PhD Student Handbook

For the period of coursework students typically enroll in three courses per semester. Students must complete all required core seminars in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies along with meeting other core course requirements, concentration requirements, language requirements, exams, and dissertation prospectus in order to qualify for a MPhil degree granted at the end of the third year if all requirements are met (end of second year for students with advanced standing). Each semester all students must consult with director of Graduate Studies who will advise on course selection and ensure that all degree requirements are being fulfilled in a timely manner. 

The program centers on two core seminars that introduce students to key concepts, histories, and research methods that shape the interdisciplinary field of African American and African Diaspora Studies. In their first year all students are required to take the “Pro Seminar in AAADS” which introduces core concepts and key thinkers who have shaped the discipline. The second core seminar in the first year, “Research Methods in AAADS” offers students the opportunity to explore the dialogues across the field and its interdisciplinary analytic frameworks and critical methods. Both core courses survey historiographies and different cross-border methodologies, including diaspora approaches, transnational histories, migration histories, and social movement histories. Through this sequence of core seminars students sharpen their critical abilities and hone their research skills necessary for the completion of their qualifying exams, dissertation prospectus, and dissertation project in African American and African Diaspora Studies.

Core courses are graduate seminars taught in the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.

Concentration courses are graduate-level courses (4000 and above) that can be found in the departments of Anthropology, Sociology, English and Comparative Literature, History, Political Science, Religion, Art History, or disciplines whose subject matter and methods pertain to African American and African Diaspora Studies. Research fellows associated with AAADS teach courses in these departments.

Inter University Doctoral Consortium — Second- and third-year students can take courses at other universities through the Inter University Doctoral Consortium. Please be attentive to paperwork requirements and deadlines. 

Grading — Please review the Registrar’s website for information and policies on grading.

R Credit — R is a non-evaluative grade, not a change in course grading option, that confers credit for registration without designating an A-F letter grade. Please see grade information here. 

All doctoral students are required to complete a total of six residence units. Doctoral students who have completed the requirements for an identical or comparable MA degree, conferred in another division of Columbia or by another nationally accredited institution (or the international equivalent) may be granted, upon entrance to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), two residence units toward the required total of six. Departments must confirm whether the previously completed MA is comparable to the departmental standards of a Columbia MA.

Students with Advanced Standing must complete all PhD degree requirements including a minimum of six courses, minimum of 24 credits (two residence units) with grades of A- or higher and fulfill the language requirement. They do not submit an MA Essay and do not apply for the MA degree. Please see GSAS Policy on doctoral students entering with a Master’s Degree. 

Advanced Standing students must complete the two required core colloquia — “Pro Seminar in AAADS" and "Research Methods in AAADS” — and a minimum of four required courses:

• One core AAADS course: an AAADS Humanities course or an AAADS Social Science course
• Two graduate courses in a concentration such as Anthropology, Sociology, English/Comparative Literature, History, Religion, Art History, or disciplines whose subject matter and methods pertain to African American and African Diaspora Studies.
• One graduate course outside of the concentration

The final two residence units are completed through the MPhil qualifying exams and dissertation prospectus defense.

All students must complete a total of six residence units with a grade of A- or better to be eligible for an MPhil degree. 

Advanced standing students are expected to defend their prospectus by the end of their second year. Students who do not meet this deadline will be regarded as not in good academic standing, will not have their stipend disbursed for the ensuing fall semester, and may be terminated from their PhD program.

In exceptional circumstances, and with a written rationale from the director of Graduate Studies and sponsor and the approval of the dean of GSAS, advanced standing students may receive a final opportunity to defend their prospectus before September 30 of the third year. Advanced standing students who do so successfully by September 30 of the third year will receive the full dissertation fellowship retroactively. Advanced standing students who do not pass their prospectus by September 30 of their third year will be terminated from their PhD program. For advanced standing students who are off-cycle (those whose third year of matriculation begins in January), the corresponding deadlines described above will be December 15 and February 28. Please see more information on MPhil degree requirements.

Those students without advanced standing and who are enrolled in the PhD Program may apply for the en-route (sequential) MA degree by the end of the third semester. Students must complete eight courses (excluding language courses) for a minimum of 30 graduate credits (two residence units) with grades of A- or higher in order to meet the requirements to receive an MA degree. Students who do not complete these requirements by the end of the third semester are not making adequate academic progress, and may be put on probation or asked to leave the program.

Students must complete two required core colloquia – “Pro Seminar in AAADS” and “Research Methods in AAADS” –  and five required graduate-level seminars: 

• Two core AAADS courses: one AAADS Humanities course and one AAADS Social Science course
• Two courses in a concentration such as Anthropology, Sociology, English/Comparative Literature, History, Religion, Art History, or disciplines whose subject matter and methods pertain to African American and African Diaspora Studies.
• One graduate course outside of the concentration.

