SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

Exploring Degree Options at SIPA

Here at SIPA you have the choice of several different programs of graduate study. The first step is to use the following links to decide which program is right for you.

The Master of International Affairs (MIA)
The MIA curriculum has been designed to develop international affairs professionals who understand the increasingly complex issues that transcend national boundaries. The curriculum has four components: core curriculum, functional or regional concentration, the foreign language requirement, and electives. In addition, an internship usually performed during the summer after the first year of course work provides hands-on experience in the area of concentration.

The Master of Public Administration (MPA)
The MPA curriculum, with its emphasis on applying analytic tools to real-world issues, qualifies graduates for positions requiring management skills and depth in an analytic or substantive policy area. This curriculum draws on the vast international resources of SIPA to address a wide variety of local and national level policy issues in a comparative and international context. The curriculum has four components: the core curriculum which includes a capstone project; a concentration; elective coursework; and a summer internship.

The Program in Economic Policy Management (PEPM)
A 14 month program designed to convey the practical lessons of economics and management science through the intensive study of actual economic-policy successes and failures. The demanding curriculum presupposes that the mid-career student possesses some measure of intellectual maturity and professional exposure to the problems of economic decision making. PEPM students are 4% of the SIPA student body. Students range in age from 23 to 46, with an average of 28.

The Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA)
A part-time executive program designed for mid-career professionals to pursue a master's degree in either two or three years while staying on the job. The program's rigorous curriculum is structured around two carefully crafted concentrations: Advanced Management and Finance and International Economic Policy and Management. The main objective of the EMPA program is to equip the forward-looking executive with the specific analytic, managerial, and communication skills to solve policy and management problems in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. EMPA students constitute 9% of the SIPA student body and range in age from 23 to 53, with an average of 35.

The MPA in Environmental Science and Policy (ESP)
The MPA in Environmental Science and Policy combines Columbia University's hands-on approach to teaching public policy and administration with pioneering thinking about the environment. Graduates of the program are prepared for leadership positions in local, state, and federal government agencies as well as in nonprofit organizations and the environmental divisions of private corporations. They are well suited for the roles of analyst, manager, and translator of scientific knowledge and for designing cost-effective programs and implementing policies.

Dual Degree Programs
To draw on the resources of Columbia University and enable students to pursue studies in related fields, SIPA, along with other professional schools at the University, offers a number of combined degree programs.

MPA  in Development Practice
The twenty-two month MPA degree in Development Practice is designed to train aspiring practitioners to understand and manage approaches to sustainable development challenges.  This rigorous cross-disciplinary, academic program emphasizes the development of critical knowledge, skills and attributes of an effective professional in developing societies. 

The PhD in Sustainable Development
The new interdisciplinary PhD in Sustainable Development is designed to educate researchers, university teachers, and world leaders in the social and natural science disciplines that underpin sustainable development. By combining elements of a traditional graduate education in social science, particularly economics, with a significant component of training in the natural sciences, the program's graduates will be uniquely situated to undertake serious research and policy assessments with the goal of sustainable development. The program includes a set of rigorous core requirements but also provides students with the flexibility to pursue in-depth research in a broad variety of critical policy issue areas. The PhD in Sustainable Development enrolls approximately six new fully funded students each fall, all of whom demonstrate strong quantitative research skills in their applications and who demonstrate an established interest in issues of sustainable development. For additional information about this program, please visit the PhD home page.

Students interested in applying to the PhD program should contact the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the following location:

Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Office of Admissions
107 Low Memorial Library
535 West 116th Street, MC 4304
New York, NY 10027
212-854-4737
gsas-admit@columbia.edu
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/admissions.html

You can also view the SIPA Bulletin Online.

 

Application (PDF)