Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

American University Partners with Columbia University to Offer Dual-Degree Program in Engineering

  • 01/20/15

WASHINGTON, DC — Expanding its commitment to the sciences, American University (AU) in Washington, DC, has entered into a partnership with Columbia University in New York City that will enable undergraduates to also get an engineering degree from Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The joint degree program is underway.

Students will complete their AU degree, and then attend Columbia to complete a bachelor’s of science in a specific engineering major. AU’s requisite math and science courses are comparable with Columbia’s various engineering tracks. Students can complete both degrees in five or six years.

“We are delighted to partner with Columbia University on this project,” says Peter Starr, dean of AU’s College of Arts and Sciences. “The dual-degree program offers American University students a wonderful opportunity to combine a liberal arts education with professional training in the field of engineering.”

Teresa Larkin, a physics professor and director of the dual-degree program for AU, has begun advising students about the program. Students who meet Columbia’s criteria are guaranteed admission to Columbia and will be enrolled to complete an engineering degree, she said.

“The partnership is a fantastic recruiting tool for STEM programs at American University,” Larkin said. “But more than that, it gives our students an opportunity to receive two degrees to put on their resume, instead of one. It quadruples the number of opportunities for them in terms of graduate studies, internships, and jobs.”

Columbia’s Combined Plan program is the first dual-degree engineering program in the United States. AU joins more than 100 colleges and universities that are Columbia Combined Plan affiliates.

Engineering at the undergraduate level is a growing degree program in the U.S. The number of bachelor’s degrees in engineering awarded grew by 6 percent in 2013, according to the American Society for Engineering Education. The growth continues a decade-long increase in bachelor’s degrees, which have climbed 28 percent since 2004, according to ASEE.

“Engineering is a discipline that takes cutting edge ideas from science and turns them into action and service. American University students want to acquire knowledge and skills to have an impact, and engineering offers the possibility of doing that in a rewarding career full of real world problem-solving,” said Nathan Harshman, chair of AU’s physics department.

For more information, visit the Columbia Combined Program website.

Featured

  • ZeroEyes, Academic Innovators Partner to Provide Safety Solutions

    ZeroEyes, which produces a multi-analytics weapons detection and threat intelligence platform, recently announced a partnership with Academic Innovators, according to a news release.

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.