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 engineering 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 listed 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 in order to complete the requirements for an engineering degree in five or six years. Students pursuing the five year (3-2) program will not receive their degree from American University until the two years at Columbia University are successfully completed.
The engineering program options at Columbia University include applied mathematics or applied physics; biomedical engineering; chemical engineering; civil engineering; computer engineering; computer science; earth and environmental engineering; electrical engineering; Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR): engineering management systems; IEOR: financial engineering*; IEOR: industrial engineering; IEOR: operations research; engineering mechanics; materials science and engineering; and mechanical engineering.
* Note: Students may not apply directly to the IEOR: financial engineering program because this concentration in operations research requires an application after one semester at Columbia University.
