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Prerequisites: the instructors permission. This course examines recent research and classic texts on the role of ethnic groups in political analysis. The class addresses three broad questions: what are ethnic groups, when do they become politically salient, and how does ethnic competition affect the distribution of resources in a society. Many of the readings utilize econometric methods. A statistical background at the level of W4710 is assumed, with familiarity through W4712 strongly recommended.
The course is very experiential. Learnings will be applied to companies that are currently fundraising and you will assess each company as if you were considering investing. There will be 2-3 guest lecturers (in addition to the startup pitches) from experts in the ecosystem so students get a varied perspective. Real company info will be shared in this class. As a result, class slides will be handed out in class but not shared electronically and class sessions will not be recorded.
Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Students will make presentations of original research.
Russia's war against Ukraine has multiplied Eurasia's connections with the wider world. This graduate seminar examines these connections beyond the usual boundaries of the “post-Soviet space.” Topics include wartime exiles and refugees, independent media in exile, disinformation and transnational repression, oligarchs and their enablers, sanctions evasion, shifting energy flows, and the changing roles of China, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Türkiye, and the Gulf. The course also addresses broader global debates over empire, regionalism, decolonization, and whether “Eurasia” remains a useful analytical category.
Whether you want to follow a career in private equity or just want to know how to intelligently analyze investment opportunities, define successful strategies and manage companies, this course will build on concepts learned in the introductory Private Equity course and provide you with the necessary skills to be a successful value-oriented private equity investor, while understanding the particular challenges of investing in Emerging Markets.
Through a combination of lectures, case discussions, real life examples and a Private Equity Game Simulation this course focuses primarily on the two key components of a successful private equity business:
Analyzing & Selecting Investment Opportunities
and
Managing Portfolio Companies, with a special focus on crafting winning marketing strategies
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The skills & toolkit you’ll learn in this course, go beyond Private Equity. Analyzing & valuating businesses, implementing operational improvements and realizing value for shareholders are key activities for any organization, especially those operating in Emerging Markets.
This course builds on the basics covered in the Private Equity Finance course and
focuses on three main issues: 1) Value creation through strategic marketing analysis of opportunities, 2) Management of portfolio companies
and 3) How these concepts apply in Emerging Markets
Specifically, we will review key models and frameworks used by top world-class PE practitioners and management consultants to evaluate deals, to better understand industries, drivers of value, players and the likelihood of success of different business models.
Additionally, we will focus on how to manage portfolio companies to achieve superior returns and how to diagnose, solve, recommend and implement top strategic corporate decisions.
All of these skills will be developed and discussed through the lens of Emerging Markets, paying particular attention to the added complexity that these markets bring to PE investment, mainly regarding macro risks, information asymmetry, governance and other issues.
The course´s ultimate objective is to develop a disciplined, structured and analytical approach to consistently help you evaluate deals and manage investment opportunities in Emerging Markets.
Learning Objectives & Course Overview: To understand the spectrum of investment theses, from very specific to more opportunistic. To understand the process of developing an investment thesis (different roles, who is involved, what resources are needed). To start to build a perspective on a specific sector as an early stage (Seed / Series A) investor. This course will cover different sectors each time it is taught, and it is not meant to be a deep dive on any one particular sector There will be 2-3 guest lectures where students will hear investors share their firms investment thesis, so students get a varied perspective. Real company info will be shared in this class. As a result, class slides will be handed out in class but not shared electronically and class sessions will not be recorded. Intended Audience: Aspiring investors who want to understand how investors develop an investment thesis Founders who want to understand how seed investors evaluate startups. This course is not intended for students who want to deep dive on a particular sector or who want to specifically focus on growth and later stages of VC investing. This course will not go deep into these topics: Strategic VCs (corporate/government/university), organizational structure (the merits of having a deep platform team) and governance of a fund (compensation, investment decision voting).
B8332 Real Estate Transactions is recommended. The goal of this course is to make you knowledgeable and conversant about the principles of real estate investing as applied to purchasing distressed assets. The Covid crisis is only the most recent example of how changes in the economy or capital markets can have a profound impact on real estate investors. During the Great Recession and the US Savings and Loan crisis before that, real estate assets suffered appreciable losses, and thus also provided an opportunity for investors to find new opportunities to recapitalize and reposition troubled properties and companies. As both a physical asset and an investment asset with a defined location in space, real estate is strikingly different from other asset classes. It is a long-lived asset that depends on attractive financing, rental increases, and long-term appreciation to maintain its value. Real estate forms part of the alternative investment asset class and institutional investors target a substantial part of their alternatives portfolio in real estate. The class will cover both US and international distressed investments and across traditional and niche sectors. The goal is to provide students with the tools to identify and purchase distressed real estate assets globally and to target superior risk-adjusted rates of return.
