Curriculum


Climate and Society is a 12-month interdisciplinary M.A. program. Students must complete a minimum total of 34 credits and maintain a 3.0 GPA to graduate. Students will complete one residence unit in the fall, one residence unit in the spring, and an extended residence unit in the summer.

A set of tailor-made core courses provide a scientific basis for inquiry and stresses interdisciplinary problem solving. In addition to the core courses, Climate and Society students take a minimum of five electives for a total of 15 credits that can be taken across Columbia’s graduate schools, which include the School of International and Public Affairs, the Mailman School of Public Health and the Law School. Electives must be taken for a letter grade. They cannot be taken pass-fail.

Students start as a cohort in the fall, attend classes full-time during the fall and spring semesters, and complete one seminar and an internship or thesis over the summer. Degrees for the M.A. Program are awarded in October.

Course of Study

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

Summer Semester
Dynamics of climate
variability and change
EESC 4400
3 credits		 Regional dynamics, climate,
and climate impacts
EESC W4404
3 credits		 Research or Policy Internship (chosen by student)
3 credits
Quantitative models of
climate-sensitive natural
and human systems
EESC W4401x
4 credits		 Social Science Elective
min 3 credits

General Elective #2
min 3 credits

 or
Thesis Report
3 credits
Managing and Adapting to Climate
EESC W4403
3 credits		 General Elective #3
min 3 credits

General Elective #4
min 3 credits

 and
Summer Seminar (for all students)
3 credits
General Elective #1
min 3 credits

13 credits

15 credits

6 credits