Admission
Students must apply separately to and be accepted by both the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (for the QMSS M.A. program) and to the School of International and Public Affairs (for the MPA program). Each School will use its current selection procedures but will consult on all dual degree applicants. Please consult the SIPA admissions website SIPA admissions website and the GSAS admissions website GSAS admissions website for details.
Course Requirements
The dual degree program is completed in five semesters of full-time study and a total of 67 credits. For students not enrolled in the dual degree program, the QMSS M.A. degree requires 30 credits, while the MPA requires 54 credits. To earn the dual-degree, students are required to complete a minimum of five semesters in residence at Columbia University.
For a detailed checklist of required courses within the dual degree program please see INTERNAL LINK
QMSS M.A. Curriculum
The QMSS curriculum consists of five core courses and five electives, totaling two residence units and a minimum of 30 points of credit. The core courses are: G4010-a theory and methodology course (4 points), offered in the fall semester; G4015-a data analysis course (4 points), offered in the spring semester; G4021/22-a year-long research seminar series (2 points per semester, 4 points total); and G5999-the master’s thesis (4 points). The other 14 points of credit are earned through elective courses (at or above the 4000 level), two of which much focus on statistics or research methods.
SIPA MPA Curriculum
The MPA program at SIPA is taught in the case method, combining the “hands-on” applied approach influenced by the disciplines of the social sciences. Students must complete 54 credits of coursework to earn the MPA degree. The MPA curriculum for a QMSS M.A.-MPA dual degree student includes a standard core set of courses (20 points), and a summer internship (3 points. QMSS coursework takes the place of the 15 credit concentration usually required of an MPA student, but dual degree students may opt to use their electives to construct an emphasis though not a formal concentration.
Required MPA core courses include: a year-long course on the political environment of public affairs (4 points); a year-long course in economic and policy analysis (6 points); public management and institutional analysis (3 points); workshop in public affairs (3 points); a course in professional development (1 point) and a financial analysis requirement (3 points). A public affairs internship in public service is usually taken in the summer between the first and second years (between the fourth and fifth semesters for dual degree students) and is credited as 3 points the following fall. MPA core requirements do not change within the framework of the dual degree, with the exception of the quantitative methods requirement,(PUAF U6310 Quantitiative Techniques). This requirement is waived for students enrolling first at QMSS because dual degree students will have already gained advanced quantitative skills through QMSS coursework.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The dual degree curriculum is designed such that full-time students are enrolled in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) during their first two semesters of study and at SIPA during the final three semesters or visa versa. Students pay tuition accordingly, i.e., to GSAS during the first two semesters and to SIPA during the final three semesters. The school where the student is enrolled during a given semester serves as the administrator of the student’s financial aid and/or fellowship support in that semester.
Fellowships and financial aid are not transferable between schools. Therefore if a student has aid at one school it is advisable to maintain full-time coursework at that school until complete before taking courses through the second school. This will allow the student to maintain financial aid offered by each school during their course of study.