Artificial intelligence (AI) is swiftly infusing the communication discipline with immediate implications for students and practitioners alike. To stay current with rapidly unfolding developments and create new ties with industry, this 0-credit course presents a biweekly series of speakers and panels comprised of alumni, Advisory Board members, and professionals. Speakers discuss their own AI use in the workplace. Students have the opportunity to interact with communication leaders on the forefront of AI implementation.
Each session aligns with a different Strategic Communication course topic. Among the areas to be explored are synthetic data and synthetic audience testing, event simulation, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), agentic AI, content production, and personalization at scale. Along with current use cases, a core focus of discussion will be AI governance, leadership strategy and decision-making, workforce training, and the development of principles and policies to guide human-centric and ethical AI implementation.
Market research is the way that companies identify, understand and develop the target market for their products. It is an important component of business strategy, and it draws on the research and analytics skills you have learned thus far in the program. Often market research consists of generating your own data, through quantitative and qualitative methodologies, in pursuit of the market research question.
This course is an elective that will expand on quantitative and qualitative methodologies that have been introduced previously, provide an introduction to other methodologies that are more specific to market research, and provide hands-on practice in defining a market research plan from start to finish. Students will also learn about particular types of market research studies and when and how they should be deployed. Students will generate and test their own research instruments. Through the use of case studies and simulations, students will learn how market research fits into an overarching marketing plan for a company.
This course is designed for students who have completed the Research Design and Strategy and Analytics core courses, and who are exploring how research fits into product marketing. You will leave this class understanding the essential aspects of market research, when and how they should be deployed, and the role you could play in small and large companies directing and executing on market research opportunities.
In recent years, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) have become essential to business intelligence and informed decision making. But to realize the impact of analytics and AI, effective visual communication of data insights via user interfaces (UI), such as web pages and app dashboards, is equally critical. Building effective UIs requires mastering the user experience (UX) design principles and certain front-end development technologies. Furthermore, the recent rise of multimodal Generative AI offers unprecedented opportunities for simplifying, automating, and scaling UX/UI development.
This course provides a comprehensive understanding of UX design principles and best practices for developing UIs while emphasizing ethical considerations and inclusivity. Students will learn to create intuitive and visually engaging websites and dashboards that leverage AI-generated insights, also considering data privacy, diversity, and accessibility. Key topics include the design, implementation, and evaluation of UIs, with hands-on experience in web development technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as related cloud services. Students will apply state-of-the-art AI technologies to create intelligent and interactive UIs, all while critically assessing data sources and AI models for potential biases.
The course content comprises a blend of conceptual learning and practice assignments. Weekly lectures and reading materials will cover the fundamentals of data visualization and user experience designs. Students will put the gained knowledge into practice through individual design and coding assignments and a group term project.
The course will cover the fundamentals of Algorithmic Trading, the discipline that brings together computer software, and financial markets to open and close trades based on programmed code. The goal of the course is to help the students to get familiar with the different techniques and strategies used in algorithmic trading and to let them experiment with classical and new algorithms they will create.
During the course, the students will use a Trading Market Simulator: The Rotman Market Simulator – a platform which allows students to transact financial securities with each other on a real time basis. Using the simulator, the students will familiarize themselves with specific decision tasks associated with financial securities, market dynamics, and investment or risk management strategies and get ready for the Rotman Competition.
