SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

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Curriculum

The distinctive and innovative nature of this program requires a core set of courses that provide an interdisciplinary grounding. Each of these courses is taught on the level expected of first- or second-year PhD students in the affiliated departments.

The core curriculum consists of 12 core courses, including three semesters of economics; three quantitative methods (econometrics) courses; Environmental Economics; Human Ecology; Comparative Development; Politics of Sustainable Development; Environmental Science for Sustainable Development; and Science Policy.

Students must also complete two social science electives, and a coherent sequence of four natural science courses.

Four departments closely associated with Columbia University’s Earth Institute are excellent sources of science course sequences and faculty advising for this PhD program. These are the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology (E3B); the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES); the Department of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) at the Mailman School of Public Health; and the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering (DEEE) at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS).

In addition to this course work, students participate in mandatory integrative seminars throughout the first three years of the program, and complete the MA thesis, in addition to a Ph.D. dissertation. Due to the unique interdisciplinary content of the program, students entering with a master’s degree earned at Columbia or elsewhere are still required to complete all M.A. and M. Phil. course requirements and examinations.

Requirements for the M.A.
(completed before the beginning of the third year)

  1. Completion of all required courses in the first two years as follows:

Year 1
Human Ecology
Microeconomics I
Microeconomics II
Quantitative Analysis #1(Econometrics I)
Environmental Science for Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development Seminar I
Quantitative Analysis #2(Econometrics II)
Natural Science Elective #1

Year 2
Macroeconomics and Sustainable
Development
Environmental and Resource
Economics
Comparative Development
Quantitative Analysis #3  
Natural Science Elective # 2  
Science Policy
Sustainable Development Seminar II
Politics of Sustainable Development
Natural Science Elective #3

  1. Completion of the M.A. Project

    The master’s project should be completed by May 1, in the fourth semester and should address a problem in sustainable development using data and methodologies from the four natural science courses completed in the first two years of the program. The project consists of an article (around 30 pages long), which would be publishable in an appropriately refereed academic journal which reflects the disciplinary orientation of the project

Requirements for the M. Phil.
(to be completed before beginning full-time work on the dissertation in the fourth year)

  1. Completion of the MA requirements described above
  2. Completion of all third-year required courses, described below

Year 3
Social Science Elective #1 ***
Social Science Elective #2 ***              
Seminar III

  1. Submission and approval of the dissertation prospectus
  2. Fulfillment of requirements to prove competency in two research tools

  3. Successful completion of the M. Phil. Qualifying Exams
    Students begin examinations for the M. Phil. in Sustainable Development only after they have completed all core courses described above, including the natural science course sequence and the social science elective sequence, as well as the MA thesis. In order to take the oral examinations for the M. Phil., students must also submit a dissertation prospectus.  The prospectus and exams are completed at the end of the third year.

    The exams are in three fields in at least two disciplines (one of which shall be a social science and one a natural science), and the fields are determined by the student and his or her adviser.  The exams are oral, with a half hour devoted to each field and a half hour devoted to consultation between the faculty and, subsequently, with the student. Qualifying exams include assessment of the student's familiarity with development economics or environmental economics.

Requirements for the PhD Dissertation

The Ph.D. dissertation will be on a social science topic in sustainable development. The social science research will be informed by an understanding of physical and natural science constraints and opportunities influencing economic development.

Students should possess at least two research tools before starting the dissertation portion of this program. Among these is an advanced understanding of quantitative methods, to be gained through the mandatory core courses, "Quantitative Methods I, II, and III."  The other research tool should be appropriate to the student's dissertation work. In consultation with the student's academic advisers, this second tool could be fulfilled through a two-course sequence in GIS or other analytic modeling systems, or through a proficiency examination in a language that may be particularly important for understanding the literature of the student's chosen specialty, and selected with the approval of the academic adviser. English is not accepted as a foreign language in fulfillment of this requirement.

Students with a regional area of interest to their dissertation may wish to conduct research abroad, to conduct field studies, use archives, improve language skills, or confer with local experts. In order that students may complete the PhD program without delay, it is preferred that they make use of summers to conduct such research. Students who feel they require a longer period of field research or language training need  the approval of their adviser, the director of graduate studies, and – if relevant – the director of the associated regional institute at the School of International and Public Affairs. Students may not receive extended residence credit for study or research away from Columbia before the completion of all course work requirements and comprehensive examinations.

Teaching Requirements

In addition to the completion of the requirements for the M.A. and the M.Phil., students have to fulfill a teaching and research requirement. This entails six semesters of work as a teaching assistant or a research assistant, as assigned by the director of the program. Students who secure external fellowship funding may reduce this requirement with the approval of the director of the graduate studies, but in all cases every student must teach at least two semesters.