Frequently Asked Questions

The School of Professional Studies is one of the graduate and professional schools at Columbia University. Graduates of the School of Professional Studies receive a degree from Columbia University. You can find the full list of Columbia University's schools here.

All of our applications for our Master’s programs are submitted online. You can start an application by clicking here.

There is an application fee of $150 USD due upon submission of your application. It is nonrefundable.

Each program has different application deadlines. You can view application deadlines on the Master's Degree Applicants page.

Applications submitted on or before the priority deadline will be reviewed first, then programs will review applications on a rolling basis until the final application deadline. We encourage applicants to apply by priority deadlines if an early decision is needed for an application to on-campus housing, funding opportunities, a visa, or to ensure an application is reviewed before a program reaches its capacity.

After your application is considered complete and includes all of the required application materials, please allow at least 6-8 weeks for your admissions decision to be released. Please check your specific program’s website for more information regarding decision release dates, as this can change.

To monitor your application status, you can log into your application portal and review your Application Checklist after you have submitted your application. You will receive a notification via email once a decision has been made and updated in your portal.

Materials received will be marked complete on your Application Checklist. However, transcripts and international academic credential evaluations (through one of the following third-party agencies: WES/ECE/TEC)  will not be marked complete until we receive the final document with degree conferral (if applicable). If you scroll past the Application Checklist to the “Upload Materials” section, you will see all the materials we have received for your application.

Yes! Columbia University's School of Professional Studies accepts both the TOEFL iBT Home Edition and IELTS Online (Academic) for proof of English language proficiency. Applicants are not required to take these exams at an in-person testing center.

Please ensure that you select the appropriate exam format and arrange for your official scores to be sent to Columbia SPS.

For more information about English language proficiency requirements, including minimum score requirements and exemptions, please visit our Master's Degree Admissions Requirements page.

Test scores can take up to two weeks to be processed once we receive them.  If it has been more than two weeks after your score delivery or application submission (whichever is later), please email apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu with your application ID, confirmation number for your test score, and the date it was taken.

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All recommendations must be submitted using a professional or academic email domain. References submitted from personal or anonymous email domains (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo, 123, 163, qq, etc.) may result in your application being considered ineligible for admission. If a recommender has retired or no longer has access to an official email account, please select a different recommender. 

Please note that while the utilization of company letterhead is strongly recommended, it is not required.

Academic recommendations should be written by current or former faculty members with whom you have studied in the classroom who can assess your past academic work, intellectual ability, academic potential for graduate work, suitability for the program, and your ability to commit to our rigorous curriculum. Coach or mentor letters are not eligible as academic recommendations.

No, you can submit only two letters of recommendation in your application. Please note that your application will not be reviewed until we have received letters from both of your recommenders.

If you studied domestically within the US, we can review your application with unofficial transcripts. If you studied at an international institution, your application requires an international academic credential evaluation (through one of the following third-party agencies: WES/ECE/TEC) and we will need that official evaluation to review your application.

No. You must submit all materials directly, not through an agent or third-party vendor, with the sole exception of submissions by the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program and its partner agencies. The use of an agent or consultant for the purposes of creating an application, submitting an application, or creating or submitting any application materials is not permitted.  Agent or consultant contact information cannot be listed in place of the student's or emergency contact's information.

No, you can only apply to one program in any one semester. Please carefully review our application policies.

Applicants may apply to the School of Professional studies for the next similar intake. For example, if an applicant applied for a fall intake and was not admitted, the applicant can apply for the next fall intake. If you have been denied admission to SPS program(s) three times, you are no longer eligible for admission and any further application will not be considered.

The Admissions Committee reviews each application thoroughly and with great care but does not discuss individual applicant cases or the reasons behind their decisions. All admissions decisions are final.

Students should contact the International Students and Scholars Office with any Visa questions and concerns. Their website is isso.columbia.edu.

We currently have eight STEM designated Master's programs at SPS:

• Actuarial Science
• Applied Analytics
• Enterprise Risk Management
• Information & Knowledge Strategy
• Political Analytics
• Sustainability Management
• Sustainability Science
• Technology Management

Tuition and fees vary by program, may be subject to change annually, and are approved by the Board of Trustees each spring. To see more information regarding finances, please visit our Tuition and Financing page.

​SPS offers several Fellowship opportunities. 

​The Columbia SPS Dean's Fellowship Program is designed for applicants who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, professional promise, and a commitment to advancing their field. Awardees can receive up to $30,000. 

SPS awards a small number of merit-based fellowships that are generally less than $10,000 USD and awarded on a one-time basis by each program. Each applicant is evaluated for a merit-based fellowship, and no additional application is required. 

​The Columbia SPS CUNY Fellowship Program aims to provide high-achieving recent CUNY graduates access to Columbia’s vast academic, professional, and community resources.

