Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diversity is a critical and transformative factor in education. It enriches us as individuals just as it enriches our community and society as a whole. Students and faculty from all backgrounds will always find opportunities at Columbia that allow them to thrive and succeed.

Student Diversity and Inclusion

Columbia's undergraduate community is among the most diverse in the country. Here, you’ll find peers and mentors from all over the world who engage with each other in serious dialogue between cultures, nations, races and religions. You’ll also have access to a range of resources, staff and supports that offer guidance and assistance for students of all backgrounds and identities.

Multicultural Affairs

Multicultural Affairs aims to promote an inclusive university climate by preparing students to succeed in a heterogeneous and ever-changing society. Through intellectual inquiry, mentoring, advocacy, educational leadership and cultural programming, Multicultural Affairs serves as the primary resource for students around inter/intracultural and community issues.

Academic Success Programs (ASP)

ASP houses Columbia's Opportunity Programs as well as academic tutoring and mentoring initiatives for all students. ASP serves to assist especially students who are coming from under-resourced backgrounds, helping them maximize their potential at Columbia. Through an array of opportunities—including transitional programming, tutoring, educational and personal advising, skill-building seminars and mentoring programs—ASP offers a supportive environment for students throughout their college experience.

LGBTQ @ Columbia

LGBTQ @ Columbia provides students with advising, events, education, advocacy and other services and resources to help all students explore and better understand diverse queer and trans identities, experiences and communities at Columbia and beyond. As part of Multicultural Affairs, LGBTQ @ Columbia hopes to create a campus environment that is inclusive and supportive of student diversity in the area of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

Global Community

Students from all over the world engage with each other in serious dialogue between cultures, nations, races and religions at Columbia. Columbia is home to the third largest international student population of any US university, with over 100 countries represented among the undergraduate community, and the Columbia Global Centers, located in eleven cities across four continents, serve as hubs of innovative and collaborative scholarship on global challenges. 

Earl Hall and the Office of the University Chaplain

The mission of the University Chaplain is to promote interfaith and intercultural awareness; foster learning through spiritual, ethical, religious, political and cultural exchanges; and host programs on matters of justice, faith and spirituality. The nearly 40 different spiritual and religious organizations on campus utilize Earl Hall as a home for worship and programming.

Student Engagement

In keeping with longstanding Columbia tradition, students seek to bring real change to campus and the communities that surround Columbia. Columbia’s engagement comes from a concerted effort by students to always question and to find better answers, and this has led to a large network of service and activist organizations available on campus. Through Student Engagement, groups such as Community Impact are able to work with local communities in tackling social inequity, while Alternative Spring Break invites students to develop their own civic engagement projects addressing community challenges around the world.