Key Takeaways:
- Columbia University in the City of New York offers 91 distinct undergraduate degrees, concentrated into 71 majors within 21 fields of study.
- Columbia University in the City of New York is among the eight Ivy League schools.
- Columbia provides various types of financial assistance, including need-based aid, scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study opportunities.
Degree Programs Offered at Columbia University
Columbia University appears on our list of the 30 Best Colleges for Young Democrats.
Columbia University offers online and residential degree programs for students at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Undergrads can choose from majors such as African studies to look at the cultures of African groups and architecture to learn how to design and construct buildings. The American studies program focuses on the history of the United States and the people who live there and allows students to take classes on pop culture subjects. Other majors include art history, biology, chemistry, engineering, nursing, education and performing arts. Graduate students can choose from some similar majors in the university’s residential programs.
All online programs offered by the university are available through Columbia Online. This online campus allows guest students from other colleges to take classes for credit and includes noncredit courses that any student can take. The university’s School of Engineering and Applied Science offers more than 10 online degree programs that provide students with research opportunities and ways for them to learn outside of their classes. Some of the majors offered by this school include biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, and industrial engineering and operations research.
Featured Programs
The Columbia Master of Social Work (MSW) is available from its School of Social Work. This is the only online MSW program offered by an Ivy League school. It gives students access to an online system that features discussion boards for chatting with other students and video lectures that they can watch in their free time. Students will also do offline work, including internships for added experience. Also available are programs from the Earth Institute online and the university’s School of Professional Studies.
Executive education programs are available online from the university’s Columbia Business School. Students can earn their degrees without sacrificing time at work or with their loved ones. A social enterprise program focuses on the basics of buying and selling online and teaches students how to run an e-commerce business. The university’s comprehensive management program looks at all areas of management, including operations, supply chain, and human resource management. Other programs allow students to major in leadership, marketing, finance, and strategy.
About Columbia University
Columbia University is a large private university that is one of the American Ivy League schools. Its official name is the Columbia University in New York City, though most call it Columbia. Established as King’s College in 1754, it also ranks as one of the oldest colleges in the nation. It became Columbia College in 1784 and Columbia University in 1896. Though it was a Royal institute of higher learning for more than 20 years, it later became a private college. Columbia now offers classes for undergrads and advanced students on its large campus in Morningside Heights. The university also operates several smaller campuses in other New York cities as well as an online campus.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Columbia is the third best university in the nation. It also ranks it as the eighth best university in the world and ranks 30 of its programs among the nation’s best, including those in social work, statistics, history, English, law, and engineering. Alumni of the university played in professional sports leagues and worked in fields that include law, politics, health, and research. Five former American presidents also attended Columbia. The more than 33,000 students who attend Columbia have access to study abroad programs, clubs and research opportunities.
Columbia University Accreditation Details
With accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), Columbia has the accreditation that allows students to get financial aid from sources other than the university. They can both apply for federal and state government aid and transfer their credits because of that accreditation. Many of the university’s degree programs also have accreditation, including those in business and public health.
Columbia University Application Requirements
As Columbia University accepts fewer than 7% of the applications that it receives, it is one of the nation’s most selective colleges. The early decision deadline is November first, but students must apply for financial aid by the middle of the month. All other students must apply by January first. Columbia asks that undergrads submit the Common, Coalition or QuestBridge application online by one of these deadlines and that they include a personal essay. Each application also asks students to create an autobiography and a list of their achievements. They will need to answer some questions added by the university and submit a secondary school report, test score and recommendation forms completed by their high school teachers. University alumni will also conduct interviews with students in the field.
It’s important that students applying to any of the Columbia Graduate School programs look at the requirements of each one because those requirements can vary. Students will submit the university’s graduate application and pay the application fee, but the other requirements they need to complete can include letters of recommendation and writing samples. Many programs also ask for a resume to view the experience that an applicant has and a GMAT/GRE score or a score from another graduate entrance exam.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attending Columbia University for undergrads is more than $55,000 a year. They will pay different rates for their classes, which can range from $1,300 to $1,966 per credit hour. Students can estimate their costs on the university’s website to see how much they will also pay for their room and board and textbooks. Graduate students also pay different rates for their classes based on the number of credits in each class and the programs they study. Those costs are usually around $2,800 to $3,200 per class.
Columbia offers financial aid packages designed to help students lower their overall costs. Most of the university’s scholarships to go to students who demonstrate more merit on their applications, but other scholarships go to students who show more need on the FAFSA. Some scholarships also go to students majoring in specific subjects and taking classes from certain departments. Columbia tries to help students pay their costs through scholarships, grant, and work-study rather than loans, though students can get federal loans too. Federal loans, fellowships, and assistantships are among the financial aid available for graduate students. All residential and online students enrolled in Columbia University degree programs can get financial aid.