The predecessor of the School of Professional Studies was first established as the Division of Special Programs in 1995, and was later renamed the "Division of Continuing Education and Special Programs" in 1997. In 2000, the Division began to consider offering degree programs, and was reorganized as the School of Continuing Education in 2002 under its founding dean, Frank Wolf. In 2002, the university's board of trustees granted final approval for the creation of the School of Continuing Education, the first new school at Columbia in 50 years. With this new status, the School became both a Faculty and a Department of Instruction in the Arts and Sciences, and was granted authority to offer the master of science degree. In the course of 2002–2006 it expanded its graduate offerings to eight M.S. Programs. A cross‑enrollment agreement with Union Theological Seminary was also established in 2002. In 2015, Dean Jason Wingard announced that the School of Continuing Education was renamed the School of Professional Studies. After the re-branding, the School of Professional Studies has been one of the most profitable schools for the University and has rapidly increased enrollment.
Some controversy has arisen following the re-branding of the school as the School of Professional Studies and its rapid enrollment expansion. By 2019, the school accounted for 50 percent of all the graduate degrees awarded by Columbia and only half of its instructors were full-time faculty. In 2017 and 2019 the Columbia Senate met to discuss whether the existence of the School of Professional Studies negatively impacted the university's reputation. In the 2017 meeting, The External Relations Committee at Columbia expressed concerns that SPS’s “proliferation of graduate degrees without academic oversight can threaten Columbia’s external brand and reputation.” An ad hoc committee was formed by students and graduates after rumors surfaced that students in the Applied Analytics program were considering a lawsuit for what they believed was an inferior program. In addition, other Columbia schools, such as the engineering school and the business school, have criticized SPS for offering programs that appear to overlap with programs already offered by their respective schools. The meeting in 2019 saw continued contentions upon the matter, where a statement unanimously endorsed by the External Relations Committee was presented to criticize the school's swell in graduate degrees without adequate academic oversight. In addressing her concerns about the potential impact on Columbia's reputation, June Cross, a professor of the Journalism school and member of the Committee said, "This begins to raise the question of what kind of institution are we and what kind we want to become." In her presentation, she also noted the committee’s desire to distinguish SPS degrees from regular Master of Science degrees given the school’s increasing presence in the University.
