Columbia University SPS MS in Strategic Communication

We offer educational programs for professionals, graduate, undergraduate, and high school students to help advance, adapt, and accelerate careers. Our programs include various Master’s Degrees, Pre-College Programs, the American Language Program, Certificate Programs, Postbaccalaureate Studies, Summer Sessions, and programs for Visiting Students and Youth in STEM.

Our Master of Science in Strategic Communication program, founded in 2002, teaches strategic perspective, critical thinking, and communication skills. We offer it in several formats:

• An Executive Path (hybrid, for experienced communication leaders with 6+ years of experience)
• A Part-Time Path (for full-time employed students who wish to spread out coursework)
• A Full-Time Path (for early-career professionals and career-changers)

The program specializes in Global Communications, Strategic Communication, Internal Communications, External Communications, Crisis Communications, Storytelling, Reputation Management, Public Relations, Social Media, Corporate Communications, Digital Communication, and Content Strategy.

Other Master’s Degrees available through us include Actuarial Science, Applied Analytics, Bioethics, Construction Administration, Enterprise Risk Management, Human Capital Management, Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS), Insurance Management, Narrative Medicine, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Nonprofit Management, Political Analytics, Sports Management, Sustainability Management and Science, Technology Management, and Wealth Management. These master’s programs can be studied on-campus, online, full-time, or part-time.

We also support students through the Columbia SPS Dean’s Fellowship Program, which provides up to $30,000 for master’s students demonstrating academic achievement and professional promise, beginning in fall 2026.

Our mission is to help advance, adapt, and accelerate careers. Specifically, our Strategic Communication program aims to address the industry’s need for strategic perspective, critical thinking, and exceptional communication skills. We are committed to instructional excellence.

We recruit and support our staff and faculty, including scholar-practitioners for our master’s programs. Our faculty follows a scholar-practitioner model, meaning students learn from both research-focused full-time faculty and executive and industry experts.

Lecturers are primary instructors, while Associates support lecturers with course facilitation and instruction. We offer faculty development, including workshops, forums, teaching consultations, and the Faculty Teaching Fellowship Program, which is a 13-week intensive professional development course.

Our work environment values collaboration, independent work, and professional handling of confidential information.

For certain roles, such as the Senior Online Program Facilitator position, we offer a pay rate of $25.00 per hour with an expected work schedule of 10-15 hours per week.