Applying to Columbia Physics Graduate Program

Below is key information about applying to the Columbia Physics PhD Program. Please read each section carefully and direct questions to Ashley Delphia, Director of Academic Administration and Finance, at [email protected] or general inquiries to [email protected].

Please Note: Columbia Physics PhD program is a separate program from the Applied Physics program in the Engineering School. Please make sure you are submitting to the correct program. More information of the Applied Physics program in the Engineering School can be found HERE. Once submitted, applications cannot be transferred between programs.

Three years of fundamental undergraduate physics courses, individual laboratories, and a working knowledge of ordinary differential equations are generally required for admission. The online application for the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences can be found here. Applications for the Physics PhD are due by December 3, 2026. When filing an application form, the student should specify the department or doctoral program subcommittee under which he or she wishes to study. In any given term, a student may apply for study under only one department or subcommittee. A nonrefundable fee of $120 must accompany the completed form.

A complete application includes transcripts of all previous post-secondary education, a personal statement, three letters of recommendation, GRE scores if the applicant chooses to include them, and, if applicable, results of the TOEFL examination.

Students denied admission may reapply in a subsequent year if further training or experience is presented to strengthen the application.

The online application and deadlines for the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences can be found here.

All applicants whose undergraduate degree is from an institution in a country whose official language is not English must submit English proficiency exam scores. The English proficiency requirement can be fulfilled through the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

For more information, refer to our Admissions Information and Frequently Asked Questions pages.

The Columbia Physics department does not oversee or administer the application submission process. For questions or concerns about the admissions process, waivers, or admissions system troubleshooting, please contact the Columbia Division of Graduate Arts and Sciences at (212) 854-6729 or [email protected].

Graduate students entering in the fall should plan on arrival before the last week of August, which is reserved for mandatory Teaching Assistant training and other on-boarding activities.

A comprehensive program of financial aid is available for doctoral students, including fellowships and appointments in teaching and research as appropriate for the program. Detailed financial breakdowns of doctoral fellowship support may be viewed HERE.

Doctoral students normally receive the annual prevailing stipend (or salary, in the case of student officers) and appropriate tuition, health fees, University service and support fees, and if applicable, international fees, for six years, provided that they remain in good academic standing. For student officers, they must also discharge responsibly their pedagogical or research duties. 

The Graduate School will consider a waiver of the application fee for applicants who demonstrate financial need, personal hardship, or other circumstances that make paying the application fee unduly onerous.

You must fill out the Application Fee Waiver Request Form and upload materials to support your request, such as letters from your university, tax returns, or other financial documents. You may access the request form after you have submitted your application.

To apply for a waiver please visit: https://www.gsas.columbia.edu/content/application-fee-waivers

A campus visit is the best way to get a feel for the faculty, students, research, and culture of the Columbia Physics department. We certainly encourage you to come if at all possible. 

All candidates who are admitted to the Columbia Graduate School in Physics are invited to attend the department's Open House. The date for our 2026 Open House is March 8-10, 2026. Students who would be working at the NEVIS laboratories have the opportunity to visit NEVIS on March 31.

For candidates invited to the Open House in person, Columbia University will cover two nights of hotel accommodations. Rooms will be shared with another candidate in a double-occupancy capacity. Columbia University will also reimburse individuals traveling from within the United States and Canada a set rate for travel based on their current location. Please review the following documents for more details on the reimbursement process:

• Open House reimbursement guide
• PaymentWorks vendor registration guide
• Expense Worksheet

Individuals traveling internationally will not be reimbursed for travel. However, if international candidates choose to join us in person for Open House, Columbia University will cover two nights of hotel accommodations. We encourage international candidates who cannot travel to contact us about options for viewing Open House presentations remotely and attending faculty office hours virtually.

For further questions about Columbia Physics's Open House, please contact Ashley Delphia (Director of Academic Administration) at [email protected]. For a map of campus and Pupin Hall, click here.