Along with the six courses in the first year and one course in the fall semester of the second year, students must enroll in the spring of the first year in the “Thesis Research Tutorial” (for a total of eight courses). To complete an extended MA essay of 30-40 pages, students work with a primary advisor who has knowledge and expertise related to the thesis topic and must be a fulltime faculty member, preferably in AAADS. The MA essay grade is assigned by the primary advisor. The MA essay is evaluated by the primary advisor and the director of Graduate Studies. A third reader may be added if the two readers diverge in their evaluation of the essay. The final draft of the essay must be submitted to the director by an early May or late August deadline.

Master’s Essay requirements:

• Select a faculty advisor for MA essay by the end of the first semester deadline set by director
• Set up approved regular meetings with faculty advisor
• Submit a 15-page draft essay by the March deadline set by director
• Submit final essay draft by early May or late August according to the deadline set by director and according to student preference.
• The final essay must include a title page with the student’s name, the advisor’s name and signature, the date, the title of the essay, and the following statement: “This essay is submitted to the Columbia University Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts.” The MA essay should not exceed 40 pages.

The MA degree application must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by this link. Please take note of the deadlines for the application for the MA degree.  

MPhil

For the MPhil, sequential MA students must complete an additional 24 credits (two additional Residence Units) of coursework. Students are required to complete six courses:

• One core AAADS course: a AAADS Humanities course or a AAADS Social Science course.
• Three graduate courses in a concentration such as Anthropology, Sociology, English/Comparative Literature, History, Religion, Art History, or disciplines whose subject matter and methods pertain to African American and African Diaspora Studies.
• Two graduate courses outside of the concentration.
• Two of these courses may be taken for R (Registered for the Course) credit.

The final two Residence Units are completed through the MPhil qualifying exams and dissertation prospectus defense. Students must defend the prospectus successfully by May 31 of their third year. Students who do not meet this deadline will be regarded as not in good academic standing, will not have their stipend disbursed for the ensuing fall semester, and may be terminated from their PhD program. 

In exceptional circumstances, and with a written rationale from the DGS and sponsor and the approval of the dean of GSAS, students may receive a final opportunity to defend their prospectus before September 30 of the fourth year. Students who do so successfully by September 30 of the fourth year will receive the full Dissertation Fellowship retroactively. Students who do not pass their prospectus by September 30 of their fourth year will be terminated from their PhD program. For sequential MA students who are off-cycle (those whose fourth year of matriculation begins in January, the corresponding deadlines described above will be December 15 and February 28. Please see more information about MPhil degree requirements.

All students (both sequential MA and advanced standing) must complete a total of six Residence Units with a grade of A- or better to be eligible for an MPhil degree. Please see more information about MPhil degree requirements

See more information on GSAS policies on transfer credits. 

All candidates for the PhD are required to demonstrate proficiency in a language or languages other than English. The language may be one spoken within the African diaspora, such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Indigenous languages, or a language relevant to the area of study. All language exams are required to be completed before taking MPhil qualifying exams.

In most cases, a student is considered to have fulfilled the requirement for a given language when they successfully pass a written examination consisting of the translation of a prose passage from that language into clear English.

Students may take language courses during the academic year or during the summer to help them prepare for the departmental language exams, but such courses do not substitute for academic content courses required for the degree. Graduates may apply (“petition”) to be exempted from the exam in a relevant research language if they hold a degree or diploma from an institution operating in the language for which they seek exemption. This petition is to be addressed to the director of Graduate Studies.

Please see the language departments on campus to determine if an exam exists for the language a student wishes to show proficiency in. Sequential MA students must show proficiency by passing the exam prior to receiving the MA degree. All other students must demonstrate proficiency by passing the exam prior to MPhil qualifying exams. 

MPhil Qualifying Exams

Once students complete their coursework, with no outstanding incompletes, and fulfill language requirements, they can prepare for the qualifying exams to demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the intellectual frameworks and theoretical debates in the interdisciplinary field of African American and African Diaspora studies. These exams prepare students to teach and write in areas of the discipline beyond their own research interests. 

The MPhil examinations require two parts:  two written qualifying exams followed by a two-hour oral defense. The two fields for the exams must include one major field topic in Black Studies and one minor field in an area of concentration relevant to the student’s area of study. The two exams must be defended in front of an exams committee of three faculty. In addition to the exams, students must also submit two revised research papers (25-35 pages) from their coursework for review by the faculty on the Exam Committee.

