I was actually thinking about that route. It would probably make the most sense and for all intents and purposes, be the safest way to go. That way, I’ll spend like 3-5 grand on a class, and if it was great, then I will continue. If it suc*s, then it was really no loss because at least I got something out of it. I was just talking to one of my buddies, who has a Master’s and Ph.D. from Columbia. He said that each school is going to come at each other and because of the Ivy snobbery and vying for pecking order to who is in the “smartest” of all the schools. He speaks to faculty on a regular basis at Columbia and says this inner turmoil is so petty and disconcerting. That’s these little entitled “shi%s”, have no concerns or care, other than their prestigious Ivy rep. The Senate and the President of the University voted for the school and the programs, it’s been in existence for almost 30 years…so something is being done right there. To me personally, I think it is as prestigious as some of the other schools. Maybe not Engineering or MBA, but still has some very serious people in there. Just Ivy snobbery, if you ask me. At the end of the day, I will have a Master’s from Columbia…period…end of story.
Any update? Did you pursue the degree?
Although this thread is a few years old, I’m compelled to respond. I think the opinions floating around online about the SPS street cred is a bit bonkers. I also think its weird how someone commented in this thread that an acquaintance did put “SPS” on her LinkedIn profile/resume.
First, the online opinions about the SPS brand is merely self-imposed, sour-grapes gate keeping. From what position of authority are these folks weighing in on the quality of someone else’s program from THE SAME SCHOOL? I guess its typical of the Type-A, cut-throat undergrads that have never been in the workforce and fail to see the value of the sum of someone’s whole academic and professional career. It’s Grade-A snobbery, the same you see from someone at Harvard Med looking down on someone at Harvard Law.
Second, the “junior varsity” viewpoint about SPS is laughable. The same professors who lead courses at SPS teach in other undergrad and grad programs at Columbia. The name on the school doesn’t change their personal and professional standard for academic rigor and performance.
This same juvenile opinion floats around about Harvard Extension as well. We live in an adaptive and digital age, especially in the wake of Covid. As if all the same negative voices didn’t experience a long-distance relationship with their schools/programs during Covid themselves… should we consider their degree to be inferior now because of the mode of delivery? Do they qualify their 2020-2022 years on their LinkedIn as a degree from “Columbia… but the pandemic version”?
So for anyone else that lands here and reads this: If the program and curriculum is compelling, engaging, and taught by faculty who meet Columbia’s high standards and push you to attain a high level of achievement - do it. Ignore the gate keepers.