Integrated BS/MS Program In Electrical Engineering
The Department of Electrical Engineering recently initiated an Integrated Bachelors/Masters degree program in Electrical Engineering. Application to this program is open to a select group of Columbia EE juniors with a cumulative GPA at Columbia of at least 3.400. The program makes possible the earning of both a BS and an MS degree simultaneously.
Many employers are favoring applicants with the additional education and experience implied by the MS degree. By merging the two programs, we can provide the degree in a very flexible and efficient manner.
Advantages
The Integrated Bachelors/Masters degree offers several advantages to qualified students:
- They can get a MS degree seamlessly, knowing that the advanced courses they will be taking have been designed to have the exact prerequisites they have taken as undergraduates.
- They can take graduate classes (if they want) in their senior year, and have them count towards the M.S. degree.
- They can plan their courses better, without having to cram MS requirements into a short time. This makes possible a more streamlined set of courses, and allows better balance between depth and breadth.
- Increased efficiency; students do not have to move to a new place, but instead continue to be in an institution and city they already know. This, together with the seamless sequences of courses the program makes possible, can result in a shorter time towards the MS degree.
- Summer projects taken at the end of the senior year for research credit can count towards the MS degree, provided the student has found a suitable advisor willing to supervise the work.
- A very simple application process has been established for this program.
Application process
- Juniors with a Columbia GPA of at least 3.400 can complete and submit a simple single-page on-line form (see below). If possible, notice should also be given to the EE Academic Programs Officer in 1300 S. W. Mudd, Elsa Sanchez (elsa at ee.columbia.edu). Three faculty members from Columbia who are willing to act as references should be listed on the form, but do not need to be asked by the applicant to write letters; the Department will contact them.
- No submission of transcript is required; the Department will obtain the transcript.
- No GRE is required.
- No TOEFL is required of foreign students.
- No application fee is required.
The deadline for submission is April 30 of the junior year.
Students will be notified as to the decision within two months.
Additional Information
BS and MS requirements must be satisfied separately before the corresponding degree is awarded. If students in the program finish the BS requirements early, they can opt to receive the BS degree without waiting until the end of the program. Students who have opted for the program but must interrupt their studies, can get the BS degree provided all BS requirements have been satisfied. If a student later decides to apply for admission to the Ph.D. program at Columbia, he/she will have to satisfy all Ph.D. admission requirements, including the GRE.
Caution concerning undergraduate financial aid and housing
Some types of financial aid may apply only as long as a student is an undergraduate, and may be rendered invalid if MS coursework, taken before the awarding of the BS degree, is not properly allocated toward the point requirements of the two degrees. Students need to check carefully to make sure that this issue is handled correctly.
Undergraduate housing cannot be guaranteed beyond what would normally be the senior year of undergraduate studies.
Integrated BS/MS versus Express MS Application
The Express MS application is just a simplified MS application process for qualified seniors. The integrated BS/MS Program is a new program, merging the BS and MS degrees; the application for the BS/MS program must be completed in the junior year. Both have a very simple application form.
The Integrated BS/MS program offers greater flexibility to the student to schedule courses so as to complete prerequisites for advanced study. To take advantage of this, students must start the program before the senior year. Therefore, the Integrated BS/MS program is only open to juniors.
There is no change in the credit hour requirements for either degree for students admitted to the MS program through the Express process. In the Integrated BS/MS program, however, up to 6 points of courses can count twice, once for the BS and once for the MS.
Online Application Forms: Click Here