Have questions about admissions for the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S)? We have answers. For easy viewing, our frequently asked questions are organized by topic: application requirements, general inquiries, admitted students, and student life.
It is rare that we admit individuals from foreign universities because the Admissions Committee does not have satisfactory means of evaluating premedical education at universities outside of the United States and Canada. We therefore require premedical training at an institution in the United States, in addition to the MCAT. Please note that non-residents of the United States are ineligible for federal financial aid programs.
Courses designated 'writing-intensive' by the undergraduate institution will be accepted if they meet the following criteria:
1) at least 70% of the course grade is based on the student's essays (as opposed to exams or other forms of assessment)
2) students are required to hand in at least four essays as part of the course requirements
3) the course fulfills a writing requirement at the undergraduate institution
One biochemistry course will suffice. The lab is recommended but not required.
Biochemistry- one semester, lab recommended but not required
Biology- two semesters with labs
General Chemistry- two semesters with labs
Organic Chemistry- two semesters with labs
English- two semesters
Physics- two semesters with one semester of the lab
If you have a question regarding advanced standing or AP Credit, please contact us at psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu. In your e-mail please include the syllabus of the class you wish to substitute for the prerequisite courses.
All courses must be taken in person with the exception of the 2020 academic calendar and Spring/Summer 2021 semesters which we will accept online courses.
No, it is not mandatory. Students more than 5 years away from their most recent degree are encouraged to provide at least 1 academic reference from faculty at that institution. We would also welcome individual letters of recommendation from individuals with whom you have had significant work, volunteer, research, or mentor relationships in recent years.
You may have your letter writers send any additional letters of recommendations directly to us via e-mail (psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu). They must be written and signed on official letterhead and must include your AMCAS ID.
Our Secondary Application fee is $110. Kindly note that our fee is nonrefundable.
Yes. Only students who are admitted to our school will need to provide our office of admissions with a satisfactory background check report prior to June 1st.
For students granted an FAP waiver from AMCAS, we will waive the Secondary Application Fee. Please contact the Admissions Office via e-mail (psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu) with your AMCAS ID.
Your Ph.D. degree must come from an accredited US or Canadian School.
Applications are welcome from participants in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, the Gates Foundation, and other leading granting organizations.
The 3-Year Ph.D.-to-MD program is tied to a residency program at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital. In order to participate in the residency program, an applicant must have the authorization to work in the United States. Therefore we cannot accept an applicant with an F1 visa, which does not permit employment. We regret that you are not eligible for this program, and wish you the best of luck in your career.
A qualified applicant meets the Technical Standards set by our Curriculum and Education Policy Committee.
Professional Licensure and Certification Disclosure Requirements
Institutions providing distance education are required to provide certain general disclosures for educational programs, regardless of modality, that prepare students for professional licensure. The required information relates to whether or not the educational program meets the requirements for professional licensure in all other states. Where applicable, an institution must also indicate when such a determination cannot be made.
Professional licensure and certification requirements may vary state to state. This information is also subject to change. Students should contact the appropriate licensing agency for his or her home state to obtain the most up to date information.
The MD Program at the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons is accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education and thereby does meets the academic requirements for licensure in all 50 states.
For further information please visit: https://lcme.org/
Date of Last Revision: June 2020
Columbia does not have rolling admissions for medical school. Decisions are made at the end of interview season and all decisions are released in early March.
Final decisions on all applications are decided by the Faculty Admissions Committee.
The guiding vision of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) reads: “We aspire to transform human health by driving discovery, advancing care, and educating leaders.” We do this work in an environment that values excellence, equity, and respect and provides opportunities for students to put those values into action.
At VP&S, we aspire to educate the next generation of physician leaders to serve our neighboring, national, and global communities using the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice to promote the health and state-of-the-art care of patients.
The values of humanism, collaboration, inquiry, transformation, growth, and wellness individually and together inspire our every effort in pursuit of this goal.
To best prepare our graduates for their future careers, the college recently updated its medical education program objectives to focus on the domains of:
Through these domains, VP&S prepares its graduates to be leaders and role models who define excellence in patient care, medical research, education, community and population health, and healthcare policy. VP&S empowers students to transform health care by setting the standards of medicine in the United States and beyond. Their guided exposure and training will allow them to exhibit the highest principles of humanism and professionalism in their responsibilities to their patients, to their community, and to society.
The curriculum at VP&S prepares graduates to question data and discover new insights; to compassionately educate patients, students, and residents; and to provide the highest quality of equitable patient care. The additional competencies of anti-racism, inclusion, diversity, equity, and inquiry support our shared commitment to innovative, evidence-based, and equitable approaches to medical education.
