Launching the Columbia Graduate School Fair
Columbia University has one of the largest international student and scholar populations in the United States, totaling more than fifteen thousand. Out of the 152 countries they represent, India stands second in the number of international students enrolled. Given its expanding engagement with academic institutions in India and a deep interest among Indian students in applying to the Ivy League institution, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai organized multi-city information sessions on the university’s various graduate programs in Fall, 2019.
The Center partnered with four graduate schools - the Department of Statistics, Mailman School of Public Health, School of Professional Studies, and the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation - to launch a travelling Columbia Graduate School Fair in November. In its pilot year, the Fair travelled to Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru, cities that form the largest applicant pool to Columbia from India.
Each location provided opportunities for in-person and live-streamed presentations and interactions with faculty, admissions staff and alumni. The Department of Statistics was represented by Professor Demissie Alemayehu, Director of Graduate Studies for the MA in Statistics program and Dr. Anusha Shrivastava, Director of Career Development and Alumni Relations. They highlighted factors that gave Indian students a competitive edge and emphasized the Department’s impetus to increase diversity in its programs.
In addition to involving alumni in Mumbai, the Center worked with the Columbia Alumni Associations of New Delhi and Bengaluru who shared their knowledge and experiences with prospective applicants. The Fair created a forum that gave interested students, parents, professors, counselors and working professionals the opportunity to learn more about advanced studies at Columbia University, with its distinct academic, social and cultural learning environment in the heart of New York City.
Earlier, the Center had also organized an information session on Columbia Business School’s Deferred Enrollment MBA program on September 21. The newly launched program offers students the opportunity to apply to the highly-selective full-time MBA while still in college. Michael Drew Dixon, Assistant Director of MBA programs at Columbia University also addressed queries on the regular MBA program. All the information sessions elaborated on application processes, academic offerings within programs, student life, extra-curricular activities, internships and professional opportunities, along with details on Columbia’s distinguished faculty and global alumni network.