Simmons University in Boston, where traditional undergraduate programs are reserved for women, has announced the launch of a new five-year, dual-degree program in engineering with Columbia University in New York City. Successful graduates earn a bachelor’s degree from Simmons University and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Columbia University.
Students in the program spend their first three years at Simmons, majoring in fields that overlap the entrance requirements for Columbia such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, or biology. In addition to the academic requirements of their major, students also benefit from taking the Simmons core curriculum, which focuses on developing leadership skills
The next two years of the program are spent at Columbia University, where students choose from engineering areas of study such as biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and more.
“We are delighted to partner with such a prestigious, Ivy League university on this academic program,” said Mariam Ismail, an assistant professor of chemistry and physics director of the dual-degree program at Simmons University. “By coupling the intimate, supportive, rigorous academic environment at Simmons with the dynamic, world-class offerings of Columbia, we believe this program truly offers the very best of both worlds to students.”
Dr. Ismail is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where she majored in chemistry. She holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Northeastern University in Boston.