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An Introduction to Columbia
The Best things of the moment were outside the rectangle of Columbia; the best things of all human history and thought were inside the rectangle. Herman Wouk, CC '34
Pulitizer Prize Winning Author
Nearly all undergraduates live in on campus housing throughout their undergraduate experience.
Columbia University in the City of New York
- Founded in 1754, Columbia was the first college established in New York; the fifth college established in the American colonies.
- Two campuses at the top of Manhattan: the undergraduate campus in Morningside Heights and the Medical Center in Washington Heights;
- 15 Schools and 4 Affiliate Schools including Barnard College, a leading liberal arts college for women
- 4,000 faculty; 79 Nobel laureates, 40+ National Academy of Sciences electees; 20+ National Academy of Engineering electees; 140+ members of American Academy of Arts & Science
- 4,200 students and more than 80 areas of study in Columbia College
- 1,400 students and 17 areas of study in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
- More than $530 million in sponsored research projects in over 200 research centers institutes
- Among the top 10 universities in America in federal research-and-development expenditures for science & engineering
- One of the top 10 academic library systems in America
- The beaux-arts Morningside Heights campus is often sighted as one of the most beautiful urban campuses in the country
- 5,600 undergraduate students from nearly 100 countries and all 50 states with over 95% living on campus for four years
- Guaranteed housing for all 4 years
- 14 different dining facilities on campus and the ability to take your meal plan off campus into the neighborhood
- Nearly 500 student clubs and organizations
- 31 NCAA Division I athletic teams including a National Championship in Archery and a 3rd place finish at Nationals in Fencing.
- Nearly half of undergraduates self-identify as students of color
- The largest percentage of African-Americans in a first-year class, according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education's national ranking for elite institutions
- Top 10 college for African Americans according to Black Enterprise Magazine
- Top 10 college for Hispanics according to Hispanic Magazine
- Top 10 college for Asian-American Pacific Islanders according to Asian Pacific Americans for Progress
- One of Reform Judaism Magazine's top colleges for Jewish students
- The largest percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants among all Ivy League and other elite research institutions
- 17% of first-year students are the first in their family to attend college
- 8 million people live in the city of New York, nearly 200 languages are spoken daily and there are dozens of unique ethnic communities throughout the city's five boroughs
- Morningside Heights is Columbia's home neighborhood boasting an impressive array of academic institutions situated in the heart of Upper Manhattan near Historic Harlem, Central Park and Riverside Park
- 24/7 subway system with a stop right outside Columbia's gates at 116th Street
- More than 5,000 internship opportunities through the Center for Career Education
- CU Arts Initiative offer discounted tickets to New York City Institutions
- Passport to New York provides free access to 28 museums and galleries
- Columbia Urban New York provides free trips to theaters, walking tours of the city and other cultural institutions
- Over 35,000 living undergraduate alumni and 250,000 total within Columbia's alumni network
- More than 150 study abroad programs and various fellowship opportunities to work abroad
- The 2nd largest international student body in the country (17% of first-year students are international or have spent a considerable amount of their education studying outside of the US)
- Columbia students in recent years have won more Fulbright Grants than any other university
- Pioneering research in interdisciplinary subjects that are having a direct impact on all parts of the globe