B.A./M.A. program for Columbia Undergraduates
Columbia and Barnard undergraduates who wish to earn the M.A. degree in political science may apply for early admission to the M.A. program. This enables qualified undergraduates to make progress toward the M.A. degree during their senior year.
Students should apply during the fall semester of their senior year for admission to the program in the following fall semester, after completion of the B.A. degree.
Information about how to apply may be found on the Graduate Admissions page of the GSAS website.
B.A./M.A. students fulfill the same requirements as students admitted to the M.A. program through the regular admission process.
Students who are offered admission under the 4+1 BA/MA pathway will work with the DGS or program director to determine an appropriate selection of graduate courses during their remaining undergraduate semesters, and can be granted up to 1 Residence Unit (RU) of the 2 RUs required for a Master’s degree.
Upon enrollment in GSAS, BA/MA students may be granted up to four courses (12-15 credits) of transfer credit and up to 1 Residence Unit (RU) for graduate courses (4000-level and above). Students transferring fewer than four courses will be granted a partial RU based on the number of courses and should refer to the Transfer Credit page for more information.
Transfer credit will be granted ONLY for courses taken in excess of the 124-credit requirement for the Columbia or Barnard bachelor's degree (i.e., courses that did not count toward undergraduate major, concentration, or general education requirements).
Transfer credit courses must be taken for a letter grade, and the grade received must be B or better.
Students will then complete the remaining RUs and coursework as GSAS students. For more information on completing Residence Units as part of fulfilling degree requirements, see Residence Unit and Other Registration Categories.
In addition to registering for courses, students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are required to register for an enrollment category. In all Ph.D. and almost all M.A. programs, this is typically done by registering for Residence Units, which provide the basis for tuition charges.
Please visit the GSAS website for additional information about Residence Units.