The Columbia HBCU Fellowship Program prepares talented, high-performing HBCU graduates to lead, innovate, drive community impact, and advance their professional industries through program engagement, mentorship, and career development opportunities.

More information about Financial Aid and Scholarships can be found here.

You may ​also contact the office of Student Financial Services to inquire about other types of financial aid.​ 

The following Master's degree applicants are considered eligible to receive an application fee waiver:

• Columbia University employees

   

• Veterans and members of the military

   

• Applicants who apply to the SPS HBCU fellowship (current HBCU senior or recent graduate)

• Applicants who apply to the Columbia SPS CUNY Fellowship

   

• Current Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers 

   

• Current members of Teach for America or other Teach for All network partners

• Fulbright Scholarship Recipients

SPS requires documentation of an applicant's affiliation with one of the above organizations before processing any application fee waiver request.  To obtain additional information about application fee waivers or submit documentation, please email inquire [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.  

If you have already paid your tuition deposit, you should receive this information via email. Please email inquire [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (inquire[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu) with any questions.

Across Columbia's many schools and programs, active military members and veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces play an integral part in the student life, academic endeavors, and intellectual accomplishments of the University. You can see more information regarding the services, policies, and procedures that affect this group at our Veterans and Service Members website here.

Congratulations! To commit to your program you must submit your non-refundable tuition deposit within your application portal. This deposit will be applied to your first semester’s tuition and will be reflected in your first billing cycle. Once you have submitted your deposit, you will receive your University ID (UNI) and list of next steps via email.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for the term in which they plan to enroll.  Please reach out to apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (apply[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu)  to request a deferral. If approved, you may only defer once for up to one year after acceptance.

To pay your tuition deposit, please log into your application portal and complete your Offer of Admission Enrollment Form. After this form is submitted, you will be prompted to pay your tuition deposit via debit or credit card. Please note the deposit schedule.

Your UNI will be emailed to you after you have committed to your program. If you have not received your UNI as specified in your decision letter, please reach out to apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

The SPS Dean’s Fellowship application is part of the application for admission to the master’s degree program. Students who do not complete the “Financing Your Education” section of the application will not be considered for an SPS Dean’s Fellowship.

There are no specific or separate documents required, only completion of the “Financing Your Education” section of the master’s degree application. If a student has documentation of other fellowship or scholarship offers, those details should be included.

Students must apply for the SPS Dean’s Fellowship at the same time they submit their application for their master’s degree.

The School of Professional Studies (SPS) awards fellowships based on academic preparation, professional potential, and financial need.

No, interviews are not part of the evaluation process.

Candidates who apply for the SPS Dean’s Fellowship will be notified in their admission offer letter.

• If you are awarded an SPS Dean’s Fellowship, the award will be stated in your admission letter. If your admission letter does not include mention of an SPS Dean’s Fellowship award, you have not been selected as an SPS Dean’s Fellowship recipient.
• No separate notification will be sent to applicants who are not awarded an SPS Dean's Fellowship. We may choose to reevaluate candidates for the fellowship at a later date.

Students selected to receive an SPS Dean’s Fellowship will be notified in their admission offer letter.

The SPS Dean’s Fellowship awards are partial tuition fellowships only. The specifics of each award will be listed in the admission offer letter.

No. The Dean’s Fellowship is a tuition-only award and can only be applied toward tuition charges. It does not provide funding for living expenses, housing, meals, transportation, health insurance, books, personal expenses, or other costs associated with attending Columbia SPS. Students are responsible for securing separate funding to cover these expenses.

• Students who defer their admission from a fall intake to the next spring intake (consecutive terms) may retain their SPS Dean’s Fellowship award.
• Students who defer their admission from a fall intake to the next fall intake (nonconsecutive terms) or from a spring intake to the next spring intake (nonconsecutive terms), will forfeit their SPS Dean’s Fellowship. They may be reconsidered for an SPS Dean’s Fellowship with the rest of the applicant pool for their new intake.

Yes, students are welcome to apply for both the CUNY Fellowship Program/HBCU Fellowship Program and the SPS Dean’s Fellowship. However, please note that students can only be awarded one fellowship because the CUNY Fellowship Program/HBCU Fellowship Program fully covers tuition. If a student receives an SPS Dean’s Fellowship and then later receives either the CUNY or HBCU fellowship, acceptance of the CUNY or HBCU fellowship will void the SPS Dean’s Fellowship award.

• SPS Dean’s Fellowship funds apply to tuition only.
• All SPS Dean’s Fellowship funds are applied to student accounts after the end of Change of Program. Anticipated awards will be reflected on student accounts prior to the end of Change of Program to assist with financial planning. Awards are typically applied up to $10,000 per semester or up to the cost of tuition, whichever is lower. If any funds remain, they will carry over to subsequent semesters.