Finances & Fellowships

Graduate study at Columbia is expensive, and the cost of living in New York City is very high. Full tuition (residence unit enrollment) with fees for for the academic year 2003-2004 is $31,274. Accommodations and living expenses are estimated at over $15,000 for the single student (for nine months). While no official estimate exists for the married student, a figure of about $18,500 can be taken as a guide.

On the way to the M.Phil., students are normally charged full tuition for six terms (although many are eligible for exemption from one or two of the six -- see Advanced Standing). Thereafter, they are registered either for Extended Residence or, in exceptional cases, for Matriculation and Facilities ("M&F"). The costs are given below. You should study carefully the portion of the GSAS Bulletin that gives details of how tuition applies and explains the system of Residence Units and Extended Residence by which tuition is calculated. You may also consult the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Financial Aid Handbook for more specific details.

2003-04

Full Tuition (i.e. Residence Unit): $14,820 per term
Extended Residence: $7,410 per term
Matriculation and Facilities: $1,238 per term
Health Service Fee: $288 fall term, $288 spring term
Health Insurance Fee: $417 (basic) or $610 (comp.) fall term $641 (basic) or $939 (comp.) spring term (incl. Summer)

STUDENTS ON FELLOWSHIP
Students on fellowships will be expected to meet the established deadlines by completing the M.A. within three semesters and the M.Phil. within three years from initial registration (those granted advanced standing should complete the M.Phil within two years). Financial support is not usually available beyond the sixth year.

From the second year on, fellowships are awarded in the form of instructional appointments. Continuation on fellowship is contingent on two things: (1) satisfactory academic progress (including meeting the above deadlines), and (2) satisfactory performance in assigned instructional appointments.

Experience in the classroom is integral to the Teaching Fellows program, which seeks to offer a kind of professional "apprenticeship." An important corollary of this is that any student who comes to Columbia on fellowship without fluent English is required to take and complete successfully in the first year the International Teaching Assistant Program, offered in Columbia at no cost to the student.

THE FIRST YEAR
Each year a limited number of first-year students are appointed GSAS Fellows. They have no instructional obligations. They receive a stipend, and their tuition and health fees are covered by GSAS.

THE SECOND THROUGH FIFTH YEARS
All students on fellowship in their second through fifth years will be required to hold an instructional position or the equivalent in the Music Department. Financial aid will come in four components: (1) a salary from the instructional or equivalent position, (2) tuition, (3) health fees, and (4) a fellowship supplement bringing the salary up to a set minimum.

It is important for you to understand thoroughly the procedures involved. Even though you hold a continuing fellowship, you must apply each year for both the fellowship and an instructional assignment, following standard procedures. All fellowship students are also required to apply for outside funding. A booklet entitled, "A Guide to Fellowships, Scholarships, and Grants in Music," produced and updated by one of our past graduate students, is available to assist you in your search and can be found on the department web site. These applications are normally made in January or February for the coming academic year. Information on how to apply for fellowships and instructional assignments is available in 621 Dodge.

THE SIXTH YEAR
A small number of Dissertation Fellowships may be available for sixth-year students whose dissertations are well advanced and who expect to defend within about one year. These fellowships will be determined by the Department upon the recommendation of area advisors. Other sixth-year students on fellowship may hold instructional appointments or may be eligible for other fellowships (intraschool fellowships like the Whiting or external fellowships like the Fulbright).

STUDENTS NOT ON FELLOWSHIP
Each year, the Department admits a small number of students to whom GSAS has been unable to offer fellowship. These students are full members of the Department in every sense except that of GSAS financial aid. They work toward the M.A. degree, and the possibility of continuing to M.Phil., Ph.D., or D.M.A., is subject to the same academic criteria as those for fellowship students.

To the non-fellowship student who has a related masters degree from another institution, Advanced Standing offers a means of controlling tuition costs. This status advances the student by one year of study, and remits full tuition (i.e., Residence Units) for up to two semesters (see above).

Every non-fellowship student is eligible at the end of the first year for consideration for fellowship from the beginning of the following academic year. In practice, the Department has, in several recent years, put one or two such students on to fellowship, but it cannot guarantee to do so in any given year: there are never sufficient fellowships to fund all deserving students. In deciding which students will be put on to fellowship, the Department takes into consideration primarily each studentÂ1s academic progress, performance, and potential. Also important is a studentÂ1s suitability for a teaching assignment, as determined by means of auditions and interviews.
Other sources of financial assistance include guaranteed student loans, information on which can be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid of GSAS. This office can tell you also about work-study positions, available to eligible students, both on and off campus.