Keystone logo
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) MA program in Climate and Society
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP)

Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP)

MA program in Climate and Society

New York, USA

MA

English

Sep 2025

Key Summary

    About : The MA program in Climate and Society aims to explore the complex relationship between climate change and society. This program provides students with an understanding of climate science, policy, and the societal impacts of climate-related issues. Coursework includes interdisciplinary studies that highlight both the scientific and social dimensions of climate challenges.
    Career Outcomes : Graduates can pursue careers in various fields, including environmental policy, sustainable development, and climate advocacy. Other potential paths include working in non-profit organizations, government agencies, and research institutions focused on climate issues and their societal implications.

The MA program in Climate and Society uses an interdisciplinary approach to train professionals and academics to understand and cope with the impacts of climate variability and climate change on society and the environment. The twelve-month program emphasizes the problems of developing societies.

This program is designed to provide the necessary skills and needed background in the social and natural sciences to:

• policy administrators and other decision-makers in water resource management, agriculture, health, tourism and economics, especially from the developing world

• policy professionals and administrators who want to pursue strategies in sustainable development

• private sector professionals dealing with risk and decisions relating to environmental change

• educators, who are training a generation that can no longer ignore climate.

It also serves recent graduates in the natural and social sciences interested in interdisciplinary environmental action or research. The program has an intrinsic interest in recruiting outstanding applicants from the developing world who will return to advance development in their own societies.