Majors and Concentrations

While enrolled at the School of General Studies, Joint Degree Program students will follow the major that matches their CityU major:

* Only applicable to students of the Business Analysis stream
** Only applicable to students of the Computational Finance and Financial Technology streams
*** Only applicable to students of the Applied Sociology stream
**** Only applicable to students of the Public Affairs and Government stream

Coursework from Columbia University will be evaluated by departmental coordinators at CityU each semester to ensure that students are completing the necessary degree requirements for CityU through their Columbia coursework. Students must successfully complete the requirements for a major at both universities in order to graduate. Concentrations, or minors, are optional.

Credits from CityU do not automatically transfer toward the Columbia major or concentration. Transfer credits toward the major/concentration are accepted at the department’s discretion. The Director of Undergraduate Studies in each department is authorized to accept up to 12 GS-approved transfer credits toward the major, though some departments accept fewer than 12 credits. CityU course maps, which detail the Columbia University courses that will fulfill CityU degree requirements, do not guarantee transferability of CityU coursework to Columbia University. Students must consult with individual department policies concerning transfer credits.

Additional Requirements

The Columbia Department of Mathematics has determined that the following courses will be counted as equivalent for all students in the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program with City University of Hong Kong whose major requires a calculus sequence:

  • Students who satisfactorily complete MA1200: Calculus and Basic Linear Algebra I, MA1300: Enhanced Calculus and Linear Algebra, or MA1006: Calculus and Linear Algebra for Business will be exempted from MATH V1101: Calculus I
  • Students who satisfactorily complete MA1301: Calculus and Basic Linear Algebra I will be exempted from MATH V1102: Calculus II
  • Students who satisfactorily complete MA2508: Multivariable Calculus will be exempted from MATH V1201: Calculus III

For more information on the structure of the Columbia Mathematics major, please visit the GS Academic Bulletin. Upon their arrival at Columbia, students in the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program with City University should make an appointment to meet with an advisor in the Department of Mathematics to discuss their plans.

The Columbia Department of Psychology will award students in the Joint Program with City University of Hong Kong nine points of transfer credit towards the requirements for a degree in psychology, organized as follows.

  • Students who satisfactorily complete SS2023: Basic Psychology I and SS2028: Basic Psychology II will be exempted from PSYC UN1001: The Science of Psychology (three points). 
  • Students who satisfactorily complete SS2701: Developmental Psychology will receive three points of credit toward the Group III distribution requirement in the major (see note below).
  • Students who satisfactorily complete SS2033: Research Methods for Behavioral Sciences will receive three points of elective credit towards the major.

For more information on the structure of the Columbia psychology major, please visit the GS Academic Bulletin. Upon their arrival at Columbia, students in the Joint Program with CityU should make an appointment to meet with an advisor in the Department of Psychology to discuss their plans.

Note: Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program students cannot transfer in the CityU Developmental Psychology course to replace Columbia’s Developmental Psychology course; however, their CityU Developmental Psychology class will count towards the Group III major requirement, so they can still get credit at Columbia towards the major for the class.

The Columbia Department of Psychology evaluates all psychology transfer classes towards major requirements; if they see a student has completed a course at CityU that will yield a better transfer mapping, they will use that class instead of Developmental Psychology, but with the identical result that all CityU students will receive nine transfer credits towards the psychology major.