Beginning in the winter of their third year, our students explore their interests in medicine through diverse electives. Students also have the opportunity to drive discovery through their scholarly projects. Our faculty are eager to help trainees and provide opportunities—whether that be for research in an area of interest, in education or social sciences, or in service to an underserved community in the United States or abroad. In 2021, we formally launched the VP&S Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC), an interdisciplinary effort by students and staff to promote a sustainable culture of inclusion and diversity. Its ongoing goal is to create, adopt, and strengthen anti-racist educational systems and practices and to support equity and justice throughout the VP&S learning environment.
These activities occur with the active support of a robust student affairs office. Each student is assigned an Advisory Dean who provides opportunities for career and specialty exploration and provides career counseling in small group and individual settings. We also encourage active involvement in VP&S activities, including programs that enrich student life and enhance leadership skills. The VP&S Club hosts a variety of activities to meet the diverse interests of our students, offering everything from specialty interest groups to programs in advocacy.
The best example of how VP&S helps students put their values to work is the portfolio of opportunities to work in the community. Columbia medical students not only live in Washington Heights, they partner with organizations in the neighborhood to pursue common goals in improving individual and public health. Students have created and participate in five student-run clinics for uninsured or underinsured neighbors. Many VP&S students point to these clinics as the reason they chose to attend VP&S.
VP&S aspires to transform human health by driving discovery, advancing care, and educating the leaders of tomorrow. From developing Nobel Prize-winning advances like cardiac catheterization to identifying the gene for Huntington’s disease, our graduates not only practice medicine, they change it.
We seek applicants who have shown the greatest evidence of excellence and leadership potential in the science and art of medicine. Beyond academic ability, medicine also demands integrity, the ability to relate to others, and have concern for their welfare. The school evaluates applicants by several means: academic achievement, letters of recommendation, participation in extracurricular and summer activities, breadth of interests, and the personal interview. The Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons seeks diversity of background among its applicants; no preference is given to state of residence. Admission is possible for all qualified applicants regardless of sex, race, age, religion, sexual orientation or national origin.
We do not accept transfer students.
We do accept re-applicants.
Students previously enrolled in medical school are not eligible to apply for admission to Columbia VP&S.
If you are having difficulties with the AMCAS application, please contact AMCAS. If you are having difficulties with the Columbia Supplemental Application, please contact our Admissions Office at 212-305-3595 or psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu.
Please send the Admissions Office an email with a request to delete your CV and include your full name and AMCAS ID number.
Even though the format and function of a CV can differ from a resume, we accept both and have no preference on which type you submit, with the exception of the 3-year Ph.D.-to-MD program that requires a CV.
Our office does not provide tours or pre-medical admissions advising. All of our available information is located on our website, so please look around!
If you have taken multiple MCATs, the Admissions Committee will only look at your highest overall score.
As long as the additional test is taken before September, of the year you submitted the secondary application, you may place your application on hold until your new scores are sent to us. Please e-mail the Office of Admissions (psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu) to place a hold on your application.
Any updates or corrections to the Secondary Application should be sent as an Applicant Update (in PDF) via the “Status” tab of the Secondary Application.
You will receive an e-mail from us confirming receipt of your uploaded document within one or two business days.
If your primary program (Columbia-Bassett, MD/Ph.D., 3 Year Ph.D.-to-MD) declines to invite you to interview, you are automatically placed in our regular MD applicant pool.
If you would like to change your application, please contact the Admissions Office via e-mail (psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu). Please include your AMCAS ID.
You are welcome to upload unofficial copies as an Applicant Update (in PDF) via the “Status” tab of the Secondary Application. However, we do not require applicants to submit an official transcript to us unless they are accepted and decide to matriculate at VP&S.
Unfortunately, the Office of Admissions does not provide advice to interested students or applicants. We suggest you reach out to any premedical advisor available to you for more assistance.
We begin extending invitations for interviews through email from Mid-August through January.
Please upload your letter of interest through the Secondary Application portal (as PDFs).
These programs have a later start to their interview cycle and usually begin in October.
Applicants to the Columbia-Bassett track interview with faculty members from Cooperstown, NY, and New York City.
If the dates available to interview do not work for you, we will try our best to accommodate you. Please contact the Admissions Office via e-mail (psadmissions@cumc.columbia.edu) and our Interview Coordinator will get in contact with you.
We will be conducting virtual interviews for the 2025 application cycle. However, please notify us if you are abroad so that we may accommodate you concerning the time of your interview.
Interviews for the 2024-2025 application cycle will be virtual. Information regarding the interview day will be provided through the secondary application portal.
We are very welcoming of any thank-you notes you would like to send. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with specific contact information of your interviewer if they did not share that information with you. You may send any thank-you notes to our email address:
We ask that any thank-you notes also be uploaded via the Secondary Portal as an Applicant Update (in PDF).
We do not have rolling admissions. All of our applicants will receive their admissions decisions in early March.