Global Thought

Program Category: MA Programs
Chair: Adam Tooze
Director of Graduate Studies: Sarah Miller-Davenport
Email Address: [email protected]
Website: https://globalthought.columbia.edu/content/graduate-program 

To view this program's application requirements, please click here.

The MA in Global Thought is a unique degree program that challenges students to think critically, think capaciously, and think globally to address the complexities of our interconnected and ever-changing world. The MA’s interdisciplinary, customizable curriculum and unparalleled support prepare students for a range of careers across disciplines and borders. Through exposure to faculty and experts from a wide range of experiences and disciplinary backgrounds, and by learning from each other, students are encouraged to embrace curiosity, nuance, and open-ended thought. The MA in Global Thought prepares students to address complex global issues in the classroom, future workplaces, and the public sphere.

While the MA in Global Thought tackles many of the same topics covered in traditional international relations programs, it does so through an interdisciplinary lens and flexible curriculum that allows students to ask novel questions and pursue unique research interests. Global Thought courses are designed to respond directly to the urgency of our global moment and to students’ most pressing interests and concerns. With robust support from their academic advisor, students develop their own research projects, whose subjects range across the most pressing global concerns of the day, from technology and society to gender and international development to the local impact of climate change. Students come away from the program with a transformed understanding of the world and their own place in it. 

The Global Thought curriculum offers an ideal balance of structure and flexibility. Core courses provide a broad-based conceptual and interdisciplinary foundation in global governance, global political economy, and global politics and culture. Students choose the rest of their courses from the thousands of available elective options across Columbia’s many graduate schools, which means that each student in the diverse and closely connected cohort pursues an individualized course of study. 

Both full and part time options are available, and Global Thought offers partial funding awards based on need and merit.

Special Admissions Requirements

In addition to the requirements listed below, students must submit:

• One transcript per school attended showing courses and grades
• Statement of academic purpose emphasizing academic goals, anticipated program of study, and expected impact on career (no more than 1,000 words)
• Three letters of recommendation. Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation, at least TWO of which must be from referees with direct knowledge of the applicant’s academic background and abilities, i.e. an instructor or academic tutor or advisor. No more than one letter should be from a professional supervisor or colleague (including internship supervisors).
• Students must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a language other than English equivalent to four semesters of collegiate study. Students have multiple options by which they can confirm their language proficiency. Click here to learn more.
• Personal statement

All applicants whose undergraduate degree is from an institution in a country whose official language is not English must submit English proficiency exam scores. This requirement can be fulfilled through the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or the Duolingo English Test (DET). Please click here to learn more about fulfilling the English proficiency requirement.  

For more information, refer to our Admissions Information and Frequently Asked Questions pages.

*To be eligible for admission in GSAS, at least TWO letters must be submitted by academic recommenders. You may include up to four letters in your application, regardless of the number required by your program of interest.

Additional Deadline and Decision Information

Admissions decisions are generally released within 6 weeks of the deadline date.

Applicants who wish to be considered for funding are strongly encouraged to apply by the early deadline date. Please see the Global Thought website for more information on our funding application. (Note that the funding application is separate from the program application.)

Applicants who are denied admission during the first evaluation round cannot reapply for consideration during the regular decision evaluation process, but are welcome to apply again the following year (subject to the GSAS policy on reapplying).