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Advance Standing and Full-time Enrollment
In addition to requiring 54 points of credits for graduation, both the MIA and MPA degree programs require students to enroll full-time for four semesters. Students who make arrangements for advanced standing based on graduate degrees completed before enrollment at SIPA may reduce their period of study to three semesters of full-time enrollment.
Advanced Standing for the MIA and MPA degree is awarded based on graduate degrees completed before enrollment at SIPA in fields relevant to the MIA & MPA degrees.
Examples are: MBA, JD, MPH, and Masters Degrees in Political Science, Economics, History, Urban Planning, Sociology, and/or Anthropology, although the Associate Dean for Students may accept advanced standing from other graduate degrees at her discretion.
The amount of Advanced Standing granted depends upon assessment by the Dean's Office of the quality and relevance of the work. Advanced standing will not be given for language courses and advanced standing will only be awarded for post-baccalaureate courses that were part of a completed graduate degree, with the exception of relevant post-baccalaureate courses taken at Columbia University. At the discretion of the Associate Dean, relevant post-baccalaureate classes completed at Columbia University may count toward advanced standing, but in no circumstances will advanced standing beyond 12 credits be awarded.
Students must have a grade of B or better in courses for which they seek advanced standing credit.
Requests for advanced standing are evaluated by the Student Affairs office. No evaluation can be performed until initial orientation/registration. All Advanced Standing requests must be received by:
- October 15th for students who begin in the Fall term,
- March 1st for students who begin in the Spring term.
No requests for advanced standing will be accepted after those dates.