2020-2021 SEAS Student Handbook

Graduate Programs
Graduate programs of study in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied
Science are not formally prescribed, but are planned to meet the particular needs and
interests of each individual student. Requirements for each degree are outlined in
detail in the Academic Bulletin.
Students registered in the School have a minimum requirement for each Columbia
degree of 30 points of credit of coursework completed at Columbia University. The
student must enroll for at least 15 of these points while registered as a matriculating
student in a degree program in the Engineering School. Students wishing to change
from the Ph.D. degree to the Eng.Sc.D. degree must therefore enroll for at least 15
points while registered in the School. For residence requirements for students registered
in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or those wishing to change from the
Eng.Sc.D. degree to the Ph.D. degree, see the bulletin of the Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences.
For graduation, a candidate for any degree except a doctoral degree must file an
Application for Degree or Certificate on the date specified in the Academic Calendar.
Candidates for a doctoral degree must apply for the final examination. If the degree is
not earned by the next regular time for the issuance of diplomas subsequent to the
date of filing, the application must be renewed. Degrees are awarded three times a
year—in October, February, and May.
The Master of Science Degree
The Master of Science degree is offered in many fields of engineering and applied
science upon the satisfactory completion of a minimum of 30 points of credit of
approved graduate study extending over at least one academic year.
All degree requirements must be completed within five years of the beginning of the
Master of Science program. Under extraordinary circumstances, a written request for an
extension of this time limit may be submitted to the student’s department for approval
by the department chair and the Assistant Dean. A minimum cumulative grade-point
average of 2.5 is required for the M.S. degree. A student who, at the end of any term,
has not attained the grade-point average required for the degree may be asked to
withdraw.
Doctoral Degrees: Eng.Sc.D. and Ph.D.
Two doctoral degrees in engineering are offered by the University: the Doctor of
Engineering Science, administered by The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and
Applied Science and the Doctor of Philosophy, administered by the Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences. Both doctoral programs are subject to review by the Committee
on Instruction of the School. Doctoral students may submit a petition to the Office of
Graduate Student Affairs to change from the Eng.Sc.D. degree to the Ph.D. degree or
from the Ph.D. degree to the Eng.Sc.D. degree. The petition must be submitted within
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