The master of business administration degree program at Columbia Business School, for the class of 2016 onward, consists of 18 credits of required core coursework and a minimum of 42 credits of elective courses. No transfer credits from other institutions may be applied toward the MBA program. For the class of 2015, the program consists of 19.5 credits of required core coursework and a minimum of 40.5 credits of elective courses.
Students who exempt out of core courses replace them with electives to fulfill the MBA requirement of 60 academic points taken in residence at the School. Fifty-four of these credits must consist of Business School courses. Students may count a combined maximum of six credits of independent study, cross-cultural seminar, and courses from other Columbia schools toward the MBA degree. Students may only take electives while enrolled in or after having completed their first semester core.