Real estate accounts for one third of the capital assets around the world. You simply cannot ignore it in as an investor or in any business, whether the business is called real estate or not. The last few years have seen a rapid increase in the use of Big Data in the real estate industry. Much more data have become available that allow companies to radically improve their decision making and create value in ways that are rapidly transforming the real estate industry. This course will use tools from business analytics and new, large real estate datasets to help shed light on important questions in residential and commercial real estate. The course will foster both conceptual understanding and hands-on skill acquisition through coding in Python. This course is meant both for students with strong programming background who want to learn more about real estate and for students of real estate who want to beef up their data analytics skills.
Python knowledge needs to be demonstrated by passing the CBS Python advanced-proficiency exam (B0002). Anyone who has not taken "Python for MBAs" and woud like to register for that class should email python@gsb.columbia.edu to arrange a special sitting of the advanced qualification exam.
Taiwan is a leading example of democratic transition and consolidation, the sole culturally Chinese democracy, one of four “Asian tigers” that forged a model of state-led economic development, the world’s 22nd largest economy, the dominant producer of high-end computer chips that power the 21st century economy, and a strategic hot spot considered “the most dangerous place on earth” in the context of U.S.-China strategic competition. It is the site of intense political contestation over national identity and complex electoral and party politics, and the target of advanced cognitive warfare from mainland China. It contends with problems of societal resilience in the domains of energy, food supply, communications, civil defense, and other fields. This course examines Taiwan’s political development, institutions, parties, elections, identity politics, social movements, political economy, and foreign/China policy, while placing Taiwan in comparative perspective to explore the extent to which its experiences are unique or illustrate general theories of political development, economic development, party politics, and international relations.
This course is designed to offer a general introduction to early American history from the colonial era to the early national era in North America. The goal of the course is to introduce students to the early American field broadly defined. Through weekly discussions of selected monographs and essays we will explore the key themes of early American history, examine methodological innovations and changes, and explore shifting historiographic trends in this broadly defined chronological field. Accordingly, we will approach our study by examining a few important historical constructs – the representation of the western hemisphere as a New World; the fact that European colonists, their African slaves, and the imperial governments that ruled North America’s settler colonies were part of a larger Atlantic World --connecting people and political regimes in Europe, Africa and the America. And finally, we will wrestle with the fact that as late as the end of the eighteenth century the majority of the North American was controlled by autonomous indigenous peoples making colonial history a story of encounter between an emergent indigenous New World and the peoples and institutions of Europe Empire.
Comparative media is an emergent approach intended to draw upon and interrupt canonical ideas in film and media theory. It adopts a comparative approach to media as machines and aesthetic practices by examining contemporary media in relation to the introduction of earlier technologies. The class also extends our focus beyond the U.S. and Europe by examining other cultural locations of media innovation and appropriation. In doing so, it decenters normative assumptions about media and media theory while introducing students to a range of media practices past and present.
In the last twenty-five years the historical study of museums has ballooned into a veritable separate discipline known as museum studies, which deals with the history of collections, the ideology of the museum as a public institution, and the politics of exhibitions. It is not the intention of this seminar to present an overview of this vast literature but rather to posit a set of questions proper to architectural history that intersect with both the history and historiography of the museum since the mid-18th century, with an overwhelming emphasis on the art (as opposed to the natural history, science, technology, history, or literary) museum. The seminar intertwines two themes at vastly different scales: the inclusive one of the architectural history of the art museum as a building – including all aspects of interior disposition, display strategies and technologies, lighting, exterior form, and urban spatial disposition – and the more highly specialized one of architecture as a subject matter for collecting and display in the museum context. Within art history the focus has been largely on the development of both the architectural and institutional structure of the art museum; but the fact that architecture overlaps issues of aesthetics, of history, and of science and technology, invites us to consider both the question of the architecture of the museum and architecture in the museum from a more comprehensive view of the museum type. In both a set of questions recur: the idea of de-contextualization, of aesthetic experience divorced from use and daily environment, of classification and display, of education and/or vs. entertainment, or cultural hegemony and colonialism.
The course is an advanced Mergers & Acquisitions Seminar that focuses on current trends and recent developments in the media industry. The course will be divided into two parts. Each week during Part I will be devoted to the analysis of a different recent media transaction. The pedagogic framework is not structurally different from traditional M&A analysis. The overlay of mediaspecific commercial, strategic and regulatory issues will provide additional insight into a particularly dynamic segment of the economy. Each week will focus on a different transaction type (e.g., cash divesture, cash acquisition, stock merger etc.) different media industry sub-sector (e.g., cable, newspapers, broadcasting etc.) and different aspects of the analytical framework (e.g., financial analysis, corporate governance etc.) Part II will be devoted to group board presentations of hypothetical transactions. Groups must be formed and have their hypothetical transaction approved by the instructor by week 4 of the course. Course grades will be primarily based on the quality of written materials and presentations by the group. Each group member will receive the same grade on their project. 20% of the course grade will be on based on individual weekly homework assignments. Outside speakers/board members with first-hand knowledge of the industries and transactions considered will participate during both Part I and Part II of the course.