Beginning in the second year (second semester) or in the first year (second semester for those with advanced standing,) students should assemble an MPhil qualifying exams committee of three faculty members. Two must be AAADS faculty and the third may be a Columbia faculty in the field relevant to the exam. Two faculty members will consult on the major exam and the other will consult on the minor exam. One AAADS faculty should serve as primary exam advisor and coordinate the oral exam paperwork with the director of Graduate Studies.

For the two exams, students should prepare reading lists of material (secondary sources) that students may have read in courses or for research along with new material relevant to the written examination. Students should request examples of reading lists by other graduate students who have completed their exams. In preparation, students should consult with their three advisors who will advise on defining and delimiting the scope of the reading lists. The major exam should consist of 50-75 citations and the minor exam should consist of 25-35 citations. Each list should include an abstract that encapsulates the key conceptual frameworks and debates. 

Toward the end of the first semester of the third year (or second year for those with advanced standing), the student should contact the DGS to schedule a two-hour defense of the written exam with the committee. The PhD Coordinator will circulate the lists to the Exam Committee who will have two weeks to draft with three questions:  two questions for the major (the student will choose one of the questions) and one for the minor. The student will have two weeks to write a response to the questions. The major exam should be a 15-20-page, double-spaced response with proper citations. The minor exam should be a 10-15-page, double-spaced response with proper citations. 

For the MPhil qualifying exam defense, students receive a High Pass, Pass, or Fail. 

• Candidates receiving Pass who have fulfilled all other MPhil requirements are awarded the M.Phil. degree and proceed to the doctoral program.
• Candidates receiving Low Pass are eligible to receive the MPhil degree. Candidates receiving a Low Pass may petition their committees within three working days if they want to re-take the oral examination; if granted approval, candidates must re-take the exam within one month of the first oral examination. A candidate who fails a second orals must petition the Committee on Graduate Education for permission to make a third attempt.
• Candidates receiving Fail are not awarded the MPhil and are not permitted to re-take the orals or advance to the doctoral program.

Dissertation Prospectus Defense 

Dissertation Prospectus Defense Committee

By the end of the second semester of the third year (or second year for those with advanced standing), as students wrap up their MPhil exams, students must form a dissertation prospectus committee. Although continuity may prove productive in advising relationships, students may change the membership of their dissertation prospectus committee from their qualifying exam committee. 

A student’s dissertation prospectus defense committee is composed of an Advisor and two additional committee members; two must be faculty in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies. At this time relationships with these three committee members must be formalized and reported to the program coordinator on a Dissertation Prospectus Committee form with faculty signatures. Students may choose a “co-advising” relationship shared by two faculty members.

Dissertation Prospectus

The dissertation prospectus outlines an argument of a scholarly project and the body of evidence that will support the claims of that argument. By definition the document is prospective, a hypothesis whose critical questions guide a research agenda. The prospectus should outline a project’s conceptual structure, existing scholarship on the topic, and its methodological intent. The prospectus, in its shorter form, will be useful to apply for grants to support various stages of the research.

Students must submit the prospectus for approval by three faculty members who form a dissertation prospectus committee. Students should select three faculty members, including one as advisor who will read, evaluate, and discuss the merits of the proposal in a two-hour prospectus defense. Please consult GSAS for further information on dissertation committee and advisors.

The prospectus itself should be no longer than 15 pages (double spaced). The prospectus should include:

1. A clear title of the project
2. The body of the prospectus should include a clear statement of the topic and the significance of the critical questions it will address. It should position the topic within existing scholarship, articulate a research approach or methodology, and identify the sources to be consulted.
3. A tentative outline of chapters, with brief summaries of proposed contents.
4. A preliminary bibliography, listing the principal secondary sources and the major archival or other primary sources to be used.
5. A tentative schedule for research, writing, and completion of the project.
6. Identify any special resources needed such as travel, special equipment, linguistic or technical skills.

A draft of the prospectus should be submitted to the committee members at least one week prior to the dissertation prospectus defense. The student should contact the DGS to coordinate and schedule a two hour prospectus defense with the committee. The student should download the GSAS “Report of the Dissertation Prospectus Committee” for the committee to sign. The student should give the completed form to the director of Graduate Studies for approval. Please be aware of GSAS deadlines. See more information on the GSAS dissertation prospectus protocols and deadlines.

To remain in good standing, students must defend the prospectus successfully by May 31 of their third year. If, however, the student holds an appropriate master’s degree from Columbia or another institution and received two Residence Units of advanced standing, all MPhil degree requirements – including the dissertation prospectus, if relevant – must be completed within two academic years (four semesters) of registration. 

