students receive financial aid?
  All students in the Ph.D. program receive, for up to five years, a funding package consisting of tuition, fees, and a stipend. These fellowships are awarded in recognition of academic achievement and in expectation of scholarly success; they are contingent upon the student remaining in good academic standing. Summer support, while not guaranteed, is generally provided. Teaching and research experience are considered important aspects of the training of graduate students. Thus, graduate fellowships include some teaching and research apprenticeship. Ph.D. students are given funds to purchase a laptop PC, and additional computing resources are supplied for research projects as necessary. The Department also subsidizes up to $750 of travel expenses each year for students who make presentations at scientific meetings. Additional matching funds from the Graduate School Arts and Sciences are available to students who have passed the oral qualifying exam.
  
  
• Can I contact the department with specific scores and get feedback on my competitiveness for the program?
  We receive more than 450 applications a year and there are many students in our applicant pool who are qualified for our program. However, we can only admit a few top students. Before seeing the entire applicant pool, we cannot comment on admission probabilities.
  
  
• What is the minimum GPA for admissions?
  While we don’t have a GPA threshold, we will carefully review applicants’ transcripts and grades obtained in individual courses.
  
  
• Is there a minimum GRE requirement?
  No. The general GRE exam is waived for the 2022 - 2023 application cycle. 
  
  
• Can I upload a copy of my GRE score to the application?
  Yes, but make sure you arrange for ETS to send the official score to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
  
  
• Is the GRE math subject exam required?
  No, we do not require the GRE math subject exam.
  
  
• What is the minimum TOEFL or IELTS  requirement?
  The Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences minimum requirements for TOEFL and IELTS are: 100 (IBT), 600 (PBT) TOEFL, or 7.5 IELTS
  
  
•  I took the TOEFL and IELTS more than two years ago; is my score valid? Scores more than two years old are not accepted. Applicants are strongly urged to make arrangements to take these examinations early in the fall and before completing their application.
  
  
• I am an international student and earned a master’s degree from a US university. Can I obtain a TOEFL or IELTS waiver?
  You may only request a waiver of the English proficiency requirement from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences by submitting the English Proficiency Waiver Request form and if you meet any of the criteria described here. If you have further questions regarding the waiver please contact gsas-admissions@columbia.edu.
  
  
• My transcript is not in English. What should I do?
  You have to submit a notarized translated copy along with the original transcript.
  
  

• Can I apply to more than one PhD program?
  You may not submit more than one PhD application to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. However, you may elect to have your application reviewed by a second program or department within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences if you are not offered admission by your first-choice program. Please see the application instructions for a more detailed explanation of this policy and the various restrictions that apply to a second choice.
  
  You may apply concurrently to a program housed at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and to programs housed at other divisions of the University. However, since the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences does not share application materials with other divisions, you must complete the application requirements for each school.
  

• How do I apply to a dual- or joint-degree program?
  The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences refers to these programs as dual-degree programs. Applicants must complete the application requirements for both schools. Application materials are not shared between schools. Students can only apply to an established dual-degree program and may not create their own.

  With the sole exception of approved dual-degree programs, students may not pursue a degree in more than one Columbia program concurrently, and may not be registered in more than one degree program at any institution in the same semester. Enrollment in another degree program at Columbia or elsewhere while enrolled in a Graduate School of Arts and Sciences master's or doctoral program is strictly prohibited by the Graduate School. Violation of this policy will lead to the rescission of an offer of admission, or termination for a current student.

• When will I receive a decision on my application?
  Notification of decisions for all PhD applicants generally takes place by the end of March.

  Notification of MA decisions varies by department and application deadlines. Some MA decisions are sent out in early spring; others may be released as late as mid-August.

• Can I apply to both MA Statistics and PhD statistics simultaneously? 
  For any given entry term, applicants may elect to apply to up to two programs—either one PhD program and one MA program, or two MA programs—by submitting a single (combined) application to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.  Applicants who attempt to submit more than one Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application for the same entry term will be required to withdraw one of the applications.

  The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences permits applicants to be reviewed by a second program if they do not receive an offer of admission from their first-choice program, with the following restrictions:

  • This option is only available for fall-term applicants.
  • Applicants will be able to view and opt for a second choice (if applicable) after selecting their first choice. Applicants should not submit a second application. (Note: Selecting a second choice will not affect the consideration of your application by your first choice.)
  • Applicants must upload a separate Statement of Purpose and submit any additional supporting materials required by the second program. Transcripts, letters, and test scores should only be submitted once.
  • An application will be forwarded to the second-choice program only after the first-choice program has completed its review and rendered its decision. An application file will not be reviewed concurrently by both programs.
  • Programs may stop considering second-choice applications at any time during the season; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences cannot guarantee that your application will receive a second review.
    
    
• What is the mailing address for your Ph.D. admission office?
  Students are encouraged to apply online. Please note: Materials should not be mailed to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences unless specifically requested by the Office of Admissions. Unofficial transcripts and other supplemental application materials should be uploaded through the online application system.
  
  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Office of Admissions
  Columbia University 
  107 Low Library, MC 4303
  535 West 116th Street 
  New York, NY 10027

• How many years does it take to pursue a Ph.D. degree in your program?
  Our students usually graduate in 4‐6 years.
  
  
• Can the Ph.D. be pursued part-time?
  No, all of our students are full-time students. We do not offer a part-time option.
  
  
• What’s the minimum hours/week commitment needed for the successful completion of the Ph.D.?
  Please note that the answer to this question depends on many factors, including the year the student is in, the number of research projects the student is working on, the difficulty level of the research projects, etc. Hence, we cannot set a number for this, and the number is usually set by the students themselves. However, a very rough estimate would be eight hours per day. 
  
  
• One of the requirements is to have knowledge of linear algebra (through the level of MATH V2020 at Columbia) and advanced calculus (through the level of MATH V1201). I studied these topics; how do I know if I meet the knowledge content requirement?
  We interview our top candidates and based on the information on your transcripts and your grades, if we are not sure about what you covered in your courses we will ask you during the interview.
  
  
• Can I contact faculty members to learn more about their research and hopefully gain their support?
  Yes, you are more than welcome to contact faculty members and discuss your research interests with them. However, please note that all the applications are processed by a central admission committee, and individual faculty members cannot and will not guarantee admission to our program.
  
  
• How do I find out which professors are taking on new students to mentor this year? 
  Applications are evaluated through a central admissions committee. Openings in individual faculty groups are not considered during the admissions process. Therefore, we suggest contacting the faculty members you would like to work with and asking if they are planning to take on new students.
  
  
• I am interested in a specific research area. Do you have any faculty members working in this area?
  Please see our faculty research interests.

  For more information please contact us at phd.stat@columbia.edu.

GSAS Application Procedures FAQs

For more information please contact us at phd.stat@columbia.edu