Students conduct research related to biotechnology under the sponsorship of a mentor within the University. The student and the mentor determine the nature and extent of this independent study. In some laboratories, the student may be assigned to work with a postdoctoral fellow, graduate student or a senior member of the laboratory, who is in turn supervised by the mentor. The mentor is responsible for mentoring and evaluating the students progress and performance. Credits received from this course may be used to fulfill the laboratory requirement for the degree. Instructor permission required. Web site: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/g4500-g4503/index.html
Students conduct research related to biotechnology under the sponsorship of a mentor within the University. The student and the mentor determine the nature and extent of this independent study. In some laboratories, the student may be assigned to work with a postdoctoral fellow, graduate student or a senior member of the laboratory, who is in turn supervised by the mentor. The mentor is responsible for mentoring and evaluating the students progress and performance. Credits received from this course may be used to fulfill the laboratory requirement for the degree. Instructor permission required. Web site: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/g4500-g4503/index.html
This team-taught course introduces methods for studying medieval manuscripts through weekly hands-on instruction and assignments. Students will become acquainted with the collections of medieval manuscripts at Columbia, and will learn from the scholars at Columbia who specialize in the material study of manuscripts as artifacts as well as in types of manuscripts as defined by their textual contents. The course provides a foundation for advanced work and satisfies the material text requirement of the MA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
Intro to Moving Image: Video, Film & Art is an introductory class on the production and editing of digital video. Designed as an intensive hands-on production/post-production workshop, the apprehension of technical and aesthetic skills in shooting, sound and editing will be emphasized. Assignments are developed to allow students to deepen their familiarity with the language of the moving image medium. Over the course of the term, the class will explore the language and syntax of the moving image, including fiction, documentary and experimental approaches. Importance will be placed on the decision making behind the production of a work; why it was conceived of, shot, and edited in a certain way. Class time will be divided between technical workshops, viewing and discussing films and videos by independent producers/artists and discussing and critiquing students projects. Readings will be assigned on technical, aesthetic and theoretical issues. Only one section offered per semester. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Students conduct research related to biotechnology under the sponsorship of a mentor outside the University within the New York City Metropolitan Area unless otherwise approved by the Program. The student and the mentor determine the nature and extent of this independent study. In some laboratories, the student may be assigned to work with a postdoctoral fellow, graduate student or a senior member of the laboratory, who is in turn supervised by the mentor. The mentor is responsible for mentoring and evaluating the students progress and performance. Credits received from this course may be used to fulfill the laboratory requirement for the degree. Instructor permission required. Web site: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/g4500-g4503/index.html
Students conduct research related to biotechnology under the sponsorship of a mentor outside the University within the New York City Metropolitan Area unless otherwise approved by the Program. The student and the mentor determine the nature and extent of this independent study. In some laboratories, the student may be assigned to work with a postdoctoral fellow, graduate student or a senior member of the laboratory, who is in turn supervised by the mentor. The mentor is responsible for mentoring and evaluating the students progress and performance. Credits received from this course may be used to fulfill the laboratory requirement for the degree. Instructor permission required. Web site: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/g4500-g4503/index.html
Unlike any other medium, animation provides unmatched suspicion of disbelief. Moreover, one can exercise one's imagination in digital space beyond material and physical limitations. Combining the two provides the permissive space to manifest our wildest reveries: utopias, dystopias, thought experiments, psi-fic scenarios, or dollhouses for amphibians.
In this course, students will receive a general survey on a range of methods in animation production. From the most traditional hand-drawn animation and cel animation to digital animation employing Photoshop, After Effects, and Blender (3D animation). Although this class can be technically involved; software mastery the end goal of the course is using these techniques to produce animations as a means of expression. These are only tools to help students form and realize their creative visions. Designed for both the digitally inclined and those who hate computers, students can try and then choose the method most agreeable to their temperament and ideas. They can also combine and mix different methods, maximizing creative freedom.
The course will introduce projects from animation history (early experimental animation, Disney, Soviet experimental animation, etc.) and contemporary art examples (Pierre Huyghe, Ian Chang, Wong Ping. etc.). However, the aim is to go beyond the Western art canon and expose students to other facets of culture. We will also study examples from popular culture (music videos) and Japanese anime (Hideaki Anno, Satoshi Kon, Masaaki Yuasa, etc.). One of the most essential responsibilities the students will take on is expanding our collective references by bringing in and presenting works that genuinely inspire and interest them.
Animation is an exceptionally permissive medium; it facilitates all of your prior skills and interests. Whether it is drawing, painting, music, poetry, fiction, or using a yoyo, there is a way for it to exist in animation. Students will be asked to keep a sketchbook for the duration of the semester. It will serve a landing pad for ideas and an anchor point to manage the project. The course will cover the entire production process, from idea development, concept design, character design, writing, storyboarding, foley, voice, music, editing, and final publication. Much of the class time will be dedicated to working, punctured by presentations, technical workshops, and critiques. At the end of the semester, students will have completed three shorts (30 seconds-2 minutes) and one fully developed pr
A rigorous introduction to probability theory. Topics covered include probability spaces and measures, Borel-Cantelli lemma, zero-one laws, conditional probability, Bayes rule, independence, random variables and distribution functions, random vectors and multivariate distributions, expectation, important distributions, characteristic functions, conditional distributions, transformations of random variables, probability and expectation inequalities, laws of large numbers, central limit theorem.
