First, the biggest news: admissions decisions are out for the MIA, MPA, and MPA-DP programs. Thanks again to all of you for your patience, and as usual, we are honored to have read your applications.

Second, in providing a safe and healthy campus, SIPA’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is working remotely for the time being. This is tough timing for you and us, since meeting everyone is one of the highlights of this whole process. You can find updated information on COVID-19 on Columbia’s website here.

Finally, here are some updates that may be directly relevant to you right now:

• Class visits for the Spring 2020 semester have been cancelled, since all classes have been moved online.
• Again, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is not open, but our staff is working remotely. The best way to contact us will be by email. There may be a delay in our responses, so please be patient. Here’s a few tips to effectively communicate with our office.
• Our student program assistants are working remotely as well, helping out with email and the blog. We’ll be publishing blog content as usual.
• Let us know what you want to know through this feedback form. Our students and staff are happy to write about topics most important to you, especially as you are making your graduate school decisions. Let us know what you want to have a discussion about.

Our office is still responding to emails and calls, and I ask for your patience as we adapt to ever-changing policies.

Stay healthy and continue watch out for each other and our community. And congratulations to the newly admitted students of the Class of 2022 – I hope that it will only go up from here!

Usually during this time in the year, we are busy preparing to release decisions and preparing for Admitted Students’ Day. This year is no different, except we are grappling with COVID-19 at the same time.

Columbia University has been closely monitoring the situation, and we have all been working to continue acting as a resource for all of you while working to take care of each other and our community. Because the situation is changing so quickly:

• You can find updated information on COVID-19 on Columbia’s website here. As of now, no Columbia student, faculty, or staff has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
• While options to Visit SIPA are still open including class visits, this may change quickly depending on the situation. For example, we had to cancel a few weeks of class visits due to the new COVID-19 events policy. We are exploring digital options for faculty webinars for our admitted students and will update the schedule as soon as we have updated information.
• If you’re looking for alternative online class visit options, I encourage you check out this New Courses at SIPA playlist which highlights, well, new courses at SIPA in a wide range of focus areas. SIPA’s notable professors explain their own words – and in just one minute – how their courses help prepare SIPA students to do practical work once they graduate.

Until then, we hope that everyone continues to stay safe and wash their hands. The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is still open until further notice, and as usual we will update everyone as the situation evolves.