SIPA students are an extraordinary group from a variety of backgrounds, who are united by their energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to making a difference in the world. Today half of SIPA's nearly 1,200 students are international, coming from one hundred countries. They are enrolled either in one of the traditional two-year programs, in the one-year Program in Economic Policy and Management (PEPM), in the executive program in public administration (EMPA), in the Ph.D. in Sustainable Development, or in one of several dual degree programs with international schools such as the London School of Economics and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).

From Wall Street to Harlem, from City Hall to the United Nations, and from environmental science to Latin American studies, SIPA continues to build on and contribute to the policies and practices that shape global communities.

Degree Programs

Master of International Affairs
The two-year MIA curriculum has been designed to develop international affairs professionals who understand the increasingly complex issues that transcend national boundaries. The curriculum has four components: a core curriculum emphasizing international political analysis, quantitative analysis, and management; the foreign language requirement; a functional or regional concentration; and electives. In addition, an internship usually performed during the summer after the first year of course work provides hands on experience in the area of concentration.

Master of Public Administration
The two-year MPA curriculum, with its emphasis on applying analytic tools to real world issues, qualifies graduates for positions requiring management skills and depth in an analytic or substantive policy area. This curriculum draws on the vast international resources of SIPA to address a wide variety of local and national level policy issues in a comparative and international context. The curriculum has four components: a core curriculum emphasizing political analysis, quantitative analysis, and management; a concentration; a capstone project; elective coursework; and a summer internship.

Program in Economic Policy Management
The Program in Economic Policy Management (PEPM) is a 14 month master's degree program that provides promising mid career policymakers with the skills to effectively design and implement economic policy in market economies, with a strong emphasis on the economic problems of developing countries. The program is designed to convey the practical lessons of economics, finance, and management science through an intensive study of actual policy successes and failures. Students who successfully complete all requirements of the program will be awarded the degree of Master of Public Administration (MPA).

MPA in Environmental Science and Policy
The MPA in Environmental Science and Policy combines Columbia University's hands on approach to teaching public policy and administration with pioneering thinking about the environment. Graduates of the program are prepared for leadership positions in local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as in nonprofit organizations and the environmental divisions of private corporations. They are well suited for the roles of analyst, manager, and translator of scientific knowledge and for designing cost-effective programs and implementing policies.

PhD in Sustainable Development
The purpose of the PhD in Sustainable Development is to create a generation of scholars and professionals equipped to deal with some of the most crucial problems in the world today. By combining elements of a traditional graduate education in social science, particularly economics, with a significant component of training in the natural sciences, the program's graduates will be uniquely situated to undertake serious research and policy assessments with the goal of sustainable development. The program includes a set of rigorous core requirements, but also provides students with the flexibility to pursue in depth research in a broad variety of critical policy issue areas.

Executive MPA
The Executive Master of Public Policy and Administration (EMPA) program is designed for the experienced and ambitious professional who is looking for a superior and practical graduate program but cannot take the time out to pursue full-time study. The program trains professionals to be competent and sophisticated public managers by incorporating broad questions of public affairs and the specific analytical, managerial, and communication skills of management and policy analysis into its curriculum. Our graduates are equipped to pursue careers in local, state, and federal government, nonprofit organizations, and private corporations and banks that deal with today's public policy issues.

Dual Degree Programs
To draw on the resources of Columbia University and enable students to pursue studies in related fields, SIPA, along with other professional schools at the University, offers a number of combined degree programs.