MPhil Application

Upon successful completion of the MPhil qualifying exams and dissertation prospectus defense, the committee will recommend the department advance the student to PhD candidacy. An MPhil degree will be granted if all requirements have been met (completion of all courses with satisfactory grades (with no outstanding incompletes) and language requirements). The application for the MPhil degree must be submitted to the director of Graduate Studies - See more information on GSAS MPhil degree requirements.

Once this phase of the doctoral process is completed, students are officially “all but the dissertation,” i.e. ABD.

Dissertation Writing

To demonstrate their ability to research, critically analyze, and contribute original scholarship to the field, students will propose, write, and defend a dissertation before a faculty committee. It represents the opportunity for students to embark on an intellectually rich project and craft an original argument that contributes to the field of African American and African Diaspora Studies. The dissertation can adopt a range of methods and draw upon primary sources to produce a document whose length and scope are determined by the student. Successful completion of a dissertation requires an organized research agenda, clear and consistent writing, scheduling regular meetings with their advisor, and attention to departmental and GSAS deadlines and protocols. AAADS offers a yearly dissertation writing workshop, where students circulate a piece of writing from the dissertation for presentation and discussion; please check with DGS for dates. Students may also want to access the helpful resources offered by the GSAS Writing Studio. They offer a range of support including interdisciplinary writing groups, dissertation writing retreats, one-day mini writing retreats, workshops, one-on-one consultations, and co-writing sessions - 

Students should establish with their advisor the process of how they will review and respond to chapter drafts. Some faculty may be willing to read rough drafts; others may prefer to read only polished chapters. The advisor will offer feedback and engage in conversations over the course of writing the dissertation that should advance the process.

Dissertation Defense

The last step before receiving the Ph.D. is the formal defense of a completed dissertation. To begin the process of applying for a formal defense of the completed dissertation, students must have the review and approval of the advisor and second internal departmental committee member. No defense will be organized unless the advisor and second reader have signified that in their judgment the dissertation is acceptable and thus warrants a defense and final examination. These two committee members must approve the dissertation for distribution to other committee members. (see below)

It is also important to review very carefully the information on the GSAS website that outlines the steps necessary to successfully defend and deposit a dissertation. Please make note of the required paperwork and the important deadlines to submit these documents. If you do not submit these documents in a timely manner the defense cannot be scheduled. 

Students intending to defend the PhD dissertation must file an Application for Dissertation Defense. The form should be filled out by the student and advisor, and delivered to the director of Graduate Studies. The Department then schedules the defense. It is important to submit a defense application early in the term in which the defense is expected; students should consult the director for the relevant deadlines.

Dissertation Defense Committee

Working with their advisor students must select a committee of five members. This should include the three committee members already selected. The fourth committee member may be from another Columbia department or ideally from another university. The fifth committee member must be from another university. It is the responsibility of the advisor and not the PhD candidate to make the formal invitation to an external committee member. The names of the defense committee members must be submitted to GSAS for approval. Please see the GSAS website for additional information. Please make note of the required paperwork and the important deadlines to submit these documents.

It is important to know that your Advisor and the dissertation defense committee Moderator must be two different people. The Advisor supervises your research and the Moderator, who is typically a secondary reader from the department, is responsible for directing the dissertation defense’s oral examination and submitting the results to the University.

Students must submit the dissertation in a format according to the templates required by GSAS. Students must give the dissertation committee ample time to read the dissertation; therefore, the dissertation should be distributed at least one month prior to the defense date. The director of Graduate Studies will distribute the dissertation to the committee.

Dissertation Defense Structure

The PhD candidate briefly outlines the work at the beginning of the defense. Over the approximately two hours of the defense format, the committee members pose a series of questions about the project. Committee members advise how to best revise the dissertation as a publishable book, as peer-reviewed articles, or some other type of work. Committee members (no more than two) who do not live in the region may participate in the defense via video or audio conferencing. Additional information on GSAS defense policies can be found here.  

The committee is responsible for submitting a final evaluation of the dissertation. The outcomes of the defense vote by the committee are: Approved as submitted; Approved pending revisions; Referred; or Fail. Please see here for a detailed explanation of each category. 

Upon passing the defense you will be given an approval card. If “approved as submitted,” students submit almost immediately after the defense, particularly if the defense is close to the time of Commencement. If “pending revisions,” students have six months from the time of the defense in which to make further revisions and these must be completed to the satisfaction of the Advisor. The approval card to deposit the dissertation must be signed by the Advisor and the department Chair or DGS if the chair is unavailable. Once the properly formatted physical dissertation has been submitted for deposit, then the degree can be awarded. Please read carefully through the steps for deposit on the GSAS website.

Registration Status 

All students must be registered during the term in which they distribute the defense copies of the dissertation.  Please review carefully the dissertation dates and deadlines here. 