A rigorous introduction to the theory of statistics. Topics covered include elementary decision theory, distribution of the sample mean, point estimation methods and asymptotic properties, the bias variance tradeoff, exponential families, sufficiency and minimal sufficiency, completeness, Lehmann Scheffe, UMVUE and BLUE, Bayes inference, Neyman-Pearson theory, hypothesis testing, most powerful unbiased tests, likelihood ratio tests, confidence sets.
This high-level course in linear regression delves deeply into the theoretical and geometric aspects of regression analysis, offering a comprehensive exploration of its foundational principles and advanced topics. Students will study regression within vector space contexts, emphasizing the role of inner products and orthogonal projections. The analysis of projection matrices will include their properties, such as idempotence and symmetry, and their implications for regression diagnostics and metrics. Students will explore why various test statistics follow t- and F-distributions, with careful attention to degrees of freedom and their derivations. As the course progresses, it will address the complexities of high dimensional regression scenarios.
Examination of areas critical to an organization’s success from strategic, operational, financial, and insurance perspectives, and examines why many companies fail in spite of the vast knowledge of factors driving success. Several case studies examined in depth.
Prerequisites: all 6 MAFN core courses, at least 6 credits of approved electives, and the instructors permission. See the MAFN website for details. This course provides an opportunity for MAFN students to engage in off-campus internships for academic credit that counts towards the degree. Graded by letter grade. Students need to secure an internship and get it approved by the instructor.
This course equips students with essential mathematical foundations for understanding and working with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. After a brief introduction to the historical and social context that numbers arise in, students will learn about:
- Linear Algebra: Matrices, matrix-vector multiplication, linear models, change of basis, dimensionality, spectral decomposition, and principal component analysis (PCA).
- Calculus: Rates of change, derivatives, optimization techniques like gradient descent, with a brief touch upon linear approximation.
- Probability and Statistics: Mathematically deriving complex probability distributions out of simpler ones, mathematically deriving statistical testing methods
- Graph Theory: How graphs are used to find relationships between data as well as being a setting for AI-driven problem solving.
- Problem Solving and Algorithms: Applying mathematical concepts to find problem solutions.
Students will learn about search methods like uninformed search, informed search with the A* algorithm, and greedy algorithms.
- Computational Theory and Automata: Answering questions about what is computable, what is needed in order to compute something, and using this framework to state how much “information” is contained in a mathematical object.
By the end of this course, students will possess a strong mathematical toolkit to confidently tackle the complexities of modern AI algorithms.
This course examines post-financial crisis regulations including Basel III, Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB), Dodd-Frank Act, Supervision and Regulation Letter 11-7 (SR 11-7), and others. Case studies will explore the technical details of these new rules; and guest lectures from industry experts will bring the material to life. Areas of focus include: model risk management, stress testing, derivatives, and insurance. By the end of this course students will be able to:
Evaluate the purpose and limitations of risk regulations in finance.
Identify and communicate weaknesses in a financial firm.
Communicate with regulators.
Understand Recovery and Resolution Plans or “Living Wills” for a financial firm.
This course helps the students understand the job search process and develop the professional skills necessary for career advancement. The students will not only learn the best practices in all aspects of job-seeking but will also have a chance to practice their skills. Each class will be divided into two parts: a lecture and a workshop.
In addition, the students will get support from Teaching Assistants who will be available to guide and prepare the students for technical interviews.
The purpose of this course is for MA in Mathematics of Finance students to gain knowledge and practical skills that are essential in the finance industry. The course will run as a series of lectures and discussions on various relevant topics, such as business communications and career talks that may feature guest speakers from the industry as well as the full-time faculty members. This will prepare the students for their job search, networking, and in their industry jobs in the future.
ESG will be a driving force in risk management in upcoming years. ERM / Risk professionals need a solid understanding of emerging ESG trends and regulations and how they apply to day-to-day job responsibilities. The ESG and ERM course begins with an overview of the ESG landscape and framework. After a foundational understanding is established, the course focuses on incorporating ESG into enterprise risk management, including identification, quantification, decision making, and reporting of ESG-related risks.
