School Launches Dual BA-MPH Degree Program With Columbia School of General Studies

The School of General Studies at Columbia University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have launched an educational partnership that will enable qualified students to complete in five years both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. Starting in Fall 2021, this dual-degree, or “4+1” program, presents a unique opportunity for Columbia undergraduates to obtain an MPH, usually a two-year program, at an accelerated pace.

“We are delighted to announce this innovative collaboration with the Columbia School of General Studies, which is part of Columbia Mailman School’s continued commitment to educate leaders who will work to protect and improve the health of people everywhere,” said Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health. “We look forward to welcoming the School of General Studies’ exemplary students and enabling them to jump start their work in public health, a field more vital than ever as we enter the post-COVID world.”

Students in the Columbia School of General Studies can apply to the “4+1 program” in their junior year. Upon acceptance they will spend the fall semester of their senior year enrolled at Columbia Mailman, where they will participate in the challenging, multidisciplinary MPH Core Curriculum. Students will then return to the Columbia School of General Studies for the spring semester of their senior year to complete their BA degree. After the student graduates from the Columbia School of General Studies, they will matriculate at Columbia Mailman full-time to complete a practicum and a year of course and thesis work to earn their MPH degree.

“As a public health professor and researcher, I am thrilled to offer this unique opportunity to our students, helping them apply their diverse experiences and unique perspectives in pursuit of better and more just public health outcomes for all,” said Lisa Rosen-Metsch, PhD, dean of the School of General Studies. “The Mailman School of Public Health was an ideal match for our School and this partnership is a timely continuation of our ongoing leadership in undergraduate, dual-degree education.”

Columbia Mailman is well-known for its world-class educational programs, with top-ranked departments of biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health policy and management, population and family health, and sociomedical sciences, among others. In addition to the new collaboration with Columbia School of General Studies, Columbia Mailman offers BA/MPH degree programs with Barnard College, Columbia College, the Jewish Theological Seminary, Dickinson College, and Vassar College. The Columbia School of General Studies has a long history of forming innovative, dual-degree partnerships, including dual-degree programs with the Jewish Theological Seminary, Sciences Po in France, City University of Hong Kong, Trinity College Dublin, and Tel Aviv University.

The Columbia University School of General Studies (GS), founded in 1947, is the premier liberal arts college in the United States for nontraditional students seeking a traditional undergraduate Ivy League education. GS students take the same courses, study with the same faculty, and earn the same degree as all undergraduates at Columbia University.

For more information on the dual BA-MPH program, please visit: Columbia Public Health Undergraduate 4+1 Programs