Ethnography is often taught as a method of observation. This course begins from a different premise: ethnography is a political technology of knowledge production shaped by empire, race, capital, gender, and disciplinary power. It is also a fragile and unfinished writing practice that scholars continually remake. This seminar treats ethnography as a site of struggle over these questions: Who can produce knowledge? Whose worlds become legible? Which archives endure? What research should refuse to know? And, how writing itself organizes relations of power?
Interdisciplinary group work as part of Dissertation Proposal Seminar series.
The period of Southern history between the end of Reconstruction and World War I, during which the foundation was laid for a Southern Order more durable than any of its predecessors - either the Old South of King Cotton, the Confederate South of the Civil War era, or the Republican south of the Reconstruction. Field(s): US
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The purpose of this course would be to familiarize its students with the form and function of musicals, and teach them how to work with writers of musicals. I would begin with a fundamental building block of the musical structure: the song. We would look at examples of songs both from musicals and not in order to analyze how songs contain information pertinent to both plot and emotional arcs. After this we would look at examples of classic musical structures. This might include shows and structures like Oklahoma! (for a classic structural template), Guys and Dolls (musical comedy), Gypsy (a dominant singular character), A Chorus Line (a superstructure), Assassins (a show that probably shouldn’t work but does) and A Strange Loop (a show that references many other shows and structures to build its engine.) We would also look at a new musical currently in process in order to determine which notes might be useful, and how to give them. We would also speak with current musical theater writers about the shows they are writing, their inspirations, methods, and various storytelling tools. Lastly, we would discuss the musical theatre industry, and how musicals are made and produced in the current theatrical ecosystem.
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In the collaborative world of theatre, the director is at the helm. We, as stage managers, support the director’s creative process from rehearsals through opening night. What happens when the director leaves and turns over the maintenance of the production to the stage manager? This course will help give you the tools to meet that challenge. Beginning with rehearsals, how do we best observe directors so that we can understand and preserve their vision? In preparation for working with the cast, we will discuss the various acting methods. How do we prepare our script to direct cast replacements, incorporating script analysis and acting beats. We will also review the basics of directing and identify the most influential directors now, and in recent history.
The Materials, Chekhov, & 3rd Year PWF presentations provide an excellent opportunity for stage managers to apply the skills they have acquired through their classroom work and practical training. Each of these productions is attached to three separate “Rehearsal & Production” courses; as such, each requires stage managers to take the lead position as PSM (Production Stage Manager) and shepherd each of the following from pre-production and rehearsals through final presentation.
The Materials, Chekhov, & 3rd Year PWF presentations provide an excellent opportunity for stage managers to apply the skills they have acquired through their classroom work and practical training. Each of these productions is attached to three separate “Rehearsal & Production” courses; as such, each requires stage managers to take the lead position as PSM (Production Stage Manager) and shepherd each of the following from pre-production and rehearsals through final presentation.
The function of a stage manager in the process of a musical – through the use of technological advances. This class will be an in-depth examination of how modern stage management contributes to this process through the implementation of seminal methodologies. Focus will be placed on how digital platforms can be used to support this process from beginning to end.
Climate science informs us that global emissions of greenhouse gas emissions must be rapidly and dramatically reduced if humanity is to avoid catastrophic climate change. After three centuries of rising emissions, the entire global economy must now decarbonize in the coming three decades. Fortunately, most of the technologies and investment capital necessary to reduce and eventually eliminate emissions exist or are in development, but the urgency to implement those solutions is critical.
This course provides an overview of climate change, its effects on business, and how businesses can (and should) respond. The course covers emissions sources and their impact on climate change, followed by an exploration of the policy landscape, including current legislation, carbon markets, and climate justice. The course then evaluates current and evolving mitigation technologies, reviews the tools of climate finance, and considers strategies for reducing emissions to net zero. Finally, the course introduces the role of businesses in addressing climate change, including net-zero goals, actions they can take to mitigate their impact, and the perspectives of shareholders.
Throughout the course, the business case for climate action is emphasized, highlighting the economic benefits of taking action to address climate change.