Operations Management (OM) is responsible for the efficient production and delivery of goods and services, serving as a cornerstone of successful organizations. This course emphasizes how analytical techniques, such as forecasting, queuing theory, and linear programming, provide critical tools for optimizing operational decision-making, improving efficiency, and addressing real-world challenges in operations management. In this course, you will gain essential skills to optimize processes, manage resources, and enhance productivity across various industries. The course will be delivered through a combination of interactive lectures, case studies, and hands-on coding exercises to ensure a balance between conceptual learning and practical application.
Through lectures, you will gain a solid foundation in OM principles and analytical techniques. Case studies will help illustrate real-world applications of OM in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and logistics, allowing you to see how the concepts are applied in diverse contexts. This course will integrate the principles of OM with hands-on analytical techniques using Python, allowing you to model and solve real-world OM problems. You will learn to run simulations, perform optimizations, and analyze data to make data-driven decisions that enhance efficiency and overall performance.
OM practices are tailored to meet the specific needs of various sectors. In manufacturing, OM helps streamline production lines and minimize waste; in healthcare, it enhances patient flow and optimizes resource allocation; in retail, it improves inventory management and supply chain operations; and in logistics, it ensures timely deliveries while reducing transportation costs. This course will equip you with the skills to apply OM practices effectively in different industries.
Analytics for Business Operations Management is an elective that is intended for students who are interested in pursuing a career using analytics and operational insights to drive organizational success in a competitive global marketplace across various industries.
This course explores financial derivatives across different asset classes with in-depth analysis of several popular trades including block trades, program trades, vanilla options, digital options, and variance swaps. Their dynamics and risks are explored through Monte Carlo simulation using Excel and Python. The daily decisions and tasks of a frontline risk manager are recreated and students have the opportunity to see which trades they would approve or reject. Students will gain a working knowledge of financial derivatives and acquire technical skills to answer complex questions on the trading floor.
In this course, students study major concepts of management and organization theory to understand human behavior in an organizational context, and then learn how to apply this to better manage interactions with key ERM stakeholders. Students will learn how to accomplish key ERM activities effectively while preserving and enhancing key internal relationships.
The course provides a deep dive into how enterprise risk functions operate within organizations, blending theoretical frameworks with practical, real-world applications. Topics include individual and organizational psychology, risk culture, organizational structure and governance, and the dynamics of managing risk in complex institutions. Through case studies and class discussions, students explore the behavioral and structural dimensions that shape ERM practices.
This elective is open only to students within the ERM program. This course (MSRO) is analogous to Managing Human Behavior in the Organization (MHBO), but customized for an ERM role. As a result, ERM students may not register for MHBO and those that have already taken MHBO may not register for MSRO.
In this course, students study major concepts of management and organization theory to understand human behavior in an organizational context, and then learn how to apply this to better manage interactions with key ERM stakeholders. Students will learn how to accomplish key ERM activities effectively while preserving and enhancing key internal relationships.
The course provides a deep dive into how enterprise risk functions operate within organizations, blending theoretical frameworks with practical, real-world applications. Topics include individual and organizational psychology, risk culture, organizational structure and governance, and the dynamics of managing risk in complex institutions. Through case studies and class discussions, students explore the behavioral and structural dimensions that shape ERM practices.
This elective is open only to students within the ERM program. This course (MSRO) is analogous to Managing Human Behavior in the Organization (MHBO), but customized for an ERM role. As a result, ERM students may not register for MHBO and those that have already taken MHBO may not register for MSRO.
In this course, students study major concepts of management and organization theory to understand human behavior in an organizational context, and then learn how to apply this to better manage interactions with key ERM stakeholders. Students will learn how to accomplish key ERM activities effectively while preserving and enhancing key internal relationships.
The course provides a deep dive into how enterprise risk functions operate within organizations, blending theoretical frameworks with practical, real-world applications. Topics include individual and organizational psychology, risk culture, organizational structure and governance, and the dynamics of managing risk in complex institutions. Through case studies and class discussions, students explore the behavioral and structural dimensions that shape ERM practices.
This elective is open only to students within the ERM program. This course (MSRO) is analogous to Managing Human Behavior in the Organization (MHBO), but customized for an ERM role. As a result, ERM students may not register for MHBO and those that have already taken MHBO may not register for MSRO.
