By Sebastian McAteer (MPA ’23) 

As students attending Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, we naturally take an interest in how our graduate school is being run. Many of us are taking time from active careers to burnish our understanding of global issues, to develop key managerial and policy competencies, and to prepare for leadership roles in public, private, and non-profit institutions. 

In this context, many of us want to be confident that the institution educating us on these issues is modeling best practices in its own governance. And, many more of us want the significant financial resources we invest in our graduate studies to be well-managed and put to good use by our school’s administration. 

So how is SIPA faring? The Morningside Post took a dive into the details of the school’s latest annual report, published in December 2021 under former Dean Merit Janow. Here are some key takeaways. 

1. Student enrollment numbers swelled by 22% in comparison to Fall 2020. 

Across the eight degree programs, total enrollment in SIPA in Fall 2021 was 1,272 students, representing an increase of 22.1% over the figures published for Fall 2020. The Master of Public Administration program remained the largest with 484 students (38%), followed by the Master of International Affairs with 329 students (26%), and the Master of Public Administration in Development Practice in third, numbering 99 students (8%).

2. Six programs now have STEM designation. 

SIPA secured STEM designation for six programs, in addition to the existing recognition for the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy. These were the following:

• the MIA and MPA programs when taken with the International Finance and Economic Policy concentration and the Data Analytics and Quantitative Analysis specialization;

• the MIA and MPA programs when taken with the Energy and Environment concentration and the Data Analytics and Quantitative Analysis specialization;

• the MPA in Development Practice; and

• the MPA in Economic Policy Management.

In May 2022, the MIA and MPA programs, when taken with the Economic and Political Development concentration and the Data Analytics and Quantitative Analysis specialization, also received STEM designation.

The STEM designations are particularly significant for SIPA’s sizable international student population. A STEM-approved degree allows for an increase from one to three years in Optional Practice Training (OPT) under a U.S. F-1 student visa, providing international students more latitude and time to secure permanent employment in the U.S. after graduation. 

3. Post-graduation employment remains robust, despite COVID-19 pandemic 

The post-graduation employment rate of the 2020 cohort was 90.3% six months after graduation. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this figure represents only a slight decrease from the 91.8% reported in the year before. However, the number of graduates still seeking employment six months after graduation increased from 7.5% to 9.5%, which may partly reflect the pandemic’s impact. 

In terms of employment by sector, the private sector was the largest post-graduation employer with 40.7%, followed by the non-profit sector with 28.9% and the public sector with 28.1%, while 2.3% reported to be pursuing further academic study. 

4. “What Can Be” fundraising campaign progress and divestment from fossil fuels  

SIPA’s flagship five-year fundraising campaign, What Can Be, launched by former Dean Janow in 2016, was only 88% funded at completion in December 2021, with $132 million raised from a $150 million target. What Can Be did eventually exceed its target by $10 million by May 2022, albeit behind schedule. 

The report further states that SIPA’s annual budget was $88 million while the school endowment was valued at $156.7 million, to which $1.35 million was added in 2021, compared to a $7.5 million addition in 2020.

Furthermore, the report states that Columbia University no longer holds any direct investments in publicly traded oil and gas companies, following a divestment proposal from Columbia’s Extinction Rebellion group in December 2019. Separately, however, SIPA still accepted a donation of over $1 million from Occidental Petroleum Corporation in 2021. 

The University of Cambridge will soon vote on whether to refuse funding from coal, oil and gas companies entirely.

5. Less than a third of first-year students received SIPA financial aid. 

Only 27% of first-year students at SIPA received school-specific financial aid in the 2020-21 academic year. SIPA gave out a total of $14 million in fellowship funding overall with an average award of approximately $33,377, or 36% of SIPA’s total estimated cost of enrollment. Of these fellowships, 76 were funded by donors and awarded to a total of 231 students. 

You can read SIPA’s full 2020-2021 Annual Report here.

Sebastian McAteer (MPA ’23) is a contributing editor at The Morningside Post. He studies Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy with a dual speciality in International Organizations and Conflict Resolution. He is President of SIPA’s Civic and Voter Engagement Coalition and an at-large member of SIPA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Climate, and Engagement Committee.