This immersive course explores the dynamic tech landscape of Africa, with a special focus on Nairobi, Kenya. Known as "Silicon Savannah," Nairobi has emerged as a leading hub for innovation, startups, and technological advancement on the continent. The city is renowned for its vibrant tech ecosystem, which includes pioneering initiatives like M-Pesa, the revolutionary mobile money transfer service that has transformed financial inclusion across Africa. Throughout the course, we will delve into various facets of the African tech scene. We will learn about the historical evolution of technology in Africa and how Nairobi has become a pivotal center for tech innovation. The course will cover a broad spectrum of sectors where technology is making a significant impact, such as financial technology (FinTech), agriculture technology (AgriTech), healthcare technology (HealthTech), and educational technology (EdTech). The class will compose of a mixture of lectures that provide theoretical foundations and case studies and guest lectures from industry leaders. The in-country portion will have visits to tech hubs, startups, and multinational companies. M-Pesa will not only serves as a case study in the transformative power of mobile technology but also illustrates how African solutions can lead the way in global tech innovation. The course also aims to address the unique challenges faced by tech startups in Africa, such as regulatory hurdles, infrastructure limitations, and cultural factors affecting tech adoption. The class will allow students to identify and analyze these challenges while exploring the abundant opportunities within the African tech market. Ultimately, the course seeks to critically evaluate the impact of technology on economic and social development in Africa, fostering a deep understanding of how innovative solutions are driving progress across the continent. Please note this class will meet in the A term, and travel to Kenya will take place during December 6-13, 2025. A predeparture meeting will be held on November 20 during the lunch break. The 2025-2026 Global Immersion Program mandatory fee for all classes is $2100 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals. It does not cover roundtrip international airfare. Attendance both in New York and in-country and regular participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and as such attendance is mandatory. Students who miss the first class meeting may be removed from the course. No program fee refunds
This course will prepare graduate students in political science and economics who have completed their basic formal and quantitative training for research in formal political theory. The specific substantive focus of the course will depend on the distribution of students’ interests, but topics will include electoral and legislative institutions, autocratic politics, political behavior, persuasion, and conflict. The topics should be of broad relevance for graduate students interested in political economy across the social sciences.
The course will be conducted primarily in seminar format, complemented by frontal instruction. For each topic, we will focus on a small number of relatively recent articles and working papers. Students will also present on topics related to their own research.
Europe is at the forefront of climate policy globally. It has ambitious goals, concrete plans, and is working hard on the implementation. It is also facing significant challenges, from high energy costs to sluggish economic growth. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has been in a recession for 2 years. This class will explore climate through the lens of green industrial policy in Europe, with an eye toward hard-to-abate sectors like steel and cement, the challenges facing companies in these sectors, and the opportunities a push into clean and low-carbon technologies provides.
Climate change represents one of the most significant challenges of our time, fundamentally driven by human activities and amplified by the rapid pace of industrialization and economic growth. At its core, climate change is as much a technological problem as it is an environmental one – enabled by outdated methods of energy production, inefficient resource management, and unsustainable infrastructure. At the same time, technology holds immense promise for solutions for mitigating emissions and adapting to the impacts of a warming planet.
American Innovation in Climate Tech is a spring semester elective course designed for Columbia Business School students to explore the cutting edge of innovation in climate technologies. It aims to provide students with exposure to a range of industries and companies at the forefront of innovation. We will explore the latest breakthroughs and emerging technologies for addressing climate impacts in energy generation, alternative fuels, grid modernization, mobility, decarbonized materials, agriculture, and carbon management. By analyzing recent advancements and engaging directly with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and project developers, students will gain practical insights into how new technologies are developed, piloted, and commercialized.
Prerequisites: G6215, G6216, G6211, G6212, G6411, G6412. Students will make presentation of original research in Microeconomics.
Prerequisites: G6215, G6216, G6211, G6212, G6411, G6412. Students will make presentations of original research in Microeconomics.
The art of negotiation is a critical skill for stage managers to develop. Conflict resolution, communication, and collaboration are all aspects of theater that require negotiation on many levels. This course will explore these concepts and apply them to the real-world atmospheres in which stage managers must navigate these challenges effectively. Contemporary management texts, role-playing, guest speakers, and lectures/class discussion will illuminate the importance of negotiation as a tool that will be required of all stage managers no matter where they choose to work.
