Graduate Admissions

Graduate Admissions

Statement on Impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic

We recognize that the pandemic has led to significant disruptions for students and therefore we are making the following changes to our application process for this year:
• General and Physics GRE are entirely optional (this is a permanent change).
• Courses taken during the pandemic with Pass/Fail grades will not be penalized in any way.
• Finally, we recognize that many prospective students may have had fewer opportunities to do research in 2020/21 and we will take this into account.

Applying to our Graduate Program

All prospective students who wish to apply to Columbia Astronomy must apply to Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). The online application can be found below.

Following this link and commencing an application for the Fall Term, you will have access to all relevant deadlines and requirements. Required materials for the application include:
• Previous transcript(s)
• Curriculum Vitae
• TOEFL scores (for international applicants)
• Statement of purpose
• Three letters of recommendation
• (Optionally) General and Physics GRE scores

 

» Apply Online

Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Lorenzo Sironi, with any further questions. The deadline for Fall 2024 admissions is December 14, 2023.

Mitigating barriers to an application

Note that the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences supports a program offering waivers of its application fee if payment is a barrier to an application. The Application Fee Waivers page has information for applying for a waiver. For US students and permanent residents currently enrolled in an undergraduate program, see the Financial Fee Waiver section. For others (international students, those not currently enrolled as a student, etc.), see the Extenuating Circumstances Fee Waiver section.