Tel Aviv University, Columbia launch joint undergraduate program

Students will split time between the universities during 4-year track, receive liberal arts degrees from both of them

Tel Aviv University and Columbia University announced Thursday the launch of a joint undergraduate degree program.

The schools said students who complete the dual degree program, which will begin in Fall 2020, will receive a degree from each of the universities.

For the first two years, students will study in Tel Aviv, before completing their degree at Columbia’s campus in Manhattan.

“By giving students the opportunity to study full-time at a top-tier university in the Middle East before bringing them to study in the Ivy League, they will not only benefit from being immersed in a wide range of cultures and experiences, but will also make an immense contribution to the Columbia undergraduate classroom,” Lisa Rosen-Metsch, dean of Columbia’s School of General Studies, said in a press release from the university.

Illustrative: students at Tel Aviv University on October 14, 2018. (Flash90)

The program will offer degrees in Jewish and Israel studies, psychology, literature, Middle Eastern studies, philosophy, literature and digital culture and communication.

Columbia said though its students can currently study abroad at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “this program transcends traditional study abroad opportunities by providing the opportunity to pursue a rigorous undergraduate liberal arts education spanning two continents.”

Tuition will be in accordance with the going rate of the university at which students are then studying, according to the program’s website.