This Global Immersion course provides students with knowledge, insights, and experiences with respect to Israel’s innovation ecosystem. What is the “secret sauce” that propelled Israel to its present leadership position, a global innovation and entrepreneurship hub often referred to as “startup nation,” that hails the highest concentration of startups and unicorns per capita? The course's in-class meetings and its one week visit to Israel will provide background and hands on exposure to some of the key drivers, including leadership, politics, economics, geography, and culture. Students will gain an understanding of Israel's unique circumstances and achievements through a combination of academic learnings, guest speakers, business and government leaders that will share first hand experiences and perspectives, and on-the-ground exposure to Israeli businesses, cultural and historical sites. This Global Immersion course begins with six 1.5-hour sessions, followed by a one-week study trip to Israel. The course's pedagogy combines current examples, presentations, guest visits by leaders from business and government. Travel to Israel is planned for March 14-21, 2026. The 2025-2026 Global Immersion Program fee for all classes is $2100 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals; unless an increased fee is otherwise specified in the course description. It does not cover roundtrip international airfare. Attendance both in New York and in country and regular participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and as such attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absences are highly frowned upon and will have negative consequences on class grade, and students who have expected conflicts should not apply for this course. Students who miss the first class meeting may be removed from the course. No program fee refunds will be given after the add/drop period has closed. Please visit the Chazen Institute website to learn more about the Global Immersion Program, and visit the Global Immersion Policies page to review policies affecting these courses. The ongoing conflict in the region over the past two years has fortunately culminated in a recent cease fire, of which the US was instrumental in brokering and enforcing. Nevertheless, it is possible that if the security situation deteriorates, we will have to cancel and offer an alternative travel plan. At present, Columbia's travel insurance provider categorizes Israel and th
The course will acquaint the student with the history, current realities and evolving direction of the American not-for-profit professional theatre. Through materials and discussion both theoretical and practical, as well as distinguished guests from the field, the class will explore present-day challenges and opportunities related to theatre institutions, artists, audiences and public support. The class will also investigate the intersection between the not-for-profit theatre field, American culture and larger societal forces.
The intent of the course is to equip the student with a multifaceted perspective on the past, present and future evolution of the field. Students are encouraged to make the class their own through the shared exploration of individual areas of interest, ideas, questions and the challenge to brainstorm the future. The course is also intended to expand understanding of the field from a values-based orientation, including both organizational and personal values.
We will use the tools of behavioral economics and psychology to better understand consumer financial decisions and the consumer finance industry. We will examine markets for borrowing (mortgages, credit cards, peer-to-peer lending, payday loans), saving (401(k)s, strategies to promote saving, optimal asset allocation), and insurance (including life, health, and longevity). We will emphasize both how people do and how people should make financial decisions, and the implications for financial services firms. The goal of the course is to not only understand consumer finance, but to emphasize how the lessons from psychology and economics can be used to improve business decisions, foster innovation, and enhance public policy.
This seminar examines the political development, foreign policy, and historical trajectory of modern Ukraine, with particular attention to its evolving relationship with Russia and the West. The course is divided into three sections: (1) historical foundations of Ukrainian statehood; (2) thematic issues such as nationalism, governance, and Euroatlantic integration; and (3) the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Students will explore the origins, progression, and implications of the war, while considering potential paths toward resolution.
This course proposes that a significant strand of contemporary art and exhibition-making activates the political and epistemic force of the 1955 Bandung Conference and its afterlives in the tricontinental and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as a living methodology. We will examine how the Bandung Conference’s legacy of anti-colonial struggle, political nonalignment, and Third World solidarity gives rise to a new kind of art and a new kind of exhibition—both occupying an in-between position that refuses the terms of Western modernism and the socially engaged realism promoted by many on the left in the midtwentieth century. Rather than treating Bandung as a fixed historical event, we will approach it as a methodological orientation that produces this third space of practice and display, structuring how artists and curators alike rethink sovereignty and democratic cultural exchange.
This half semester course provides students with the opportunity to perform due diligence on early-stage social ventures
(nonprofit and for-profit ventures with a social or environmental mission). This course is designed for MBA students
interested in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, or philanthropy. The objective of the course is for students to
learn both the theory of investing in early-stage social ventures and the practice of evaluating early-stage social ventures
through a due diligence process. This course is not designed for the evaluation of larger, well-established social
enterprises.
Students are placed in teams to evaluate social entrepreneurs from the Columbia University community who have applied
for funding from the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures. The course is a combination of in-class lectures and discussion, and
practical application of class lessons outside of the classroom. Major topics covered include: the due diligence process,
assessing venture pitches and teams, due diligence in emerging markets, due diligence of non-profits, impact
measurement and management, and valuations and deal structure.
During the course, each student team completes detailed due diligence on their assigned social venture, including
diligence on applicants, the social venture and the sector. The course concludes with student teams submitting a written
due diligence report and a recommendation for funding to the Investment Board of the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures.
This course explores how generative AI (GAI) can be applied in the social sciences. After an introduction to large language models and multimodal architectures, students will learn how to use these models at various stages of the research process. Topics include using GAI for classification, synthetic data generation, tailored experimental designs, adaptive surveys, and prediction. Emphasis is placed on technical implementation and research design considerations, including prompt construction, validation, integrating model outputs into surveys, and replication. The course also covers retrieval systems and research agents.
