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Please note admissions is open from:
Open October 29th 2007 – January 1st, 2008

Applicants for admission are accepted from qualified men and women for entrance in September and must be received no later than January 1. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. You may not apply to more than one department within the Graduate School of Business PhD Program.

An application fee of $75 in the form of traveler's checks or personal checks only must accompany your application. All checks must be in US Funds drawn on a US Bank located in the United States, with the US Address and 9-digit ABA or routing number pre-printed on the bottom of the check.

No other form of checks will be accepted, including those drawn on US banks located outside the United States. Make all checks payable to "Columbia University".

Our Ph.D. Program is full-time only, we do not offer a part-time course of study. The average time to completion is 5 years.

Columbia Business School Doctoral Program is not distributing hard copy applications. We strongly encourage all applicants to take advantage of our new online application technology or download a PDF copy.

Program Requirements

A bachelor's degree or the equivalent, representing a four-year course of study in an accredited college or university, is required for admission.

A master's degree is not required, although many applicants have the master's degree in such fields as economics, engineering, psychology, and statistics. Superior academic performance is expected. Those who hold American Ph.D. or Sc.D. degrees or their foreign equivalents are not normally eligible for admission. (Occasionally, an exception to this rule can be arranged.)

All candidates for admission must take either the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) given by Education Testing Service at numerous centers throughout the U.S. and abroad.

PLEASE NOTE:

For Applicants to the Finance and Economics Division—the GMAT examination will no longer be accepted. Only the GRE will be accepted for the Finance & Economics Division.

For Applicants to all other areas the GRE or the GMAT will be accepted.

There is not a minimum test score requirement, however, the candidates joining the Fall 2005 class, have an average GMAT score of 730 and a GRE quantitative score of 793.

All foreign applicants must take the TOEFL unless they received a degree from an institution where English was the language of instruction.

Test scores are only one component of the admission package and all applications will be reviewed thoroughly.

There are absolutely no waivers for the GRE, GMAT or TOEFL requirements.

Enrollment Commitment Deposit

Students admitted to the program are required to pay a deposit of $200 to reserve a place in the entering class. This commitment deposit can be waived for an applicant who is already a registered student at Columbia University. For those students receiving financial aid, this deposit is refunded after the successful completion of one term in the program; it is not refundable in the event that the applicant fails to register in the School.

Admissions Statistics 2007

Department Applicants Fall Class
Accounting 62 3
Finance & Econ 219 5
Management 132 4
Decision, Risk & Operations 90 3
Marketing 100 3
Total 603 18

 

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Ph.D. application checklist:

1. Application for admission
2. Non-refundable application fee ($75)
3. Official GMAT or GRE scores School Code#2141
Department code 00
4. TOEFL scores (international applicants only)
5. Transcripts from all institutions attended after high school
6. Two letters of reference
7. Essay
8. Resume or CV (optional)

Frequently asked Questions

PHD Application Recommendation Request