Financial securities analysis and portfolio management is the study of analyzing information to evaluate financial securities and design investment strategies. Studying the subject can provide a foundation for students entering the fields of investment analysis or portfolio management. This course provides an intensive introduction to major topics in investments. Part I of the course lays the theoretical foundation by introducing the Portfolio Theory and Equilibrium Asset Pricing models. Part II covers the valuation models and analysis of major asset classes: equity, fixed-income, and derivatives. Topics include bond valuation and interest rate models, equity valuation and financial statement analysis, options valuation, other derivatives, and risk management. Part III of the course focuses on the practice of active portfolio management.
Tools for Risk Management examines how risk technology platforms assess risks. These platforms gather, store, and analyze data; and transform that data to actionable information. This course explores how the platforms are implemented, customized, and evaluated. Topics include business requirements specification, data modeling, risk analytics and reporting, systems integration, regulatory issues, visualization, and change processes. Hands-on exercises using selected vendor tools will give students the opportunity to see what these tools can offer.
Given the ever growing reliance on models, Model risk affects financial institutions at almost every level of their organization including pricing, risk, finance, and marketing. Model risk management (MRM) is now one of the primary focuses of operational risk management at modern financial institutions. In this class, the ERM skill sets of risk identification, risk quantification, and risk decision making are applied to the kinds of models seen in large, complex financial institutions. Through readings, lecture, assignments, and in-class discussions, students learn the principles and concepts that a robust MRM function uses to manage model risk.
The exponentially increasing availability of data and the rapid development of information technology and computing power have inevitably made Machine Learning part of the risk manager’s toolkit. But, what are these tools? This class provides the driving intuitions for machine learning. Students will see how many of the algorithms are extensions of what we already do with our human minds. These algorithms include regularized regression, cluster analysis, naive bayes, apriori algorithm, decision trees, random forests, and boosted ensembles.
Through practical and real-life applications of ML to Risk Management, students will learn to identify the best technique to apply to a particular risk management problem, from credit risk measurement, fraud detection, portfolio selection to climate change, and ESG applications.
This course will explore the ethics and politics of using oral history methods for documenting injustice, oppression, and human rights issues. The course is open to graduate students of oral history, human rights, journalism, and related fields; no prior experience with oral history interviewing is required. Oral history can be a powerful means of documenting oppression, human rights abuses, and crisis “from the bottom up” and facilitating the understanding and possible transformation of conditions of injustice. It can open the space for people and narratives that have been marginalized to challenge official narratives and complicate narrow accounts of injustice and crisis. The course will first explore what is distinct about oral history as a response to harm or injustice, comparing it to more familiar forms of testimony and narrative used within the realm of human rights, social justice organizations and courts of law. With its commitment to life narrative interviews and archival preservation, oral history situates injustice within the broader context of a life, a historical trajectory, and a political and cultural setting. Weaving together conceptual and practical approaches, we will examine different potential goals of oral history, such as documenting the experiences of people who have been marginalized; seeking justice; fostering dialogue and healing; and/or supporting activism and advocacy. The course covers interviewing skills and project planning specifically for oral history projects about injustice and human rights, and explores various dimensions of how power, politics, and ethics come into play — how politics and power shape the way a narrative is heard; the challenges of realizing ideals of collaboration and shared authority amid uneven power dynamics; contending with the effects of trauma on both narrators and interviewers; and critical considerations for projects produced with activist and advocacy aims. We will explore how oral history can work alongside other forms of memory and witnessing that go beyond words, such as activism, film, and memorials.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to a branch of machine learning called generative modeling, focusing on the underlying concepts, theoretical techniques, and practical applications. The defining property of Generative AI models is their ability to generate new data similar to a given dataset. In recent years, Generative AI has seen rapid advancement, revolutionizing various industries by enabling machines to create realistic and novel content, ranging from images, videos, and music to text and complex simulations.
Students will learn to use, fine-tune, and programmatically interface with high-level APIs and open-source foundational models, allowing them to leverage state-of-the-art tools in Generative AI. Additionally, the course delves into the theory and practice of low-level implementations, empowering students to train their own models on their own data and understand these models from first principles. The course covers various types of generative models, including Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and Transformers with their applications to text, image, audio, and video generation.
By combining these approaches, this course provides a robust foundation in both the practical application and deep theoretical knowledge required to develop innovative AI solutions.
