Undergraduate enrollment is approximately 4,500 in Columbia College and 1,500 in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the female to male ratio at Columbia?
Columbia is approximately 51% male and 49% female between the two undergraduate schools.
Related FAQs
How many students attend Columbia?
How many students go on to top professional schools?
Columbia does not officially track this information, since many students may choose to apply to graduate or professional school many years after college and other students choose to go into careers where their undergraduate degree is sufficient.
Nevertheless, a large number of students and alumni benefit each year from the support of the Office of Pre-professional Advising and gain admission to preeminent graduate and professional schools around the country and all over the globe.
What services does Columbia offer physically and learning disabled students?
Columbia offers a wide variety of assistance for physically and learning disabled students. For more detailed information, visit Disability Services.
What kinds of internship opportunities are available for students?
Columbia's location in New York and access to internships are among the most distinct advantages of our educational experience. The Center for Career Education (CCE) oversees the thousands of internships available for undergraduates each year. These opportunities can be either during the academic term, while complementing a student's academic coursework, or over the summer, when a student can commit to a full-time internship.
What student clubs and organizations exist on campus?
Columbia features over 500 religious, service, ethnic, artistic, political, activist, publication or hobby student organizations and clubs, as well as various forms of student government. We have developed a complete list of clubs and organizations.
Can I live on campus during school breaks?
Yes. Continuing students may stay on campus during shorter breaks and apply to stay on campus during summer break through the Columbia University Undergraduate Housing office.
How safe is the campus and neighborhood?
Although Morningside Heights is consistently named one of the safest precincts in New York City, the Department of Public Safety further ensures the security of Columbia's campus and its students. Columbia students have direct access to the public transportation, which eliminates walking far distances to travel between campus and other locations. Should you feel unsafe in the neighborhood, you can ask the merchant at businesses featuring the Red Lion sticker in their windows to phone Columbia Public Safety or the police and wait for security personnel to respond.
What is the percentage of students of color on campus?
Over 50% of our undergraduate student body identify themselves as students of color, and diversity has long been recognized as one of Columbia's hallmarks. Recently, Black Enterprise Magazine ranked Columbia as the top Ivy League university for African American students. Hispanic Magazine ranked Columbia as one of the top ten colleges in America for Latino/a students. Multicultural Affairs at Columbia exists as a resource to respond to the needs of a diverse undergraduate student body and aims to promote an inclusive university climate and to prepare students to succeed in a heterogeneous and ever-changing society.
What is the percentage of students who live on campus?
Columbia undergraduate students are guaranteed housing for all four years. Nearly all undergraduates live on campus all four years and first-year students are required to live on campus.
Where do transfer students live?
All transfer students are housed with their class in upperclass residence halls. Assignment is based on seniority and building preference with applications processed on a rolling basis. Students are notified by email when rooms are assigned.
Is Columbia on a semester or quarter system?
Columbia College and Columbia Engineering run on a semester system.
How does the Core differ for Columbia Engineering students?
Engineering students will take half of the humanities Core: they can elect to take either Literature Humanities or Contemporary Civilization or a Global Core course and either Art Humanities or Music Humanities. They must also complete University Writing and the Physical Education requirement. In this regard, all students at Columbia are fully integrated into the philosophy beyond the Core-critical thinking, debate, respect for ideas-and the unifying educational experience which is a hallmark of Columbia.
Columbia engineers will also take courses specifically designed to better prepare them for their lives as innovators and entrepreneurs. These technical courses will prepare students in the five major areas of technical inquiry: engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science. The level of inquiry will depend on an individual student's prospective major choices.
The technical Core courses consist of the following:
- Art of Engineering
- Calculus
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Physics