Columbia Anthro PhD program

[paintbyyear]

Hello Gradcafe!

New here

I am trying to gather info about programs before I apply this upcoming fall to figure out if I fit or would thrive in their environment (aside from faculty, location etc.)

I am specifically wondering about Columbia's student culture... most of the faculty I have spoken to (at other institutions) said to be a bit wary about Columbia because the department was quite fragmented and students tend to get stuck in between problems. Does this rumor reflect the reality? do students collaborate or is everyone seeking the "stars" attention?

Also, I know I shouldn't pay attention to rankings, but the program hasn't done well at all. is it still regarded as a top anthro program? I.E. can I trust I will get a good education and will the degree be valued once I look for jobs?

Any imput from current students or people close to the dept will be very wellcome!!

[Canis]

The education you get from any grad program will be mostly up to you. What makes Columbia, and Cornell, and Duke, and all the other "top" programs high ranking is that they are fully and completely funded. The question you need to answer is: who in the program do you want to work with?

 

figure out - what do you want to study? and then match that to a program.

[NOWAYNOHOW]

I am specifically wondering about Columbia's student culture... most of the faculty I have spoken to (at other institutions) said to be a bit wary about Columbia because the department was quite fragmented and students tend to get stuck in between problems. Does this rumor reflect the reality? do students collaborate or is everyone seeking the "stars" attention?

 

Hi Paintbyyear -- I'm not at Columbia, but I am at NYU and have heard great things about the department from NYU faculty.  My interactions with my Columbia POI have been, in a word, stellar.  HOWEVER, I do medical anthropology, and Columbia anth students have access to the sociomedical sciences department, etc, making it an especially good environment for the kind of research I do.  So if your interests lie elsewhere, maybe things are different. 

 

I also wouldn't worry so much about culture at this stage in the game. If there are professors you want to work with and you think you are a good fit, apply, and worry about culture if and when you are admitted. 

[jellyfish1]

Hey, I did my undergrad at Columbia (Anthropology/Archaeology), and I know some of the grad students there. From what I can tell, they have pretty solid community, but you can be as involved or uninvolved as you want. The department holds a lecture series every other wednesday and it is usually really well attended by both grad students and faculty. If you go to those, you will get to shmooze and drink wine with the visiting lecturers and the department, and I found this to be really beneficial (and enjoyable!). The students who go to those lectures seem to have much closer connections with each other and with faculty than those that don't, so I really recommend going. I've heard some grad students say that the Archaeology contingent is more closely knit than socio-cultural students, but I honestly don't know as much about that. While I was there though, it seemed like many of the professors (particularly the ones technically at Barnard) are very open and easy to talk to, plus many of them are really supportive and give great advice. It's up to you to reach out and form community, but if you make an effort it will be repaid in spades. It is definitely not a cutthroat or mean environment, it is pretty supportive. Hope this helps!