May 13, 2019

Two Susquehanna University students have been accepted into a selective dual-degree engineering program at Columbia University.

Susquehanna’s cooperative program with Columbia allows science majors to earn two bachelor’s degrees in five years—one from SU and another from Columbia through its Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS).

Anne Loeliger, of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, and Julia Hutsko, of Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania, were accepted into Columbia University through the Ivy League school’s combined degree program with Susquehanna.

Hutsko, a physics major and member of SU’s women’s soccer team, plans to major in biomedical engineering at Columbia.

“Getting a science degree at a liberal arts university allowed me to learn about important concepts that I otherwise wouldn’t have,” Hutsko said. “I’m getting a well-rounded education at Susquehanna because I’ve been able to explore multiple fields of study in addition to my major.”

Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of the top engineering schools in the United States and the world. It is ranked 14th among the best engineering graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report, and second within the Ivy League behind Cornell.

Through Susquehanna’s cooperative program with Columbia, students spend three years at Susquehanna, taking a meticulously structured program of Susquehanna distributional requirements and pre-engineering foundation courses prescribed by Columbia. Students must earn a minimum grade of B on the first attempt in each prerequisite course to have preferred admission to Columbia.

“This is an incredibly challenging program and requires complete commitment from the students enrolled,” said Samya Zain, associate professor and chair of the Department of Physics at Susquehanna. “Anne and Julia should be extremely proud of all they’ve accomplished thus far and know that the academic and personal development they’ve gained at Susquehanna will position them well to be successful at Columbia University and beyond.”