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Academic Life

Questions

  1. What is the Core Curriculum?
  2. What majors are offered in Columbia College?
  3. What majors are offered in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science?
  4. Does Columbia allow students to double major?
  5. Does Columbia grant credit for AP scores, International Baccalaureate scores and other such examinations?
  6. Does Columbia grant credit for college courses and credits earned during high school?
  7. What is the student-faculty ratio?
  8. How large are Columbia classes?
  9. Can undergraduates take classes at Columbia graduate and professional schools?
  10. What services does Columbia offer physically and learning disabled students?
  11. What are the advising and support services on campus?
  12. How many courses do Columbia students take per semester?
factbox photo -- FACT --

Uma’s dad, Robert “Buddha Bob” Thurman, teaches in Columbia’s Religion Department.

The academic atmosphere at Columbia is decidedly intimate, with nearly 70 percent of classes enrolling fewer than 20 students.

Answers

1. What is the Core Curriculum?

The Core Curriculum is the cornerstone of a Columbia education. Central to the intellectual mission of the Core is the goal of providing all Columbia students, regardless of their major or concentration, with wide-ranging perspectives on significant ideas and achievements in literature, philosophy, history, music, art and science.

Contemporary Civilization began in 1919 as a course on War and Peace Issues, and the creation of Literature Humanities followed in 1937. By 1947 Art Humanities and Music Humanities had been added, and a new course in Asian Humanities was introduced. Further courses have since been added as well. Though celebrated for their content, these courses are equally important for their small class format. The hallmark courses in the Core (Literature Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Art Humanities and Music Humanities) are taught in seminars limited to approximately 22 to 24 students; these courses ensure that education at Columbia begins with an emphasis on active intellectual engagement. In the Core Curriculum, the pursuit of better questions is every bit as important as the pursuit of better answers. The small size of most Core Curriculum classes provides students with the opportunity to develop intellectual relationships with faculty early on in their College career and to participate with them in a shared process of intellectual inquiry.

The skills and habits honed by the Core—observation, analysis, argument, imaginative comparison, respect for ideas, nuances and differences—provide a rigorous preparation for life as an intelligent citizen in today’s complex and changing world.

The Core Curriculum consists of the following:

  • Literature Humanities
  • Contemporary Civilization
  • Art Humanities
  • Music Humanities
  • Foreign Language
  • University Writing
  • Major Cultures
  • Physical Education
  • Science

Columbia College students must complete the entire Core Curriculum. Students in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science take either Literature Humanities or Contemporary Civilization or Major Cultures and either Art Humanities or Music Humanities. They must also complete University Writing.

2. What majors are offered in Columbia College?

A complete listing of majors offered by Columbia College is available at the Columbia College Web Site—Departments of Instruction

3. What majors are offered in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science?

A complete listing of majors offered by The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science is available at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science Web Site—Departments of Instruction.

4. Does Columbia allow students to double (or triple) major?

Yes, students are allowed to take on more than one major. However, there is positively no expectation to do so. Doing so may require additional coursework and may not be possible in four years. The purpose of the major (or concentration) requirement is to give each student the experience of doing sustained and advanced work, including individual research, in a field of special interest. A major consists of intensive study in one department involving the satisfaction of a variety of requirements; a concentration demands fewer departmental course points or requirements than a major. Please note: Columbia College students must complete either a major or a concentration, but they are not required to complete a major. Engineering students must complete a major.

5. Does Columbia grant advanced standing or credit for standardized examinations?

Yes, some advanced standing or credit may be granted for Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate courses. Only AP scores of 4 or 5 or IB scores of 6 or 7 (on higher level examinations) will be considered for advanced standing or credit. Columbia will grant a maximum of 16 credits toward the Bachelor's degree. Credit may also be granted for British A-level marks of A or B. Students whose secondary work was in other national systems may be granted credit in certain disciplines, pending review by the appropriate department at Columbia. For more detail, please consult the appropriate Bulletin for either Columbia College or The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

6. Does Columbia grant credit for college courses and credits earned during high school?

No, entering first-year students are not granted credit for college courses taken before graduation from secondary school. However, some credit may be awarded for college courses taken after graduation from high school and prior to matriculation at Columbia. For more detail, please consult the appropriate Bulletin for either Columbia College or The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

7. What is the student-faculty ratio?

The student to faculty ratio is 6 to 1. The ratio in some of the physical science departments in Columbia College is as low as 3 to 1.

8. How large are Columbia classes?

Over 75% of undergraduate classes taught at Columbia have fewer than 20 students.

9. Can undergraduates take classes at Columbia graduate and professional schools?

Yes. Columbia undergraduates may generally take up to four classes offered in most of the graduate and professional schools at Columbia, with the exception of those at the Columbia Law School and the Columbia Medical Center. Special restrictions may apply.

10. 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, please visit the Office of Disability Services Web site.

11. What are the advising and support services on campus?

Columbia administers one of most comprehensive advising systems in the nation. For more detailed information on advising resources at Columbia, please visit: Advising Resources @ Columbia.

12. How many courses do Columbia students take per semester?

Columbia students usually take an average of 16 points (or 5 classes) per semester.