Dissertation Deposit And Graduation 

The deposit, and not the defense, is the final requirement for the PhD and professional degrees. After the successful defense and complete deposit of the dissertation, the degree is awarded on the next subsequent conferral date, in October, February, or May of each year. Students must clear all outstanding accounts to receive their degree. See the GSAS site for more information on the deposit and award of the degree.

For complete information on the dissertation process please visit the GSAS Dissertation Office page.

Summer Research Support 

Your GSAS fellowship provides you with an annual stipend for summer research for five summers.  Supplementary funds are available from the Department (see above). These can be used for summer preparatory research, language study, or travel to conferences. (For more information on the Department’s language requirement, please refer to “Language Requirements” in section above.) In their first year, students are strongly encouraged to investigate possible dissertation topics by travelling for preparatory research. A small departmental fund exists to offset the cost of summer research. For MA students: first- through third-year students are eligible for up to $1500 in research funding and fourth- through fifth-year students are eligible for up to $1000. For advanced standing students: first- through second -year students are eligible for up to $1500 in research funding and third through fourth-year students are eligible for up to $1000. The amount of summer money may vary yearly according to the funding package put together by GSAS. This is in addition to summer funding available from GSAS. Students are also encouraged to apply for other summer funds from within the University as appropriate to their area and project. 

For the department funds, students must complete and submit the Request for Summer Research Support Form to the DAAF for review. A report detailing research results and activities must be submitted to the Program Coordinator upon completion of the work. 

Please note, students seeking summer research support into years six and five (for advanced standing students) must be able to show evidence of progress toward completing their dissertation and sharing its emerging findings, for instance, through participation in workshops and conference panels.

International Travel 

The University and Department require that all students register foreign trips with Columbia’s free ISOS service that provides medical, logistical, legal, and other emergency help for Columbia student researchers. Students must register their trips ahead of time. See more information on registration.  Please note that sometimes Columbia University bans travel for its affiliates to particular countries. You should learn about these bans before you propose and plan research trips. 

Annual Form For Departmental Funding 

Every year you must request departmental support for the following summer. This form is available on the Department website along with other important forms. Please see departmental website for forms to apply for departmental summer funding and the GSAS website for other summer funding opportunities. 

Iserp Conference Funding

AAADS graduate students are eligible to apply for graduate student conference funding from the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP). These conferences must take place at Columbia University. The application process is competitive and proposals should be well crafted from an intellectual perspective and detailed in terms of conference planning. See additional information on the ISERP website.

Additional Funding 

U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents who are recipients of fellowship awards that include teaching or research responsibilities are required to complete the financial aid forms for the federal aid programs. Students must submit the Columbia University Application for Loan and/or Federal Work-Study and must have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The financial information contained in these documents will NOT alter the amount of the fellowship award from GSAS.

Other Fellowships

There are many other opportunities for fellowship support, some from within the university and others from outside. The Graduate School maintains an extensive listing of external fellowships available to graduate students. Some of the major fellowships students regularly apply for are listed below (for details and deadlines, please visit the Financial Aid Office website:

Outside Funders

Included but are not limited to: 

• Fulbright
• National Science Foundation 
• American Association of University Women (AAUW)
• National Museum of African American History and Culture
• The Carter G. Woodson Institute
• African Studies Association
• Social Sciences Research Council (SSRC)

Grant Databases from other Institutions

• Duke University Funding Opportunities Database
• University of Chicago Fellowship Database
• Rutgers Funding Database
• University of Illinois Fellowship Finder
• UCLA: Scholarship Search Database
• Michigan State University Library

The graduate advisor and advisee relationship is one of the most important one in a student’s early professional life. In the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies the director of Graduate Studies assigns each matriculating PhD student with an initial advisor – a faculty member who might not be in your area of interest but who can guide the advisee through the first year. The relationship extends beyond intellectual interests into professional persona, conduct, and care. As students move through their first year they often create advising and mentoring relationships with those they may work with directly later in their course of study. It is recommended that students forge relationships with more than one faculty member in order to benefit from a range of advising/mentoring styles in this interdisciplinary department. The director of Graduate Studies serves as the department-level advisor to help students navigate the program and the Graduate School.

At the end of each academic year, the annual faculty meeting for the evaluation of students represents the collective effort of the faculty to monitor progress through the graduate program. In advance of this meeting (usually held in early May), students should communicate with the DGS. At this time students in the process of completing coursework should check their academic records for accuracy. Students will be scheduled to meet (in-person) to discuss progress in the program. Those students who are in the dissertation phase must arrange a progress meeting (in-person or video conference) with their dissertation Advisor and committee moderator. In accordance with the discussions at this meeting, the DGS will send letters to each student commenting on his or her progress and detailing steps to redress any problems going forward. To best craft a productive relationships between graduate students and advisory faculty, please review GSAS best practices.

