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| Handbook for Socio-Cultural PhD Students |
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Course Requirements
In order to qualify for candidacy for dissertation research you must successfully complete at least eight departmental courses for credited letter grades.
Beyond this basic requirement, students may take other departmental offerings, courses outside the department and outside the university, via the NYU, New School and CUNY Consortium, or by other arrangement. Independent study courses (9000 level) may be taken with the agreement of individual faculty members and are typically part of the preparation for the Advanced Certifying Examinations (ACE) One or two courses in any division of the university also may be audited per term. Approval for audit must be sought at the Office of Academic Records and Registration, 205 Kent Hall. An audited course will not appear on the student’s record and it is not possible to turn an audited course into a credit course after the fact. A course also may be taken for “R” credit (registered for the course, no qualitative grade assigned) so long as the student makes this request early in the term.
Incompletes from courses taken before Fall 2005 will convert to "R." Incompletes from classes taken Fall 2005 and after will no longer convert to R; instead they will become "F"s after the stated deadline (for Fall 2005 courses, the deadline for completing coursework is Friday, December 22, 2006). A pattern of incomplete work in courses on a student’s academic record will be a cause for faculty concern, and possible dismissal from the program.
Three courses per semester is a standard load. In their course selections students should seek the advice of their committee members or the Director of Graduate Studies, and they should obtain specific approval each semester from their Sponsor (Advisor).
Core Course
A required introductory two-semester core course sequence will be offered every year and is designed to acquaint students with disciplinary history, debates and texts.
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Language Requirement
The department language requirement is a high level of proficiency in one language other than English. This may be demonstrated by fourth year level course work or by an equivalent examination.
The department is committed to the fundamental importance of language skills for anthropological research, whether for gaining access to foreign language secondary literatures, to utilize works in other intellectual traditions or in primary research. Evidence of appropriate language training is now required by granting agencies and advanced language skills are a requisite for making contributions in many fields of anthropological inquiry. Language training should be considered central to a student’s program of graduate training. Language courses are not generally calculated as part of the three-course load, and do not satisfy the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requirements for graded courses.
Students should seek the advice of their committees about gaining advanced proficiency in a principal research language so as to satisfy the departmental requirement. They should also seek advice about other languages skills they ought to consider in connection with their specific research interests.
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MPhil and MA completion policies(These policies are described further in the GSAS Rules and Regulations,
section VII.B.2 on the MPhil
and section VII.B.1.a on the MA taken full time.)
Doctoral students must complete requirements for the MPhil by the end of their 4th year (3rd year for students who received advanced standing) of residence. This will be implemented in the following way:
- Students must complete the requirements and submit their request for the MPhil no later than June 30 in order to receive full funding for the following fall term.
- Students who have not submitted their request for the MPhil by June 30, but who do so by October 18, will receive tuition/fees in the fall while completing MPhil requirements, but they will not receive their fellowship stipend. They will have their fellowship funding reinstated, (subject to the department's approval) beginning in November, thereby foregoing half of their stipend for the fall semester.
- Students who submit their request for the MPhil by December 15 will receive tuition and fees in the fall while they are completing MPhil requirements and have their stipend reinstated in January, thereby foregoing all stipend for fall.
Students who do not anticipate completing the MPhil on time and as required should contact Jan Allen (ja2310@columbia).
Incompletes. Students who have an IN in a course that counts toward the requirements for the MA or MPhil must submit the required work and faculty must assign a grade prior to filing for the MA and MPhil degrees. The MA and MPhil cannot be awarded until all such INs are removed.
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Progress Reports
For students currently in their fifth year of residence or beyond: You will not be allowed to register until GSAS receives your progress report. GSAS will not hold students responsible if advisors have not completed
their part of the paperwork (section 2 of the SSOL progress report).
Access to initiate the online web progress report for 2005-06 is no longer available to
students.
Additional information about the progress report can be found at:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/pages/cstudents/diss-office/rules/rules.html
You can access the paper form directly at:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/pdf-files/report_progress_candidate.pdf
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Registration & Financial Matters
GSAS students must register for certain categories which determine your billing and enrollment status. They are:
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Residence Unit: A tuition based unit. One residence unit is equated with one full-time semester. Students must accumulate 2 residence units for the MA, and 6 residence units (4-5 with Advanced Standing) for the Ph.D. and for the M.Phil. PhD students should register for a full RU for the first six terms of attendance and must register full time during the coursework phase of their studies; that means 1 residence unit per semester.
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Extended Residence: A reduced tuition category for students finished with coursework but requiring on-campus services. This category applies for the following: (1) If you have completed the required residence units and will still be completing any degree requirement, including, but not limited to, new course registrations; OR (2) You are appointed as a teaching or research assistant. (Note also that there is a special category of registration for dissertation defense. See below, "The Dissertation Defense").
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M & F: Matriculation and Fcilities: a reduced tuition category for students requiring only reduced on-campus services. Typically you will register for M&F when you are in the field, or if you have completed all your Residence Units and will not be taking courses. You cannot take classes for credit if you are registered for M&F. When you are in the field, you may be expected to cover the cost of M&F yourself and it is a good idea to include the cost in grant proposals for fieldwork whenever possible.
The following special terminology is used at Columbia:
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Points: Credits
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Sponsor: Advisor
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