Parts of Africa are now some of the most exciting regions of the world for business. A growing number of African countries have achieved steady, high growth rates during the last few decades. A wide range of sectors in these “lion” economies – commodities, tourism, agribusiness, eCommerce, oil and gas, retail, etc. – are buzzing with activity and attention from foreign investors and multinationals.
But how can companies and investors enter and operate efficiently in African countries? What challenges characterize the private sector in Africa, how do they vary with context, and what strategies can firms and organizations adopt to overcome them? Where can new MBAs interested in Africa add the most value?
Rwanda is a wonderful country to explore and address these questions. In 1994, Rwanda suffered a brutal genocide in which nearly 1 million people were killed in a 3-month period. In the years since the genocide, the country has rebuilt with remarkable results. Rwanda is now one of the safest countries in Africa. Rwandans now live side by side in peace, the country’s economy continues to grow rapidly, and Rwanda has made great strides in reducing poverty and increasing entrepreneurship, education, and access to health care. Further, the country has been praised for its handling of the COVID pandemic. Armed with frameworks and analytical tools from management and economics, we will meet with executives in Rwanda to understand the leadership practices, processes, and structures that have led to Rwanda’s remarkable recovery, reconciliation, current peace, and economic growth.
About the Global Immersion Program
Global Immersion Program classes bridge classroom lessons and business practices in another country. These three credit classes meet for half a term in New York prior to a one week visit to the country of focus where students will meet with business executives and government officials while working on team projects. Upon return from the travel portion of the class, students may have one wrap up meeting at Columbia Business School. The 2023-2024 Global Immersion Program fee for most classes is $1950 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals; unless an increased fee is otherwise specified in the course description. It does not cover round-trip international airfare. Attendance both in New York and in-country and regular participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and as such attendance is mandatory. Stud
The Philippines is Asia’s rising tiger. It is among the world’s fastest-growing economies with average annual growth of 6 to 7% per year. After a dip in GDP growth during 2020 due to Covid, the economic growth rebounded to 7.6% during 2022. Average annual GDP per person has risen dramatically over the past two decades, from below US$ 1,000 per person in 2000 to US$ 3,500 by 2022. Philippines is on track to become one-trillion dollar economy by 2033. The central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is well managed and follows a sound monetary policy. The long-term prospect for the country is contingent upon improvement in governance, reducing income inequality, tackling corruption and a better regulatory environment. After losing its way for the past few decades, Philippines seems to be on the right path. We will develop a strong foundation in understanding Philippines’ history, economy, industry and competitive position, before we visit the country. The Global Immersion Program is structured to create this depth through readings and classroom discussion. This course will travel to the Philippines March 14-21, 2026 to Manila, Philippines’ business hub and an island that is yet to be confirmed. The 2025-2026 Global Immersion Program mandatory fee for all classes is $2100 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals. It does not cover roundtrip international airfare into Manila and out of the second location. Attendance both in New York and in-country and regular participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and as such attendance is mandatory. Students who miss the first class meeting may be removed from the course. Please note all international travel involves risk. We do not control the cities and companies we visit. We try our best to plan a safe trip with positive experience. However, if your tolerance for risk or uncertainties is low, GIP is not for you. No program fee refunds will be given after the add/drop period has closed. Please visit the Chazen Institute website to learn more about the Global Immersion Program, and visit the Global Immersion Policies page to review policies affecting these courses.
South Africa has transformed itself into an economic and political power, with membership in the G20 and BRICS, and a dynamic business ecosystem. This forward-looking course will consider the opportunities created by South Africa’s multiple identities, the implications of its particular history, its current challenges, and its position between advanced and emerging markets. Students will develop an intimate understanding of South Africa’s commercial environment and extract insights on creating impact in a range of economic landscapes. The course will delve into South Africa’s ongoing post-apartheid transition, the role of natural resources in South Africa, developments in the country’s new-economy sectors, prospects for innovation and entrepreneurship, and the possibilities created by integration with the African continent. The class will travel to Johannesburg and Cape Town during March 14–21, 2026; the first mandatory in-country meeting will be dinner on March 14 in Jo’burg. The 2025–26 Global Immersion Program mandatory fee for all courses is $2,100 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation, and some meals; roundtrip international airfare is not covered. Attendance in New York and in-country, as well as regular participation, are crucial parts of the learning experience; hence, full attendance is mandatory. Students who miss the first in-class meeting may be removed from the course. No program fee refunds will be given after the add/drop period has closed. Please consult the Chazen Institute website to learn more about the Global Immersion Program (GIP). Note that all international travel involves some risks and uncertainties as we do not control the sites that we visit. We draw on our expertise and experience to make every reasonable effort to create a positive and safe learning environment in New York and in-country. The primacy of our safety objective may at times require changes to or deviations from pre-announced programming. If your tolerance for risk or uncertainties is low, the GIP is not the right choice for you.
