Program Director and Faculty Liaison: Teresa Larkin, Department of Physics
American University is an affiliate of Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). In cooperation with Columbia University, students have the opportunity to pursue a five- year or six-year dual degree program, resulting in the award of two bachelor’s degrees. In this 3-2 or 4-2 dual degree program students spend three or four years at American University followed by two years at Columbia University. Students typically concentrate in a major field in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University in order to combine the advantages of both liberal arts and professional education. This program option is available to all students at American University, regardless of their major, providing all of the prerequisite coursework has been taken and other requirements for admission to the program have been met.
Students are strongly encouraged to choose a major field in one of the natural sciences, mathematics, statistics, or computer science at American University. Students may choose to complete a major in the arts, humanities, or social sciences, provided that the engineering program requirements are also satisfied. This option requires careful planning and may result in an extra semester or more of coursework. In addition, this option may require a student to pursue a double major at American University to satisfy Columbia University’s Combined Plan Program admission requirements, which include a significant number of courses in the sciences.
Students pursuing this degree option work closely with the faculty liaison and an advisor in the major field of study. They work together to individually tailor course selections to meet the student’s interests and needs. Throughout the course of their studies, students must obtain a minimum B grade for all courses so noted in the Combined Plan Program at Columbia University. Completion of all requisite courses must be done during the three or four years of study at American University and prior to their application to the Combined Plan Program. Students apply to the Combined Plan Program in the spring of their senior year at American University. Upon acceptance into the Combined Plan program, students will complete two additional years at Columbia concentrating on the engineering program option they were accepted into. Typically, students receive both degrees (i.e. their degree from American University and their degree from Columbia University) upon completion of their studies at Columbia.
The engineering program options at Columbia University include Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics; Biomedical Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Civil Engineering; Computer Engineering; Computer Science; Earth and Environmental Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Engineering Mechanics, Industrial Engineering, Engineering Management Systems or Operations Research; Materials Science and Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering.
* Note: MATH-321 Differential Equations (3) and ACCT-240 Principles of Financial Accounting (3) must be taken prior to Columbia for any student with interests in the Financial Engineering major.
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