In addition to requiring 54 credits for graduation, both the MIA and MPA degree programs require students to enroll full-time for four semesters and thereby earn four full-time residency units. Part-time attendance is not permitted. Students who receive advanced standing based on graduate course work completed before enrollment at SIPA may reduce their period of study to three semesters of full-time enrollment. Please see below for policies and procedures for requesting advanced standing.
Advanced Standing for the MIA and MPA degrees is awarded based on graduate degrees in relevant fields completed at non-Columbia academic institutions before enrollment at SIPA.
Examples are MBA, JD, MPH, and Master’s Degrees in Political Science, Economics, History, Urban Planning, Sociology, or Anthropology. However, advanced standing for other graduate degrees may be granted at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
The amount of Advanced Standing granted depends upon assessment by the Associate Dean of the quality and relevance of the work but cannot exceed 12 credits (1 residency unit). Advanced standing will only be awarded for post-baccalaureate courses that were part of a completed graduate degree. Students must have a grade of B or better in courses for which they seek advanced standing credit. Advanced standing will not be granted for language courses, independent study credits, or internships.
Advanced standing for the MIA and MPA degrees is awarded based on graduate course work in relevant fields completed at other Columbia University schools before enrollment at SIPA.
Students may apply for advanced standing for graduate-level course work completed at other Columbia schools, as long as those credits are not applied towards another Columbia credential. The amount of Advanced Standing granted depends upon assessment by the Associate Dean of the quality and relevance of the work but cannot exceed 12 credits/1 residency unit. Students who have earned a Columbia degree may not apply those credits towards a second Columbia credential except where an accredited dual-degree program exists between the two schools and programs, and the student is matriculated as a dual-degree candidate. Please see https://sipa.columbia.edu/academics/dual-degree-programs for a list of accredited dual degree programs.
No evaluation can be performed or credit granted until the student has matriculated at SIPA. All Advanced Standing requests and official transcripts must be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs during the students' first semester at SIPA; for students matriculating in the Fall, requests must be submitted between September 1 and October 15, and students matriculating in the Spring must submit these requests between January 1 and February 15. Students who do not apply for Advanced Standing during these time periods in their first semester are permanently ineligible for Advanced Standing.
Whether Advanced Standing is granted - and how much advanced standing is granted - depends upon the assessment by the Committee of Deans in the Office of Student Affairs. A course syllabus must be provided in English (or with English translation) for each requested course. The submission of an Application for Advanced Standing does not guarantee approval by the Committee of Deans, and all decisions by the Committee of Deans are final and not subject to appeal.
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