Application Requirements

Applicants are required to complete an application including an application form, an essay or essays, resume or CV, transcripts from all post-secondary courses of study, two letters of recommendation, test scores, and an application fee. A checklist and additional information are included below.

Application Checklist

Prerequisites*
Transcripts
GMAT or GRE Scores
English Equivalency Exam
Essay(s)*
Recommendations
Resume or CV
Application Fee

*varies by program

Columbia Business School requires that the work contained in your application (including essays) is completely accurate and exclusively your own. Columbia University permits the use of generative AI tools for idea generation and/or to edit a candidate’s work; however, using these tools to generate complete responses violates the Honor Code.

Applicants should not participate in the drafting of letter(s) of recommendation.

All application content is subject to verification and adherence to the above requirements.

OFFERS OF ADMISSION WILL BE RESCINDED SHOULD ANY MISREPRESENTATION AND/OR OMISSION OCCUR.

Prerequisite Courses

We expect that a large majority of students applying to the MSAFA program will come from undergraduate business, or economics backgrounds and will have hence completed the basic financial accounting and managerial accounting core courses. Students who do not have formal coursework in accounting could also be admitted.

Prior to commencing the program, all admitted MSFE students would be required to complete the following courses at an advanced undergraduate level:

  • Probability
  • Statistics
  • Macroeconomics (preferred)
  • Two semesters of Calculus
  • Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory
  • Computer programming

The typical MSM student has taken probability and/or statistics and linear algebra at the undergraduate level. It is also desirable that applicants have some experience in a programming language, preferably Python or R. All majors are encouraged to apply, especially those interested in STEM-related fields.

Transcripts

A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution is required for admission to Columbia Business School. Applicants should scan and submit PDF versions of transcripts from each undergraduate and graduate institution which they have attended.

If offered admission, you will be required to provide encrypted digital copies of your transcripts from each of the colleges or universities submitted on your application. Offers of admission are not binding until academic records have been verified.

GMAT or GRE Scores

All applicants must submit a self-reported valid GMAT or GRE score when submitting an application.  Columbia Business School considers scores to be valid for five years after your test date. Please be sure to send your score report and submit your application at least one week before the scores expire. We will not accept requests for exceptions to this policy.

If admitted, you must submit an official GMAT or GRE score. Columbia Business School’s GMAT code for MS Admissions is QF8-N6-46, and its GRE code is 7432. The Admissions Committee will consider only your highest score when reviewing your application and will not combine subscores from multiple exams into a single composite score.

*We accept both GMAT Exam (10th Edition) and GMAT Exam (Focus Edition) scores.

English Equivalency Exam

We require self reported, and/or scanned test scores from all applicants, which must be submitted with the completion of your online application. We do not require you to send in an official score report for application to the program. If offered admission, these documents will be required to validate the offer of admission. International students who do not have a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from an institution in which all instruction is conducted in English must take either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the PTE (Pearson Test of English), or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). 

You may be exempted only if you have earned a degree from an institution in which English is the language of instruction. We will not accept requests for exceptions to this policy. Your scores must be valid when you submit your application.

Essay Instructions

MSAFA

In 250-500 words please describe your educational goals and those academic and/or professional achievements which have contributed most to your development. Also indicate your expected career track (examples include, but are not limited to, investment advisory, equity or credit analysis, professional accounting, consulting, and research) and describe how the Master of Science in Accounting and Fundamental Analysis will help you attain your career goals.

The essay is to be submitted via the online application...

MSFE

The Master of Science in Financial Economics requires two essays.

Essay 1

In 250–500 words please describe your educational goals and those academic and/or professional achievements which have contributed most to your development.

Essay 2

In 250–500 words please indicate your expected career track (examples include, but are not limited to, consulting, banking, asset management, research and modeling, risk management, etc.) and describe how the Master of Science in Financial Economics will help you attain your career goals. Please be specific.

Essays are to be submitted via the online application.

MSM

In 500-1000 words please describe your reasons for pursuing the Master of Science in Marketing degree and your short-term and/or long-term career goals. In particular, discuss how you envision the degree will help you attain these goals. Please indicate which elective courses you plan to take during your course of study. As the MS program aims at building analytical skills for solving marketing problems, many MS students take electives primarily at the Business School. At times we encourage students to consider courses covering Economics, Engineering, Journalism, Psychology, Sociology, Statistics, etc. from outside schools as well. The academics page of our site outlines some relevant courses within the School and the University classes are listed here. Please consider the whole breadth of options that you will have at Columbia Business School and at the University as a whole as you write your essay.

Recommendations

Two letters of recommendation, from professors or managers who know your work well, are required. Recommendations can also be from former or current supervisors or other professional associates who are senior to you. 

Preferably, at least one letter should be from a former professor and another from a manager or supervisor. You may submit up to four letters of reference. Letters of recommendation should be submitted directly by the recommender through the online application.  Further instructions are available in the application.

Resume or CV

Applicants must submit a resume or CV that includes an applicant’s academic background and credentials, relevant experience since graduating from high school, including summer employment and paid or volunteer positions held on campus, as well as other business or academic experiences.

Your resume or CV can be uploaded through the online application.

Application Fee

A nonrefundable application fee of US$100 must be received in order for an application to be considered. Please submit your payment through the online application system.

Fee waivers are available to active duty US military personnel, and members of the Peace Corps, Teach for America, Teach for China, or Teach for India who are currently in service. Proof of current service is required. Applicants who qualify for a fee waiver should email a fee waiver request, as well as proof of service, to [email protected] following the submission of an application.

The global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 presented institutions of higher education with challenges in teaching and learning, as well as in the assessment of academic performance. As a consequence of these challenges, Columbia University affirms the following principle:

The University’s graduate and professional schools, as well as their respective Admissions committees, will take into account the important disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak when reviewing student transcripts and other Admissions materials as part of their customary practice of performing holistic reviews of individual applications or dossiers. Specifically, we will respect decisions made by institutions or individuals regarding the adoption of Pass/Fail or similar grading options during the period in question.

The Provost and University Deans adopted this principle to ensure that no applicants are disadvantaged by policy decisions made by their colleges/universities as a result of this unprecedented public health event.

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