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to a branch of machine learning called generative modeling, focusing on the underlying concepts, theoretical techniques, and practical applications. The defining property of Generative AI models is their ability to generate new data similar to a given dataset. In recent years, Generative AI has seen rapid advancement, revolutionizing various industries by enabling machines to create realistic and novel content, ranging from images, videos, and music to text and complex simulations.
Students will learn to use, fine-tune, and programmatically interface with high-level APIs and open-source foundational models, allowing them to leverage state-of-the-art tools in Generative AI. Additionally, the course delves into the theory and practice of low-level implementations, empowering students to train their own models on their own data and understand these models from first principles. The course covers various types of generative models, including Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and Transformers with their applications to text, image, audio, and video generation.
By combining these approaches, this course provides a robust foundation in both the practical application and deep theoretical knowledge required to develop innovative AI solutions.
Over the past decade, the Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed industries by enabling real-time data collection, analysis, and automated control through interconnected devices. Advancements in networking, cloud computing, and robotics have expedited IoT adoption, impacting a wide range of fields from home safety and industrial automation to healthcare and autonomous driving. Additionally, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) led to the emergence of the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), which combines IoT connectivity with AI-driven decision-making to enhance smart systems.
This course provides a comprehensive understanding of IoT technologies and their integration with AI and robotic systems. Students will explore IoT architecture, key components, and communication protocols while gaining hands-on experience with IoT platforms, sensors, and data acquisition devices. The curriculum emphasizes practical AIoT applications for real-time decision-making in manufacturing, public safety, smart cities, healthcare, etc., and addresses the ethical considerations of these technologies.
Students will learn how to better identify and manage a wide range of IT risks as well as better inform IT investment decisions that support the business strategy. Students will develop an instinct for where to look for technological risks, and how IT risks may be contributing factors toward key business risks. This course includes a review of IT risks, including those related to governance, general controls, compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and project management. Students will learn how to use a risk-based approach to identify and mitigate cybersecurity and privacy related risks and vulnerabilities. No prior experience or technical skills required to successfully complete this course.
Students will learn how to better identify and manage a wide range of IT risks as well as better inform IT investment decisions that support the business strategy. Students will develop an instinct for where to look for technological risks, and how IT risks may be contributing factors toward key business risks. This course includes a review of IT risks, including those related to governance, general controls, compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and project management. Students will learn how to use a risk-based approach to identify and mitigate cybersecurity and privacy related risks and vulnerabilities. No prior experience or technical skills required to successfully complete this course.
Cyber losses, reflected in daily headlines on data breaches, state-sponsored attacks on critical infrastructure, and ransomware incidents, have grown to exceed other major categories of operating risk in terms of total cost, driving increased regulatory activity in response.
This means risk management professionals need a solid understanding of cyber-risk management programs, techniques, mitigation strategies, architectures, frameworks, and procedures, which this course provides. Some frameworks covered include ISO27001, NIST CSF, CIS 18 Critical Security Controls, etc. Effective management of cyber-risks is an Enterprise-wide activity addressing immediate risks requiring attention while building a mature foundation for a resilient and proactive cybersecurity risk management program; a Technology Risk Management foundation is therefore a prerequisite for enrollment; however, IT expertise is not.
The course provides practical, hands-on, cases and exercises for the application of cyber-risk management principles, equipping course graduates to help lower the probability of a risk event in their organization, and to enhance organizational resilience for effective incident response and recovery.
Cyber losses, reflected in daily headlines on data breaches, state-sponsored attacks on critical infrastructure, and ransomware incidents, have grown to exceed other major categories of operating risk in terms of total cost, driving increased regulatory activity in response.
This means risk management professionals need a solid understanding of cyber-risk management programs, techniques, mitigation strategies, architectures, frameworks, and procedures, which this course provides. Some frameworks covered include ISO27001, NIST CSF, CIS 18 Critical Security Controls, etc. Effective management of cyber-risks is an Enterprise-wide activity addressing immediate risks requiring attention while building a mature foundation for a resilient and proactive cybersecurity risk management program; a Technology Risk Management foundation is therefore a prerequisite for enrollment; however, IT expertise is not.
