Columbia University
Genetic Counseling Graduate Program
Location: New York City, NY
Program Length: 21 months
Mission: To prepare emerging leaders in genetic counseling with a strong foundation in the genetic and genomic sciences, precision medicine, humanistic counseling, and ethical inquiry. We celebrate the rich complexity of the human experience and advocate for the use of genetics and genomics to promote social justice in health care. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community of genetic counselors, as this is essential to equity, access, and participation of society in genomics. Together, our differences make us stronger. We affirm our commitment to the realization of Columbia’s core values of inclusion and excellence as we work to improve health and well-being for all individuals, families, and communities.
- GRE – ❌
- International students – ✅
- GPA requirement = N/A
- In-state priority – ❌
- Interviews – TBD
- In-state: $86,736
- Out-of-state: $86,736
- International: $86,736
- Tuition reduction options – ✅
- On-campus work opportunities – ✅
- Match and/or Application Waivers – ✅
- New York City, NY
- Flexible summer rotation opportunities – ✅
- DEIJ content woven into all courses;
- 2-year course dedicated to DEIJ topics;
- Diversity Scholars Program;
- InterProgram Antiracism Dialogue Series (IPADS);
- 2-year medical/GC Spanish class;
- Student affinity groups;
- GC outreach in Puerto Rico;
- Student-run free clinics in New York City (serve marginalized clients);
- Ongoing DEIJ workshops/training for leadership and faculty;
- Examining methods of student assessment to address potential bias.
The Columbia University Genetic Counseling Graduate Program is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community of genetic counselors, as this is essential to equity, access, and participation of society in genomics. To this end, we have articulated the following guiding principles:
- We believe diversity and inclusion within the learning environment enriches classroom discussion, improves cultural humility, and develops essential humanistic skills for providing client-centered health care to all persons.
- We believe it is not possible to build a diverse and inclusive community – to achieve equity, access, rights, and participation – without a commitment to social justice. To grow and sustain a diverse community, genetic counselors must become familiar with historical and existing mechanisms of injustice and inequality in health care, and actively work to dismantle potential mechanisms for such disparities now and in the future.
- We believe in recruiting and educating individuals committed to academic excellence whose personal experiences and worldviews arise from varying cultures and life circumstances, specifically people whose identities are currently underrepresented in the genetic counseling profession – those who have been economically disadvantaged and/or historically marginalized due to their skin color, ethnicity, culture, religion, nationality, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and/or ability status.
- We believe that it is not sufficient to recruit a diverse group of people into our program, we must also foster an inclusive learning environment grounded in scholarly inquiry and civil discourse that prepares our students to be compassionate and responsible health care providers within diverse societies.
For more information, please contact gc-program@cumc.columbia.edu.