Students in the program are expected to:

• Be their own best advocate and own their education, and therefore actively seek guidance, training, and support throughout their time at Columbia;
• Adhere to the Columbia Academic Code;
• Adhere to the AAADS’ program guidelines outlined in the most recent version of this handbook;
• Maintain an environment of inclusion, respect, and generosity in the Department and University;
• Solicit and be responsive to the graduate advisor’s input on course selection, intellectual direction, knowledge of the field, exams preparation, and dissertation writing and research;
• Progress through the program in a timely manner;
• Establish an understanding with their advisor about their progress in the program annually, and once ABD to establish the timing and nature for chapter submissions and feedback;
• Make requests for letters of support well in advance of the deadline, and include all accompanying materials as early as possible (at least four weeks is ideal);
• Make sure they meet with their advisor at least once each semester to monitor progress, expectations, etc.

Graduate Advisors should endeavor to:

• Commit to the role of advisor and remain attentive to their advisee’s needs;
• Demonstrate care and support for their graduate advisee for the duration of the program;
• Remain in regular and continual contact throughout the student’s program (in whatever agreed upon format, whether in person or online). The frequency of such contact fluctuates but monthly check-ins are ideal for pre-ABD students;
• Remain informed about the program’s structure, requirements, and deadlines, and be in conversation with the student about such dates;
• Consider the full range of professional development for their advisees and help identify opportunities for professional development;
• Provide timely feedback on submitted writing (4-6 weeks is the standard turnaround time unless the advisor/advisee have agreed on a different schedule).
• Write letters of recommendation and support in a timely manner;
• Model the highest level of integrity in accordance to the best practices of the University and the profession;
• Maintain an environment of inclusion, respect, and generosity in the Department and University;
• Clearly inform the advisee and the DGS if they are unable to discharge any of these duties; and
• Submit a yearly Evaluation of Progress when required.

Awareness of requirements

All students must be familiar with the GSAS rules and guidelines as explained on the GSAS web site. Students should pay special attention to information regarding registration and the submission of material for degree-granting dates. Students should consult with the DGS as early as possible with any questions concerning requirements, overall progress toward the degree, deadlines, etc. More information is in the GSAS Policy Handbook.

Satisfactory Progress 

For more information of satisfactory academic progress please visit the relevant GSAS page. In addition to achieving satisfactory academic progress, students are expected to remain in compliance with all applicable administrative policies and procedures of the University, such as those of the Columbia Libraries, University Apartment Housing, etc. Consequences for failing to make academic progress or to adhere to applicable administrative policies and procedures may include academic or administrative warning, probation, suspension, or dismissal.

Grades 

Graduate students in the Arts and Sciences who receive a mark of Incomplete have to submit missing work to instructors by the following deadlines: December 31 for Incompletes earned in the previous spring semester or summer session, and June 30 for Incompletes earned in the previous fall semester. GSAS will no longer grant extensions beyond that year to submit work to remove a mark of Incomplete. Dates for the end of a given semester are available on the Registrar’s website. Leaves of absence and withdrawals stop the clock on Incomplete deadlines.

Leaves 

GSAS has policies for leaves of absence. Graduate students may also contact the director of Graduate Studies, with questions. The period of the leave stops the completion clock and is not counted as part of the time allowed for completion of the degree requirements.

Time to Degree

The doctoral curriculum has been designed so that students complete their degrees in five years, with a sixth year allowed pending approval. The official GSAS time limit for receiving the PhD is seven years or six years for advanced standing students, and students who exceed that limit must petition the department and the Graduate School for an extension each year. Extensions are not automatic. Students who request extensions must present evidence of significant progress toward completion. Beyond the seventh year, GSAS students are not eligible for housing in Columbia Residential, nor for any additional funding from GSAS or the Arts and Sciences. Please review GSAS policy on time limit to complete the PhD. 

Teaching is an integral part of the PhD program in African American and African Diaspora Studies. Every student must teach for at least two semesters prior to receiving the MPhil degree, but the vast majority of our students will teach much more than that, as part of the terms of a multi-year fellowship. Teaching is an educational experience for those engaged in it. But it also, of course, carries responsibilities to the students you teach and to the instructors in whose courses you are working. In turn, instructors for whom you TA have certain responsibilities to you.

Although the department strives to match students to TA courses in their own fields, it is not always possible to do so. Students in smaller fields, in particular, are normally expected to do a certain amount of their teaching in fields that are not their own. But all students should be assigned teaching within their fields for at least two semesters.