The course provides practical, hands-on, cases and exercises for the application of cyber-risk management principles, equipping course graduates to help lower the probability of a risk event in their organization, and to enhance organizational resilience for effective incident response and recovery.
As organizations increasingly rely on external vendors and service providers, managing third-party risks becomes paramount to ensure operational resilience, regulatory compliance, and strategic success. Challenges include:
The evolving nature of technology risks.
The impact of geopolitical tensions.
The lessons learned from disruptive events like pandemics.
By offering a comprehensive curriculum covering everything from the basics of vendor management to advanced predictive TPRM models and emphasizing regulatory requirements specific to the financial services sector, the course equips professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the intricate web of third-party relationships.
Students taking this course are prohibited from taking Supply Chain Risk Management for Non-Financials (ERMC PS5585) at any time. Contact your advisor for more information.
As organizations increasingly rely on external vendors and service providers, managing third-party risks becomes paramount to ensure operational resilience, regulatory compliance, and strategic success. Challenges include:
The evolving nature of technology risks.
The impact of geopolitical tensions.
The lessons learned from disruptive events like pandemics.
By offering a comprehensive curriculum covering everything from the basics of vendor management to advanced predictive TPRM models and emphasizing regulatory requirements specific to the financial services sector, the course equips professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the intricate web of third-party relationships.
Students taking this course are prohibited from taking Supply Chain Risk Management for Non-Financials (ERMC PS5585) at any time. Contact your advisor for more information.
This course is designed to immerse students in the intersection of cybersecurity and data analytics. The course explores how modern data-driven approaches are revolutionizing the way organizations detect and manage cyber threats. Students will engage deeply with core cybersecurity concepts, such as network security, vulnerability management, and threat intelligence, while also learning to leverage cutting-edge data analytics and artificial intelligence to solve real-world security problems. Through hands-on exercises, coding assignments, and case studies, students will gain practical skills in analyzing logs and telemetries, building detection systems, and applying machine learning to security operations.
This course is designed to immerse students in the intersection of cybersecurity and data analytics. The course explores how modern data-driven approaches are revolutionizing the way organizations detect and manage cyber threats. Students will engage deeply with core cybersecurity concepts, such as network security, vulnerability management, and threat intelligence, while also learning to leverage cutting-edge data analytics and artificial intelligence to solve real-world security problems. Through hands-on exercises, coding assignments, and case studies, students will gain practical skills in analyzing logs and telemetries, building detection systems, and applying machine learning to security operations.
The Pandemic made us all aware of the fragility of supply chains and how significant the consequences of failure of our supply chains can be. It is paramount to note that global and local economies can break down, and scarcity of essential resources can foment wars. Risk professionals must know what best practices bring security to supply chains and related companies, governments, and other institutions.
Students taking this course are prohibited from taking Third-Party Risk Management (ERMC PS5575) at any time. Contact your advisor for more information.
Explores key concepts of behavioral economics and cognitive psychology, how to identify key cognitive biases in ERM activities, and how to apply techniques to address these, enhancing the quality and integrity of an ERM program. The course also includes best practices in leveraging analytic models to improve decision making.
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The Capstone Project is an opportunity for students to synthesize and apply learnings from throughout the Strategic Communication program. Under the guidance of expert advisers, you’ll investigate a real-world communication issue, devising solutions and strategies that bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Introductory course to analog photographic tools, techniques, and photo criticism. This class explores black & white, analog camera photography and darkroom processing and printing. Areascovered include camera operations, black and white darkroom work, 8x10 print production, and critique. With an emphasis on the student’s own creative practice, this course will explore the basics of photography and its history through regular shooting assignments, demonstrations, critique, lectures, and readings. No prior photography experience is required.
This highly experiential course helps students design, launch, and sustain a successful career. Blending scholarly foundations with practical tools and hands-on coaching, this course guides students through identifying their personal strengths and professional identity, developing a compelling personal pitch, and building the skills needed to navigate interviewing, networking, teamwork, organizational culture and change. Each session integrates theory, applied practice, and structured role-play with peer feedback, enabling students to move beyond a job search mentality toward a proactive, values-aligned approach to career development and long-term professional success.
