Academics

When students apply to either Columbia College or The Fu Foundation School of Applied Engineering and Science (Columbia Engineering), they join an intimate community of talented and motivated learners—and become integral components of the University ecosystem that thrives around them. Working closely with outstanding faculty who are deeply invested in their learning, students gain a quality education that serves as a foundation for greatness.

students engaged in classroom discussion

A leader in higher education for more than 250 years

Columbia has been a place of deep intellectual curiosity and wide-ranging academic inquiry since 1754. Across departments, schools, centers and institutes, Columbians at every level are driven by an abiding passion for discovery, working in the service of improving human understanding and the advancement of our global society.

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A vast intellectual ecosystem

On College Walk, at the heart of campus, students stand in the center of 17 world-renowned graduate and professional schools, and often find themselves amid the same halls and classrooms that have been home to many of the giants of our time

From the law school of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to the business school of Warren Buffett, to the School of Journalism where the Pulitzer Prize was born, Columbia’s graduate institutions are home to a wide range of academic opportunities—many of which are designated specifically for Columbia undergraduates.

 

View of Low Library and College Walk and Butler Lawns on a clear day
student:

I chose to come to Columbia for a myriad of reasons; however, the Core Curriculum is definitely a main one. The Core Curriculum attracts such an intellectually curious student body that understands and appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of every academic subject.

Charlie
W.
Denver, CO
East Asian Studies, Political Science
fact:

6:1

undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio

fact:

6,700

Columbia College and Columbia Engineering undergraduates

fact:

100+

programs of study

fact:

250+

faculty in the National Academy of Engineering, Academy of Science and American Academy of Arts and Sciences

view of New York City from campus

A renowned liberal arts college within a world-class research university. 

Columbia College students foster a broad base of knowledge, achieve mastery of their chosen discipline and pursue their passions with an eye toward a better future. 

Explore Columbia College

 

Engineers are a force for the future. 

Columbia Engineering students and faculty make remarkable contributions to technological and social progress, pushing the frontiers of knowledge and discovery to meet the needs of our global society. 

Explore Columbia Engineering

engineering students walking

A call to the pursuit of knowledge—in all its forms.

Whether through Columbia’s storied Core Curriculum, which has informed our community’s discourse for a century, or in exciting new endeavors like the Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rights, the Columbia Startup Lab or the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbians are called to grapple with timeless questions. They form personal and meaningful relationships with ideas and ideals. Above all, they strive to know—not only for the sake of knowing, but in an attempt to cast a light on our collective pathway forward.

A mindset of continuous learning.

Inside the classroom, out in the city or venturing out to engage in any corner of the world, Columbia undergraduates learn to explore the theoretical, the philosophical and the practical to see how they all apply to a life examined and well lived.

Explore beyond the classroom

 

fact:

Hundreds

of undergraduate research opportunities with Columbia Engineering faculty

fact:

Over half

of undergraduates have at least one internship by graduation

fact:

100+

study abroad programs

fact:

>98%

of surveyed students would recommend recommend Center for Career Education advising sessions to a friend

Joes Coffee table with students talking
Pulitzer statue student studying on steps

See yourself here. 

Whether you want to tour the facilities of the college you’re interested in or sit in on a virtual class from the comfort of your own home, we’ve got you covered. 

Explore visits and virtual experiences