Graduated from GS - sharing a few thoughts on course planning
I’ve gotten a few PMs asking how I managed to keep both breadth and depth while doing a double major, so I figured I’d share my experience here.
Some context: before coming to GS, I had taken a lot of advanced coursework at universities in other country during first two 2 and then take 2 years gap. My previous program was basically a double major in Applied Math and Computer Engineering plus some physics courses. After I hit Columbia’s 60-credit transfer cap, a lot of those courses could still be used to waive requirements, even though they didn’t count for credit anymore.
That actually gave me a lot of flexibility. Once a requirement is waived, you can often use that space to take more advanced courses you’re actually interested in. For example, CS and Stats both allow many requirements to be fulfilled by pretty much any 4000-level or higher courses, depending on the exact requirement.
My main major was Math. I had Calc, Linear Algebra, Intro Modern Analysis I, and Intro Modern Algebra I waived, so for the math major I basically only had Intro Modern Analysis II, Intro Modern Algebra II, and a seminar left as fixed requirements. Everything else was open.
Since some Columbia classes are only offered in the fall and others only in the spring, I planned around both timing and interest. I’m more into pure math, especially algebra, so I ended up taking Topology, Intro to Algebraic Topology, Algebraic Curves, and Algebraic Number Theory. At the 6000 level, I took Commutative Algebra and Algebraic Geometry.
One thing I’d recommend is supervised reading. If there’s a professor you like and a topic you want to study more seriously, it can be a really good way to go deeper than a regular class.
For CS, I mostly took 4000–6000 level classes. I’m honestly less interested in CS than math, but overall the CS major is pretty flexible once you get past the core requirements.
Stats was even more flexible. There are two tracks. The applied track is mostly very straightforward. The theory track lets you use basically any 4000-level stats courses to satisfy the requirements. If you’re comfortable with R, I’d personally recommend the theory track, because I didn’t feel like the 2000-level classes added that much.
I also did a philosophy minor. Because of AI, I got more interested in formal proof and logic, so I took logic-related classes like Model Theory. Philosophy is also quite flexible, since almost any philosophy class can count toward the minor.
A note on double counting: Core can double count two classes with another major or minor. CS is very strict about double counting aside from calculus and probability/statistics, they basically don’t allow overlap. Stats is much more relaxed: if the other department allows it, Stats usually doesn’t object.
I wasn't a big fan of the Core, and essay writing has never really been my strong suit, so I don't have much to say about that part. Overall, though, I think GS was definitely worth the cost.