Application Process and Requirements
All applicants to the Dual BA Program must apply by January 2 for fall enrollment. The admissions process includes a review of the applicant’s academic history, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores (if required or submitted), a personal essay, and an interview conducted in English (or English and French if applying to the Africa or Latin America and Caribbean minors). Applications will be reviewed by a joint committee featuring admissions representatives from both Columbia University and Sciences Po.
Application Deadline: January 2
Preview a PDF version of the application (for reference use only) before creating an account.
Application Process and Requirements
A complete application for the Dual BA Program includes all of the following:
- Submission of the online application. (Please note that it is not possible to apply to the Dual BA Program via the Common Application).
- High school transcripts, secondary school records, or GED test results.*
- Transcripts from all colleges or universities attended. Additional details can be found in the Transcripts section below.
- Standardized test scores are reported directly to the Dual BA Program by the testing service, if required. Please visit the Standardized Testing & Language Proficiency page to determine whether you are required to submit standardized test scores as part of your application.
- One admissions essay. See the admissions application for the essay question.
- Two letters of recommendation from teachers and/or a guidance counselor familiar with your academic career. Please note that the Dual BA admissions committee will not accept more than two letters of recommendation.
- A nonrefundable application fee of $80. Applicants using the online application may use a credit card to pay the $80 fee. If paying the application fee via credit card is not possible, applicants may also submit their application fee in the form of a check or money order payable to Columbia University.
*See note on official documents below
Students applying for admission to the Dual BA Program must submit transcripts from all secondary/high schools attended, as well as any college or university transcripts, if applicable, as part of the application process. Dual BA students come from a broad range of high schools and educational backgrounds, and the admissions committee is experienced in reading academic records from around the world.
Transcripts should include grades from the previous three years of secondary/high school study as well as any grades available from the current academic year (the equivalent of 9th-12th grade in the U.S.). Wherever possible, the Dual BA admissions committee strongly encourages students and their counselors to include school profiles along with their transcripts. Please note that transcripts in languages other than English must be accompanied by a certified translation.
The Dual BA admissions committee also requires predicted or preliminary grades where available, and mid-year grades, which can be submitted after the January 2 application deadline, are strongly recommended. For non-U.S. applicants, please refer to the International Academic Records section below for further details on transcript requirements.
Applicants will have the opportunity to upload unofficial copies of these documents in the “Previous Education” section of their application.
A Note on Official Documents
Unofficial documents are only accepted as part of the application review process. If offered admission, in order to enroll, you will be required to submit official documents using one of the methods below.
- Official Electronic Documents: Your college or school counselor may submit your official electronic documents through Slate.org. See more about Slate.org below.
- E-mail: If electronic documents are not available from your high school, or your school does not participate through Slate.org, students may also instruct a school administrator to email transcripts from their school email account to [email protected] and they will be counted as official.
- Physical Mail: Mailed copies of transcripts sent directly to the Office of Admissions of the School of General Studies will be accepted. Paper transcripts may not be delivered or forwarded by a student. All non-English language documents must be accompanied by a certified English translation.
Slate.org
To expedite the application submission process, college and academic counselors can submit official documents including transcripts, test scores, and letters of recommendation for their students’ applications via Slate.org. Counselors can register on Slate.org or sign in directly using their Google Apps/Google Workspaces school account, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Any colleague at an institution with an active Slate.org account will be able to verify a new account. If no other active accounts exist, the verification process will be handled by Technolutions.
The interview is the second round of the application process. Interviews are scheduled on a case-by-case basis by the admissions committee and are by invitation only. Interviews are typically 30 minutes in length and conducted by a small panel of representatives from both Columbia University and Sciences Po. Candidates should expect to discuss various aspects of their application file, personal experiences, academic plans, and topics specific to their chosen academic program.
Interviews will be conducted entirely in English except for students applying to the Euro-Africa Program in Reims and the Euro-Latin America Program in Poitiers. Applicants to the Euro-Africa and Euro-Latin America Programs will have their interview conducted in both English and French to reflect the bilingual nature of the Euro-Africa and Euro-Latin American programs and to gauge French and English fluency.
Applicants will receive an update on their application status by February 15; interviews typically take place between mid-February and mid-March. Interviews are held virtually.
International Academic Records
Please consult the list below for further clarification on the types of international academic records required by the admissions committee. Please note that this list is not comprehensive, and that transcripts in languages other than English must be accompanied by a certified translation. If you have questions about the types of documents required for your personal academic background, please contact our offices via email at [email protected].
- Canada
- Secondary School transcripts from grades 9-12.
- China
- Senior Secondary School records from grades 10-12, as well as any available Gaokao results.
- France
- Bulletins de Notes from Seconde, Première, and Terminale, as well as all available Baccalauréat results (including results from the Epreuves Anticipées du Baccalauréat).
- Germany
- Gymnasium transcripts from grades 10-13, as well as any available Abitur results.
- India
- Secondary School transcripts/end of year results from grades IX-XII, as well as any available Higher Secondary Certificates and predicted scores.
- International Baccalaureate (IB)
- Students enrolled in a secondary school offering only the IB curriculum (such as a United World College) must submit transcripts from their first two years of secondary schooling in their home country, as well as from both of their years in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The admissions committee also encourages IB students to have predicted IB exam scores sent as part of their transcripts.
- Singapore
- All available Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level and A Level exam results.
- United Kingdom
- All available GSCE and A Level exam results.
Simultaneously Applying to Other Undergraduate Colleges
The admissions process for the Columbia University International Dual Degree Programs is administered by the School of General Studies and is highly selective. Thus, applicants may not simultaneously apply to the Dual BA Program and to Columbia College (CC) or Columbia Engineering (SEAS). Additionally, candidates are not eligible to apply to the School of General Studies, including the Dual BA Program, if in the last three years they were rejected by CC/SEAS. Finally, students may not submit an application to more than one Columbia International Dual Degree Program for any given academic term.
Students who have applied Early Decision to CC/SEAS are not eligible to apply to the Dual BA Program, regardless of their admission decision, including if the student was waitlisted.
Students interested in being considered for admission to the Sciences Po Collège Universitaire must apply for admission using the application procedure appropriate to their situation. Please refer to the Sciences Po website for more information.
Transferring
Due to the unique structure of the Dual BA Program, there is no transfer admissions process option for students not currently enrolled at Sciences Po. Please see more information about the 3A Transfer Entry Process.
You cannot transfer campuses once you have been accepted. Sciences Po prides itself on the campus community generated by spending two years at one campus with a close-knit student body.
Notice of Non-Discrimination
Admissions policies for the Dual BA Program are governed by and adhere to the policies of Columbia University and Sciences Po.