Learning Objectives: (1) To understand and experience the process of investing in early stage startups and how that differs between the US and Japan (a) Sourcing deals from the startup ecosystem (b) Conducting diligence (c) Valuing startups (d) Negotiating term sheets (financial and governance terms) (e) Managing a portfolio post investment (2) To understand the investing landscape: players and resources (3) To understand the structural differences between venture capital and angel investing. This course covers many of the same topics as Foundations of VC and therefore students will not be able to take them both for credit. The course will travel during spring break March 14-21, 2026 to Tokyo, Japan. Global Immersion Program classes bridge classroom lessons and business practices in another country. These three credit classes meet for half a term in New York prior to a one week visit to the country of focus where students will meet with business executives and government officials while working on team projects. Upon return from the travel portion of the class, students may have one wrap up meeting at Columbia Business School. The 2025-2026 Global Immersion Program fee for all classes is $2100 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals; unless an increased fee is otherwise specified in the course description. It does not cover roundtrip international airfare. Attendance both in New York and in country and regular participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and as such attendance is mandatory. Students who miss the first class meeting may be removed from the course. No program fee refunds will be given after the add/drop period has closed. Please visit the Chazen Institute website to learn more about the Global Immersion Program, and visit the Global Immersion Policies page to review policies affecting these courses.
In the theatre, people are your greatest asset (and often the biggest expense in your budget). A good understanding of Human Resources, labor relations and collective bargaining is critical for any successful venture, organization or production. In this course, we will cover theory and law behind these topics and tackle practical application of the concepts in our unique employment environment. We will do simulation work on some of the most common challenges in labor and bargaining, all which will require coordination with your classmates in and out of class. Given the rapid pace of change in these areas, topics below are subject to change.
Does the long history of South Asia reflect only a teleologic march towards the partition of the subcontinent in 1947? What modes and practices, histories and concepts, which emerged in, say, the second millennium alone allow us a glimpse past the divisions, ruptures and conflicts which pre-dominate contemporary political and historical understanding? This graduate seminar takes the longue durée approach to the study of “Partition” by examining illustrated and illuminated epics and histories from the 14th century to the 19th century. This visual and textual production is put in conversation with modern contemporary artists who interrogated, imagined and wrestled with the Partition. Illustrated texts include: the Awadhi Chandayan (14th c.), Pancatantra via Anvar-i Suhayli (15th c.), and Mahabharata via Razmnama (16th c.). Artists include: Zarina Hashmi (1937-2020), Lala Rukh (1948–2017), Shahzia Sikander (b. 1969) and Varunika Saraf (b. 1981). The class will use collections housed at the MET and will also meet at the MET or IFA
.
In this course we undertake a comprehensive review of the literature on the causes of war and the conditions of peace, with a primary focus on interstate war. We focus primarily on theory and empirical research in political science but give some attention to work in other disciplines. We examine the leading theories, their key concepts and causal variables, the causal paths leading to war or to peace, and the conditions under which various outcomes are most likely to occur. We also give some attention to the degree of empirical support for various theories and hypotheses, and we look at some of the major empirical research programs on the origins and expansion of war. Our survey includes research utilizing qualitative methods, large-N quantitative methods, formal modeling, and experimental approaches. We also give considerable attention to methodological questions relating to epistemology and research design. Our primary focus, however, is on the logical coherence and analytic limitations of the theories and the kinds of research designs that might be useful in testing them. This course is designed primarily for graduate students who want to understand and contribute to the theoretical and empirical literature in political science on war, peace, and security. Students with different interests and students from other departments can also benefit from the seminar and are also welcome. Ideally, members of the seminar will have some familiarity with basic issues in international relations theory, philosophy of science, research design, and statistical methods.
Climate change presents arguably the biggest threat to humanity in recorded history. It has the potential to change international politics in unprecedented ways. It also represents a global problem for which both mitigation and adaptation require international cooperation. Yet the study of climate change in the field of international relations remains underdeveloped relative to other topics in IR, and certainly relative to the enormity of the stakes.
This advanced graduate colloquium (seminar format) will explore existing literatures and emerging research agendas on climate change in the field of international relations. We will draw also on literatures and research in other subfields and other disciplines as this topic is inherently interdisciplinary.
Students will gain an understanding of public sector planning and policies related to theater and the arts broadly, while also learning how research makes the case for public investment in arts planning, grantmaking, and new facilities. The course will include an overview of research tools and resources to support a final project and in preparation for students’ independent research work.
