Study Abroad

University at Buffalo is one of the popular universities in the USA. Students find the university is good to study UG or PG programs, due to the university's top rankings, programs, opportunities, and cost. There are a lot of reasons to join the University at Buffalo. Some of the best reasons to join University at Buffalo are given below:

Highly skilled faculty
Opportunities
Affordability

Yes, Columbia University of which SIPA is a part is among the 8 member institutions of the Ivy League.

The Ivy league institutions are considered the best institutions in the US, & are known as the pinnacle of quality education & academic excellence.

Listed below are the 8 institutions that form part of the Ivy League:

• Harvard University
• Columbia University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Yale University
• Princeton University
• Cornell University
• Brown University
• Dartmouth College

Columbia SIPA is part of the best institutions globally for several parameters, as per the latest Shiksha popularity rankings, the institute is given an overall country-level rank of #10. Another prominent unofficial source ranks it #15 for public policy studies.

Columbia SIPA is one of the most illustrious & prestigious institutions in the US for studies related to public policy.

The institute is ranked highly by several prominent publications. A prominent unofficial source ranks it #1 for International Global Policy & Administration studies, while it is ranked #5 for Humanities & Social Studies programme by Shiksha.  

Leicester University ranks at #191 in THE World University Rankings 2025. This university has also risen one place to 25 in UK rankings. The parameters in THE rankings to calculate the rankings include teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook. In the QS World University Rankings, Leicester University ranks at #285 in 2025. This shows that in the world rankings, this university ranks among the Top 300 Universities in the world.

The Columbia SIPA acceptance rates stands at around 4%, that is very low as compared to some other US based institutions. The reason is the university's prestige & resources. It boasts the best in-class resources that are at the disposal of professionals working at the best organizations in the world. Not every institution provides the standard of education that Columbia does in terms of campus environment, resources, faculty, alumni & placement network, etc.

New York is an expensive place to live & study for international students especially Indian students. Students must plan well financially before packing their bags for study at New York.

The estimated annual cost of living in NYC is around USD 29,205 (INR 25 L), this includes a range of costs associated with living such as rent, food, utilities, personal expenses, etc.

Note that this is only an estimated figure, actual cost of living may vary based on the quality of lifestyle students opt to pursue.

Columbia SIPA offers a 21-month long Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme to its domestic & international students. The tuition cost of the programme is around USD 71,368 (INR 61.1 L). 

Students must also plan to incur some other additional costs over the duration of stay in New York City such as accommodation costs, food, utilities, travel costs, personal expenses, etc.

International students need min. GPA of 3.0 to get admission to university's courses.

Other than GPA, students must also fulfil other admission requirement which are-language proficiency scores and submission of required documents for proof of identity.