Graduate student teaching in AAADS usually takes one of three forms: as a Reader, a Teaching Assistant, or as a Teaching Scholarship.

• Readers assist instructors in undergraduate lecture courses in grading midterms and final exams, and in evaluating papers (and drafts of papers). A reader is typically responsible for 30 to 50 students a term and should expect to spend no more than an average of ten hours per week on work related to the course, which may include some administrative responsibilities. Readers typically have little or no direct interaction with students. They are expected to attend the lectures in the courses.
• Teaching Assistants (years two, three, five, and six) conduct weekly discussion sections for students in undergraduate lecture courses and are also responsible for evaluating midterms, final exams, drafts of papers and final papers. A teaching assistant is typically responsible for two discussion sections, which together contain 30 to 35 students. Communication with students may also include regular office hours, e-mail communication, and other in-person or virtual meetings. Teaching assistants should expect to spend no more than an average of 15 hours a week on work related to a course, which may include some administrative responsibilities. They are expected to attend the lectures in the courses in which they are working. Please see student Officer appointment categories on GSAS’s website.
• Students with teaching assignments must register for Colloquium/Seminar in Teaching each semester that they teach. Section numbers are provided by the director of Graduate Studies.
• Additionally, students with the MPhil may also qualify to devise their own seminar syllabus for consideration in their department’s curriculum by teaching in the GSAS Teaching Scholars Program. Teaching Scholars will receive a full Teaching Assistantship for the year in which they teach that will include tuition, facilities fees, stipend, and health insurance. Additionally, students selected will be awarded $1,000 for the summer before the year in which they are scheduled to teach their proposed course to support their efforts to develop and prepare the course and its attendant materials.

Training 

The department will provide training for graduate student teachers through an intensive one-day workshop early in the fall semester. In these sessions, students receive advice on how to lead discussion sections, how to manage technology, how to handle grading and commenting on students’ work, how to advise students on writing papers, and other issues likely to confront teachers. The workshops will also address issues that will confront PhDs once they begin teaching on their own: creating syllabi, drawing up reading lists, preparing lectures, etc. Another indispensable resource for workshops, consultations, group discussions, and fellowships for professional development can be found at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

Privileges 

Teaching Assistants and Readers are entitled to a number of privileges. They may check out books for extended periods and are exempt from fines for overdue items (except for Barnard course reserves, materials from Health Sciences libraries, and books that are not returned when recalled). Students also can expect free desk copies of the books assigned to the courses they teach. Professors (with the help of the department’s Administrative Assistant) are responsible for ordering desk copies for their Teaching Assistants from publishers.

Selection of Teaching Assistants 

TA assignments are made by the director of Graduate Studies. Faculty and students should address any concerns to the director of Graduate Studies.

Preparing to Teach 

Getting ready for a semester of teaching is a joint responsibility of the TA and the instructor. Well before the semester begins, the instructor should order desk copies of assigned books for TAs, distribute to all TAs a copy of the syllabus, and select section times – ideally early enough for undergraduates to enroll in sections at the time of registration. Professors and TAs should meet before the start of the semester to review the goals of the course, the nature of the assignments, and the role of sections in the course. Teaching Assistants should have a sense of what the instructor expects of students enrolled in the course. The assignment of students to sections should be completed by the second class. The instructor and the TAs ordinarily share in the task of organizing the sections. Professors and their teaching assistants should meet weekly to discuss content, pedagogy, grading, and any problems that arise in the course. Professors should meet with readers before every grading assignment (exam or paper) to discuss content and expectations. Faculty should provide guidelines to TAs for grading.

Evaluations 

As graduate students are both teachers and students, evaluation must address both issues. Undergraduates should complete teaching assistant evaluations—provided on a separate departmental form—as part of course evaluations; those evaluations will be made available to TAs after grades for the course are in. Instructors may also ask their TAs to complete course evaluations that assess both the pedagogical success of the course and the use of TAs in it. At the semester’s end, instructors should provide some feedback to TAs about their work in the course, either in a meeting or in writing. The department keeps files of undergraduate evaluations. Graduate students may make photocopies of their evaluations to use as part of a teaching portfolio for the job market, or for applications for other Columbia teaching positions.

Students are admitted with a multiyear GSAS PhD Fellowship that provides funding for up to six years, although students are expected to complete their studies in five years. The GSAS fellowship offers students full tuition, an academic and summer stipend, along with basic health care and insurance fees available through the University, on a yearly basis. Please note that GSAS also provides five years (not six) of summer stipend funding. Students are responsible for all other fees: student activity fee, one-time transcript fee, and international and University facilities fee, on a yearly basis.