This course represents a hands-on approach to decision-making and diplomacy. It is designed to allow students to take part in diplomatic and decision-making exercises in the context of international political issues and problems. Important historical decisions will be evaluated and re-enacted. In addition, more current international problems that face nations today will be analyzed and decisions will be made on prospective solutions. Finally, various modern day diplomatic initiatives will be scrutinized and renegotiated. The class will essentially function as a working committee, considering a different problem or issue each week. Preparations for decisions and diplomatic bargaining will rely both on assigned readings as well as additional outside materials collected by the students. A significant part of the preparations and class activities will involve team work.
The IEOR Department hosts a weekly academic research seminar on Fridays throughout the Fall and
Spring semesters featuring various faculty and Columbia affiliates. This course is designed specifically
for doctoral students in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University. The
seminar research topics cut across operations research, financial engineering, industrial engineering,
machine learning, optimization, applied probability, and business analytics.
The primary goal of the seminar series is to broaden students' exposure to cutting-edge research
methodologies, foster cross-disciplinary intellectual synthesis, sharpen critical research evaluation skills,
and facilitate academic networking within the broader scientific community.
This course investigates in-depth the significance of resistance among African-descended communities in the Anglophone, Francophone, Hispanophone and Lusophone Atlantic Worlds from approximately 1700-2000. We will examine the genesis, forms, and limits of resistance within the context of key historical transformations such as slavery and abolition, labor and migration, and transatlantic political organizing. The class will explore the racial epistemologies, racialized labor regimes, and gendered discourses that sparked a continuum of cultural and political opposition to oppression among Black Atlantic communities. The course will also reflect on how resistance plays a central role in the formation of individual and collective identities among black historical actors.Resistance will be explored as a critical category of historical analysis, and a central factor in the making of the “Black Atlantic.”
This course will provide a structured environment in which graduate students will write a research paper. It will be offered in the spring and will not be field-specific. It will be recommended for first-year students in particular, who will be expected to enter from GR8910 (the required first-year course) and with a topic and/or prospectus for the paper they plan to complete in the course. The aim of the course is to ensure that all PhD students complete one of their two research papers within the first year. This seminar is recommended for, and restricted to, PhD students in the History Department. The aim of the seminar is to guide and assist students in the completion of a 10,000-12,000 word research paper appropriate for publication in a scholarly journal. The seminar is not field-specific, and students may work on any subject of their choosing. The paper must however be based on primary source research and represents a substantial departure from earlier work. The assignments for the course are designed to help students complete a polished piece of work by the end of term.
In recent years, opposition to “gender ideology” has become a rallying cry for the Right. Politicians throughout the world have invoked the dangers of “gender” to restrict access to abortion, revoke LGBTQ rights, police education, and defend national sovereignty. And yet at the same time, the term “gender” has become standard in everyday speech—a box to check on a passport application or on a form at the doctor’s office. When did the word “gender” become a political controversy? When did the idea of a “gender ideology” first emerge? The goal of this seminar is to explore different scholarly and political articulations of gender in order to understand why this concept appears so threatening today. We will read some of the “classic” accounts of gender (Lévi-Strauss, Rubin, Wittig, Butler, Foucault, Scott…) before turning to recent critical works across various disciplines (history, anthropology, literature, political theory, history of science, and psychoanalysis). Preference will be given to graduate students but advanced undergraduates working on these questions can also apply.
It is a common-place that the twentieth century ended with the establishment of capitalism and democracy as the “one best way”. In triumphalist accounts of the end of the Cold War the two are commonly presented as sharing a natural affinity. As never before the democratic formula was recommended for truly global application. To suggest the possibility of a contradiction between capitalism and democracy has come to seem like a gesture of outrageous conservative cynicism, or leftist subversion. And yet the convergence of capitalism and democracy is both recent and anything other than self-evident. It has been placed in question once again since 2008 in the epic crisis of Atlantic financial capitalism. This course examines the historical tensions between these two terms in the Atlantic world across the long 20th century from the 1890s to the present day.
Supervised Reserach for Classical Studies Graduate Students.
All graduate students are required to attend the department colloquium as long as they are in residence. No degree credit is granted.
Prerequisite: Course Application.
A Capstone Workshop is a live consulting project with an external client outside of SIPA. Each workshop partners a team of about 6 graduate students with a faculty advisor. The goal is to provide clients with innovative analysis and practical recommendations while SIPA students gain experience by working on a real-world problem. A core requirement for the Master of International Affairs (MIA), Master of Public Administration (MPA), the workshops give students an opportunity to put learning into practice. Serving as their culminating educational experience at SIPA, students work in teams of 6-8 students under the guidance of an expert faculty advisor to work on a real-world consultancy project with an external client. For more information, visit:
https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/sipa-education/capstone-workshops.