A question our office commonly receives is, “I am interested in applying to a dual degree program with SIPA and another Columbia school. When do most applicants apply to dual degree programs at Columbia?”
The rule at Columbia is that you must be admitted into a dual degree program no later than half way through your first degree. For most students this means that they must apply no later than the completion of the first semester of study. For example, the program at SIPA is a two-year program. If someone who started at SIPA wished to apply for a dual degree with another school, the application to the dual degree school would need to be completed roughly around the end of the first semester at SIPA. Most programs have an application deadline sometime in the months between December and February. Thus, if someone completed their first year at SIPA, it would be too late to apply for a dual degree with another school.
Because of the tight time line, our recommendation is that if an applicant knows they are interested in a dual degree program with another Columbia school, it is wise to apply to both programs at the same time. This will require that an application be submitted to each school separately and there is no joint committee that reviews applications. The Admissions Committee at each school will make an independent decision. If admitted to both schools the applicant can choose where they would like to begin.
For a list of dual degree programs, please click here.
