M.S. "along the way"

This applies only to students who enter the doctoral program without a master's degree acceptable to GSAS.  Every MS/PhD track-student must apply for MS graduation in order to receive the MS degree from Columbia University and be awarded advanced standing required towards the PhD degree.

After a student has applied for MS graduation, the faculty will approve the MS degree application following successful completion of six (6) breadth requirement courses or exams completed at Columbia (not including imports), of which at least four (4) must be core. The student must have also satisfactorily completed at least 30 graduate points as required by SEAS and the SEAS English proficiency requirement ("level 8").

[Modified by full faculty vote on February 20, 2008. Effective immediately except as noted below.]

MS/PhD students who first enrolled in the doctoral program in Spring 2008 or earlier can optionally instead apply for the MS following the previous rule: After a student has applied for MS graduation, the faculty will approve the MS degree application following successful completion of either (a) all five (5) core areas plus any two (2) electives, or (b) any four (4) core areas plus all five (5) electives^*, provided that the student has also satisfactorily completed at least 30 graduate points as required by SEAS and the SEAS English proficiency requirement ("level 8"). Note that the electives must partially (case a) or completely (case b) satisfy the electives distribution requirement. [^*Note this part of the rule was changed in Fall 2001.  Prior to that, the MS degree was approved "automatically" only in case (a), whereas case (b) required a formal vote by the full faculty.]

In either case, the application deadline is November 1st for students who expect to complete the MS/PhD track during the fall semester (February degree), and December 1st for students who expect to complete the MS/PhD track during the spring semester (May degree).  Those students who complete the MS/PhD track requirements during the spring semester may instead apply by the August 1st deadline (October degree).

At the same time as applying to receive the MS degree "along the way", a PhD student must also apply to transfer from SEAS to GSAS with advanced standing (DES students remain in SEAS).   However, advanced standing will not be awarded by GSAS until sometime during the first semester of enrollment in GSAS (i.e., enrolled for a "residency unit", or RU). Further, to transfer to GSAS, students must fulfill the GSAS English proficiency requirement ("level 10").

The details of applying (and paying) to receive the official MS degree from Columbia as well as information about transferring to GSAS should be obtained from the .