Current Student FAQ

PhD students in our programs are paid through either of two ways.  First-year students, as a Pre-doctoral Fellows (Fellows), will receive stipend.  Fellows are paid from Dean’s funds, institutional/departmental money, training grants, or outside fellowships.  Students in their second-year and beyond will be appointed as Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs).  Students paid on federal research grants, sponsored projects, or institutional/departmental money will be appointed as full-salary GRAs.  Students on training grants or outside Fellowships will be appointed as $0-salary GRAs and receive stipend. 

Stipend will be paid three times a year.  The summer stipend covers July 1 – August 31; the fall stipend covers September 1 through January 15; and the spring stipend covers January 16 through June 30.

Full-salary GRAs receive salary checks semi-monthly.

This information is of a general nature, and does not constitute tax advice.  Students should consult the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, or a certified tax professional for tax counsel.

All students who receive payments either as predoctoral fellows (stipends) or full-salary GRAs (salaries) are responsible for accurately declaring these payments on their tax returns. However, the interpretation and implementation of the tax laws are the domain of the Internal Revenue Service and the courts. Columbia University takes no position on what the status may be for a particular taxpayer, and it does not have the authority to dispense tax advice.

Taxes are not deducted from fellow’s stipend checks for US citizens, permanent residents, or foreign nationals whose country has an appropriate tax treaty with the United States. Columbia University is not required to, and does not report, fellowship stipend income to the IRS. Fellows have the option of filing quarterly estimated tax payments with the IRS. If you have not completed a tax treaty form or if you are not certain if there is a treaty in effect, please check with the Office of Graduate Affairs (OGA). Foreign nationals whose country of citizenship does not have a tax treaty with the US will have a 14 percent withholding tax deducted from their stipend check.

Taxes are deducted from GRA salary checks. The W-4 (federal) and IT-2104 (city/state) withholding forms you complete will determine the amount of the deduction.

Domestic students paid as fellows will not receive a W-2 form from the university. International students paid as fellows will receive a 1042-S form at the beginning of the calendar year. All GRAs will receive a W-2 form. Since student compensation is considered an award for training and not wages for services, Social Security is not deducted.

Please visit https://sfs.columbia.edu/content/tax-information for additional information on tax reporting.

A student who is currently registered in a VIBRE PhD Pathway program may apply for a change of PhD program/track by completing the proper form and submitting a detailed description of the reason for the change. Change of department requests cannot be made within the first year of enrollment. Approval for such requests is solely at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of both programs and the deans. Once the request is approved, you are considered to be a student in the new program and are subject to the academic requirements of that program.

During the fall and spring semesters, it is possible to register for courses in other divisions of the university at no additional cost. There is no cross-registration during the summer semesters. The availability of courses and procedures vary by school. Permission of your mentor and the DGS are required.

Enrollment in the PhD program is a full-time endeavor. While we recognize that work experience can be beneficial for your career, there are only two conditions under which students can secure employment outside of the doctoral program: The work must be science related and no more than ten hours per week.

This policy is based on years of evaluating students' successful progress in our program. We have found that working in a totally unrelated field or for more than eight hours per week often has a negative impact on student research and coursework. Of course, we advise discussing all your outside employment options with your mentor and the DGS.

The average time-to-degree in the PhD in the VIBRE PhD Pathway is 5.6 years. Students enrolled for more than six years need the dean's approval for additional time in the programs and registration and may not be guaranteed funding and housing. Students are allowed nine years of continuous registration to satisfy all requirements for the doctoral degree. Students who do not complete all requirements for the doctoral degree by the end of the ninth year will no longer be considered GSAS PhD degree candidates and will be notified accordingly in writing by GSAS. Note that the ninth year ends on May 31.

Students who give birth or adopt while enrolled are entitled to up to 12 weeks (funded) where regular responsibilities associated with their doctoral program are suspended for pregnancy, birth, and/or care of a newborn. Responsibilities that may be suspended include class attendance, course assignments, exams, and other academic requirements; and research and other work in the lab. The use of parental accommodation must be approved by the DGS. Either parent is eligible for parental accommodation.

During this period of suspension of responsibilities, full-time student status will be preserved, compensation is continued, and student health insurance and housing eligibility are retained. The policy does not affect a student’s ability to request an unpaid leave of absence to begin after the 12-week period has ended.

Students may continue to receive compensation for up to two weeks of sick leave per year. Sick leave may be used for medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.

In any given academic year, students are entitled to 10 days of vacation off per year without loss of compensation beyond the 13 designated university/federal holidays. A “week” is defined by the number of days in a given calendar week that students are expected to be available to discharge their responsibilities. Time off during the designated university/federal holidays is non-negotiable. Students observe the University academic holiday schedule. Those who are required to work on a University academic holiday shall receive an alternate day off approved in advance by their supervisor. Doctoral students who plan to take time off at other times may do so only after coordinating with their adviser or PI when holding a research appointment and/or the faculty instructor or lead course coordinator when holding a teaching appointment. This will ensure that the requested time off does not conflict with the responsibilities attendant to the research enterprise or course.  Vacation time off not taken within the academic year will be forfeited.  

The period between the spring and fall semesters is considered to be an active time of research and research training, and is not considered to be a vacation or holiday.