GSAS typically requires that students teach for three years beginning in the second year. Advanced standing students typically teach two years. The minimum amount of teaching is one year, but this is a rare exception. Students are not required to teach in the first year or in the dissertation research or writing year when they receive a Dissertation Fellowship from GSAS. Students must maintain satisfactory performance for the continuation of fellowship funding. 

If you are awarded an external fellowship, you may be eligible to “bank” remaining GSAS funding so that it may be used at a later date. GSAS does not allow fellowship banking if you receive a Columbia internal award, only for external fellowships. No student is allowed to hold GSAS funding beyond year six of the program even if they have received multiple external awards. Please review the GSAS handbook on policies concerning external awards. 

Residence Unit (RU) 

The Residence Unit is a full-time registration category for one semester (whether or not the student is taking courses), which provides the basis for tuition charges. Six Residence Units-including the two for the en-route MA degree-are required for the MPhil and PhD degrees.

Extended Residence (ER) 

After completing six Residence Units, students are required to register for Extended Residence in any term in which they are holding a university teaching appointment, they are taking a class, or completing a degree requirement other than the dissertation defense.

Matriculation and Facilities (M&F) 

Advanced students who neither hold a university teaching appointment nor are completing a degree requirement can satisfy the continuous registration requirement by registering for Matriculation and Facilities (M&F), which allows them to make use of various University facilities. A PhD student registers for M&F if they are writing or distributing the dissertation (for instance, while holding a Dissertation Writing Fellowship) and are not engaged in any of the following: taking a course, holding an appointment as a teaching or research fellow, or completing a degree requirement other than the dissertation defense. In all other cases, a PhD student must register for either a Residence Unit or Extended Residence.

Students may not register part-time; Continuous Registration must be maintained until all requirements for the degree are satisfied. Students are exempted from the requirement to register continuously only when granted a leave of absence. Graduate students should contact the DGS with questions.

In addition to faculty advising and the initiatives outlined above that are tied to different moments in your AAADS graduate student career, there is a great deal of academic support at the university for graduate students. This includes campus-wide graduate student spaces for study, research and meetings, the Writing Studio for graduate students at all stages of the program, GSAS Compass, an office designed to help graduate students with career advising, and the Center for Teaching and Learning, which offers a huge range of resources for graduate student instructors, including help with assignment design, course organization etc. All these offices make available a variety of online resources, workshops, and in-person one-to-one discussion.

Research Groups

Students who share interests with colleagues both in the Department and from other disciplines across campus and elsewhere regularly constitute research groups around particular themes, theoretical questions, or regional issues.

Letterhead

The Department allows students to use department letterhead for job search related purposes or for research purposes. Please check with the director of Graduate Studies to ascertain if your purposes align with this policy. If it does, students should forward the text of the letter to the director of Academic Administration and Finance (DAAF.) Students will receive a PDF of their letter on letterhead.

Business Cards

The Department recommends that all students apply for business cards listing their affiliation with Columbia University and our department before they travel. The Department will cover the costs of these cards. To order business cards, please follow these steps. The Department’s DAAF can provide payment information.

The Graduate Student Center & Seminar Room

Located in 301 Philosophy Hall, the Graduate Student Center provides a café and study and quiet meeting space for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty across disciplines and schools. You may access the Graduate Student Center using your Columbia ID card.

The Graduate Seminar Room is located in 302 Philosophy Hall, and may be reserved by GSAS student groups and for GSAS student initiatives. The space seats up to twenty-three people, and is equipped with a media screen. Requests to reserve the Seminar Room should be submitted at least 24 hours in advance through the online reservation system (for a period of up to three hours).

Updating personal information

If a student’s permanent or local address changes he or she should update their information on Student Services Online (SSOL).

To report issues and grievances 

Students should first seek guidance from the director of Graduate Studies and if necessary from the Chair of the department. Outside of the department, students may contact GSAS or the Office of the University Ombudsman.

Students on visas 

If at any point you encounter an issue or if you have questions about your visa or status, please see the DGS and DAAF for advice. You may also contact the Office of International Students and Scholars directly.

Career Development

For those seeking to plan post-graduation career goals, GSAS offers resources on career and professional development. 

Other Columbia resources:

• Columbia Libraries
• Center for Career Education
• Interfolio Dossier Service
• Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS)
• Center for Teaching and Learning
• Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC)
• Health Services at Columbia
• International Students and Scholars Office
• Office of the University Ombudsman
• University Apartment Housing
• Off-Campus Housing
• Student Services: Registrar, ID Center, Financial Services 

GSAS forms and pages:

• GSAS Forms Library
• GSAS Matching Travel Fund Application
• International Travel Fellowship Application
• Request for a Leave of Absence
• Inter-University Doctoral Consortium Form
• Dissertation Office Pages