Students & Faculty

From undergraduates at the beginning of a promising academic journey to groundbreaking faculty who are leaders in their fields, the Columbia community is like no other. Each individual brings multifaceted talents, perspectives and interests that contribute to a truly singular intellectual and social environment.

Find your community—and lifelong friends.

Our students come together from every background and every corner of the world to engage and explore, to seek new adventures and perspectives, to build connections and lifelong friendships, and to pursue a better world.

Meet Our Students

Meet Our Students
Columbia student Sarah H. from Inverness, Illinois
Sarah
H.
Inverness, IL
English, Concentration in Mathematics

"I currently live in Carlton Arms, which is a suite-style residence hall. It truly feels like a home. Every morning, I wake up and am greeted by my friends in our living room, and we'll go about our morning routines. It's very domestic and cozy, and it brings me great happiness."

Columbia student Adam F. from New York, New York
Adam
F.
New York, NY
History, Neuroscience and Behavior

The Core Curriculum: "After taking both Art Humanities and Music Humanities, I find myself more curious and observant. I walk on the street and look closely at what I see in a way that I never did before. I walk into museums and may stay in one room for an hour. I hear music and listen for its component parts. These classes have given me a framework to better appreciate the world I interact with."

Columbia student Kianna P. from Farmington, New Mexico
Kianna
P.
Farmington, NM
Ethnicity and Race Studies (specialization in Indigenous/Native Studies), Political Science

"My favorite class has been my Indigenous Theater, Performance and Politics course. In this course we studied how Indigenous peoples have expressed themselves through art and in what ways they've resisted modes of colonialism. This class stuck with because of the material we covered, which included a variety of Indigenous artists I have never heard of before."

Columbia student Jessie L. from Yardley, Pennsylvania
Jessie
L.
Yardley, PA
English, Psychology

Learning beyond the classroom: "Last summer, I participated in Columbia's Summer Internship Program in Psychological Science (SIPPS), which combined weekly workshops with mentored research projects. I didn't have any lab experience beforehand, but I still got to host tons of data collection sessions, assist with fMRI scans, and successfully make my own poster presentation at the end. I'm still working with the lab today!"

Columbia student Aiman N. from Danvers, Massachusetts
Aiman
N.
Danvers, MA
Mechanical Engineering

In the world's greatest city: "Exploring NYC is an activity I do on a weekly basis. My friends and I get on the 1 train and get off at a random stop to try new foods, explore the area or see who we might meet. We have made some phenomenal memories and get to know the city a lot more!"

Columbia student Alejandra D.-P. from Mexico City, Mexico
Alejandra
D.-P.
Mexico City, Mexico
Economics, History

Learning beyond the classroom: "This summer, I conducted independent research in development economics through the Laidlaw Fellowship. I found this opportunity through the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Office, and I was aided along the application by friendly and supportive URF staff. I've felt incredibly lucky to get to work closely with a professor, hone my leadership skills and work on a project on my own terms!"

Columbia student Ashley P. from Dallas, Texas
Ashley
P.
Dallas, TX
Film and Media Studies, Special Concentration in Business Management

Columbia campus traditions: "My favorite extracurricular is Columbia Undergraduate Film Productions. I found this organization at the Activities Fair during my first year, and it is one of the greatest discoveries I've made. CUFP sponsors student run short films yearly, and we have a film festival for all of the shorts every spring."

Meet your new mentors.

Columbia faculty are today’s thought leaders, genius innovators and literary lions—and best of all, they love to teach. With an open office hours policy to mentor undergraduates, they have a way of inspiring their students to take their own giant steps.

Meet Our Faculty

Headshot of Sunil Gulati
Sunil
Gulati
Michael K. Dakolias Senior Lecturer
of
Economics

Sunil Gulati is a lecturer in international economics and the former four-term president of the US Soccer Federation. He was previously an economist with the World Bank and a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.

Headshot of Frances Negron-Muntaner
Frances
Negrón-Mutaner
Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities
of
English and Comparative Literature

Frances Negrón-Muntaner is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and scholar. She is the recipient of Ford, Truman, Scripps Howard, Rockefeller, and Pew fellowships as well as a Social Science Research Council and Andy Warhol Foundation grants. She is the author of Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture and the editor of several books. Among Negrón-Muntaner's films are AIDS in the Barrio, Brincando el charco: Portrait of a Puerto Rican, and War for Guam.

Headshot of Martin Chalfie
Martin
Chalfie
University Professor
of
Biological Sciences

Professor Chalfie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the introduction of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a biological marker. He looks forward to his work with Columbia undergrads because they are fun to work with and eager to learn. He considers it a privilege to share in that excitement of discovery and enjoys watching his students become independent scholars.

Headshot of Audra Simpson
Audra
Simpson
Professor
of
Anthropology

Audra Simpson is a political anthropologist whose work is focused on contextualizing the force and consequences of governance through time, space and bodies. Her research and writing is rooted within Indigenous polities in the US and Canada and crosses the fields of anthropology, Indigenous Studies, American and Canadian Studies, gender and sexuality studies as well as politics. Her recent research is a genealogy of affective governance and extraction across the US and Canada.

Headshot of Laura Kaufman
Laura
Kaufman
Professor and Chair
of
Chemistry

Laura Kaufman ’97CC is a professor of Chemistry, the chair of the Department of Chemistry and a Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Member. She specializes in physical chemistry and runs an interdisciplinary lab that focuses on the dynamics of complex, crowded systems. 

Headshot of James Schamus
James
Schamus
Professor of Professional Practice
of
Film and Media Studies

James Schamus teaches film history and theory and is the former CEO of Focus Features. He has collaborated as screenwriter and producer with director Ang Lee on eleven films, including Brokeback Mountain. Other films include Moonrise Kingdom, Milk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Kids are All Right, The Pianist, Coraline and The Dallas Buyers Club.

Headshot of Helen Lu
Helen
Lu
Senior Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs and Advancement and Percy K. and Vida L.W. Hudson Professor
of
Biomedical Engineering

Helen Lu is the director of the Biomaterials and Interface Tissue Engineering Laboratory. Her research focuses on tissue interfaces, particularly how to reestablish the body’s natural synchrony between tissues, a hallmark of the musculoskeletal system and the nexus of human mobility.

Explore life at Columbia