As a doctoral candidate you will be enrolled at Columbia for a longer period than most Master's degree candidates, but, this should not encourage you to defer consideration of your career until you complete your research and dissertation. Whether you elect to pursue an academic or a non-academic career, you should begin exploration, planning, and preparation for your future career shortly after your arrival at Columbia.

The Center for Career Education (working closely with the Teaching Center, the Dean’s Offices of our schools and your academic department) provides specialized programming targeted at doctoral candidates, which addresses issues associated with both academic and non-academic careers.(Please see the Center's on-line calendar for upcoming programs)

Dossier Service – a Partnership with Interfolio, Inc.

Since September 2007, the Center for Career Education Dossier Service has provided credentials or dossier services for graduate students and alumni through a partnership with Interfolio, Inc., an on-line, confidential credential file management service. The Center for Career Education also supports Dossier Service users with dedicated administrative personnel.

Interfolio maintains individual files containing letters of recommendation and related application and potential employment materials for students and alumni of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; graduate students of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; School of General Studies; School of the Arts; Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation; and School of Continuing Education. Students and alumni of Columbia College and undergraduates of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science maintain their dossier files through The Center for Student Advising.

On instruction from a Dossier Service client, Interfolio forwards designated dossier files in connection with applications for opportunities in colleges, universities, independent schools, and industry. We recommend that individuals planning to apply for positions register on-line with Interfolio and open a dossier file at least 18 months prior to their anticipated availability for a position.