The goal of this elective course is to provide you with a broad understanding of fixed income securities and how they are used for asset liability management (ALM) in financial institutes. This course is designed for individuals who currently work or plan to work as insurance and financial professionals such as actuaries, traders, and quants. The course builds on concepts introduced in several of the program’s core courses and emphasizes the application of theories. The course covers content adapted from the SOA syllabus for fellowship exams and is split into four parts: interest rate risk measurements, interest rate management—ALM strategy, ALM decision-based asset allocation, and value-based management. In this course, you will learn several ALM techniques related to mitigating interest rate risks, managing risk and return trade-offs, and setting strategic asset allocation (SAA) to achieve an optimized risk/return portfolio. Additionally, you will be introduced to the concepts of value-based management and economic value of liabilities. Completing this course will give you a fundamental basis for understanding ALM in financial organizations and further prepare you to apply these concepts in real-life situations under both generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and market consistent approaches.
This course is designed to equip students in the Columbia Actuarial Program with the technical software skills essential for modern actuarial work, with a special focus on Casualty Actuarial Science. Through this course, students will gain proficiency in Excel and R—two foundational tools used in data analysis, reserving, ratemaking, and simulation modeling. Excel will be explored as a powerful and accessible tool for structuring actuarial models, performing sensitivity analysis, and managing large data sets. R will be taught as a robust statistical programming language that supports reproducible actuarial analysis, including the use of GLMs, bootstrapping methods, and data visualization. The course will also include an introductory segment on Python, highlighting its growing relevance in automating workflows, handling large-scale data, and integrating with machine learning frameworks that may be increasingly relevant in pricing and predictive modeling.
The broader aim of this course is to bridge the gap between theoretical actuarial concepts and practical implementation through programming. By learning these software tools, students will be able to operationalize core actuarial principles—such as risk modeling, claim development, and stochastic analysis—within real-world business contexts. The course aligns with the Actuarial Program’s mission to produce industry-ready professionals who can not only understand the mathematical underpinnings of risk but also communicate and deliver insights through modern analytics platforms. It supports the development of computational thinking, data fluency, and technical agility, which are increasingly critical in actuarial practice as the industry becomes more data-driven and technologically complex.
This is an elective course available exclusively to students enrolled in the Columbia Actuarial Program. No prior experience with Excel, R, or Python is required, making it an ideal entry point for students new to programming or applied analytics. The course will be conducted fully online over the course of a full academic semester, providing flexibility while maintaining rigorous engagement through weekly assignments, project-based learning, and applied actuarial case studies. Whether students aim to pursue traditional actuarial roles or explore emerging areas like InsurTech, this course will provide the software toolkit needed to succeed in a modern actuarial environment.
At the end of this course, students will be prepared to fully evaluate the technical and financial aspects of a solar project. They will be equipped with skills allowing them to either develop or rigorously vet solar project proposals. The course introduces and provides students with a holistic understanding of the end-to-end solar development process. The course has two goals:
To provide students a deep understanding of the dozens of critical interrelated steps critical to developing a successful operating solar project.
To equip the students with the tools and understanding of the skills necessary to develop a solar project beginning with site selection encompassing the entire process to commissioning and operations.
Through weekly readings, seminar discussions, and independent research, students will be immersed in the discourse, theoretical approaches, methods, and applications of Indigenous oral traditions and oral histories. Students will learn about the nature of oral traditions from multiple Indigenous perspectives; studying them as deeply grounded knowledge systems and world views connected to places and nations. The course will examine how colonialism has acted a great interrupter to the collective memory which is foundational to Indigenous oral traditions and nationhood. Finally, we will consider how contemporary anti-colonial Indigenous narratives are ‘remembering back’ by drawing upon and building from the stories that have (and have not) been passed down through the generations.
Sustainable and resilient cities require integrated networks of transportation, water, waste, stormwater, energy, parks, housing, and communication infrastructure to support a low-carbon society and lifestyles. This course, led by two experienced practitioners and civic leaders, examines climate solutions at the city level through the lens of capital programs and policies, including responses to Hurricane-related challenges in New York City. Class modules cover key topics such as program development, stakeholder engagement, public support, project finance, contracting, and public-private partnerships, alongside sector-specific challenges, technologies, and initiatives. Grounded in real-world case studies, the course features guest lectures from city agencies and private-sector experts, as well as a field trip offering a behind-the-scenes look at an infrastructure facility. Designed for future sustainability leaders, this course equips students with the knowledge and skills to shape the cities of tomorrow.