Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS)
Master of Science (STEM)
Data | People | Strategy
Craft your own curriculum with elective courses of your choice, full or part time.
Apply NowStrategic use of data and information in management
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Whether you are an analyst or CEO – in the private sector, NGO, or a non-profit – you have at your fingertips a deluge of data and fast evolving analytical tools to gather intelligence about your own organization, your partners & competitors, and your customers. But how do you separate the signal from the noise? How do you use both the data and the human talent in your organization to arrive at smarter, more innovative management decisions? And how do you translate these insights into lasting change? Enter Columbia's Master of Science in Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS).
Grounded in the field of Knowledge Management, our inter-disciplinary curriculum will provide you with foundations in information science, organizational psychology, and change management as well as practical skills in project management and executive leadership to dramatically increase your impact – whether in your current organization or for a career pivot.
As an IKNS student, you will train under world-class faculty, including former and current executives from Google, IBM, NASA, and Oliver Wyman. And you will join a powerful, global alum network in coveted positions, including at Accenture, Alphabet, Harvard Business Publishing, Nike, Pfizer, and The World Bank. Join us to study full-time or part time at a pace of your choosing.
Our curriculum is flexible, designed to be completed by working professionals and career pivoters, and includes many elective courses which you can choose yourself from other graduate programs across Columbia University. The electives allow you to tailor your Ivy-League experience to fit your own intellectual curiosity and career objectives.
Columbia's IKNS Master of Science degree is STEM-accredited and offers International Students (F-1 visa) an opportunity for Curricular Practical Training during their studies (CPT) and 3 years of optional work experience in the US upon completing their degree (OPT). Lean more about the International Student experience and available resources here.
Questions about IKNS or how to apply? Want to find out how to best upload your transcripts to the application portal or what to focus on in your essays? Email ikns [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu with your questions or attend an upcoming information session."
Columbia University's IKNS Degree at a Glance
In This Master’s Program, You Will...
- Study full time or part time, at your own pace.
- Develop essential skills in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, digital product design & management, collaboration, strategy, entrepreneurship, and change management to lead 21st-Century organizations.
- Build human networks that provide support, opportunity, and purpose.
- Understand the Future of Work and how to lead your organization there.
- Leverage mission-critical data, information, and knowledge to optimize organizational outcomes.
- Learn from an esteemed faculty of scholar-practitioners with deep expertise in information and data science, business administration, organizational psychology, economics, sustainability, business intelligence, market research, social media, and UI/UX.
- Learn how to transform organizational knowledge into marketable assets.
- Increase productivity by redesigning key business processes and knowledge flows.
- Become a better communicator, problem-solver, teammate, and leader.
- Apply your knowledge and hone your practical skills in a Capstone Project to help real for-profit and nonprofit organizations achieve better results.
Program Features Include…
- An innovative curriculum that combines leading-edge theory and practical techniques relating to core leadership capabilities such as critically assessing output from data analytics, team building, and executive-level decision-making.
- Access to a wide variety of elective courses that you can choose freely from any graduate degree program at Columbia.
- Seminars and workshops complement classroom learning to provide you with the latest trends in Future of Work, Digital Transformation, and DEIA.
- A holistic, interdisciplinary approach that values IQ and EQ and prepares graduates for leadership positions in for-profit, non-profit, and public sectors.
- Faculty who are current or former executives at top global organizations including Accenture, Bain & Company, Google, IBM, NASA, Microsoft, Oliver Wyman, PMI, US Navy, and the World Bank.
- A highly supportive educational environment with accessible faculty, personalized feedback, and learning options customized to your personal and professional needs, interests, and goals.
- A diverse and global student body and ~400 IKNS program alums at organizations like ADP, Alphabet, American Express, BCG, Google, Harvard University Press, Goldman Sachs, Hilton Hotels, JPMorgan, Nike, Pfizer, Publicis, Thomson Reuters, United Nations, USAID, and the World Bank.
- Access to Columbia University’s world-class resources, libraries, career guidance, and global alum network.
Fast Facts
Who Should Apply?
- Leaders and decision-makers keen to achieve positive change throughout their organizations.
- Mid-career professionals with demonstrated capacity for executive roles who want to develop the analytical and leadership skills pivotal to achieving their next professional milestone.
- Experienced executives who seek not only premier credentialing but also exposure to diverse perspectives and fluency in leading-edge practices from peers and thought leaders outside their regular networks.
- Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs with the drive and resourcefulness to transform ideas into actions.
- Knowledge Management specialists who want to expand their horizons and enrich their practical expertise with a grounding in relevant research and the latest developments in Information Science.
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We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
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