I entered the PhD program without a masters degree. How do I qualify to receive an MS?
If you first enrolled in the doctoral program in Fall 2008 or later, the requirements for the “MS along the way” are 1. 30 graduate points taken at Columbia acceptable to SEAS, 2. “level 8” English proficiency (for all students whose bachelor’s degree is not from an English speaking country), and 3. six (6) breadth requirement courses or exams taken here at Columbia (not imports). The core and elective courses to be included must actually be passed at the PhD level, that is, B+ or higher in each individual course. If you first enrolled in the doctoral program in Spring 2008 or earliert, the requirements for the “MS along the way” are 1. 30 graduate points taken at Columbia acceptable to SEAS, 2. “level 8” English proficiency (for all students whose bachelor’s degree is not from an English speaking country), and 3. EITHER 5 core plus any 2 electives OR any 4 core plus all 5 electives (which must fulfill the distribution requirement). The core and elective courses to be included must act
The requirements for the “MS along the way” are 1. 30 graduate points taken at Columbia acceptable to SEAS and 2. six (6) breadth requirement courses or exams taken here at Columbia (not imports) – of which at least four (4) must be core. The core and elective courses to be included must actually be passed at the PhD level, that is, B+ or higher in each individual course – with an overall average of A- or higher. Note that the 30 SEAS graduate points and the core plus electives requirement are somewhat independent in either circumstance. It is possible that you might complete some or all of the necessary core and electives through a combination of courses included in a prior degree program here and/or imports from elsewhere, neither of which counts towards the 30 points. In this circumstance, you may take up to the entire 30 points (15 points per term) in COMS E9911 Graduate Research II. Additional MS/PhD (aka “MS along the way”) information is available here.
