Columbia University

Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Its main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The university is legally known as Columbia University in the City of New York, incorporated as The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. The institution was established as King's College by the Church of England, receiving a royal charter in 1754 from George II of Great Britain. It was the first college established in New York, and the fifth college established in the Thirteen Colonies. After the American Revolution it was briefly chartered as a state entity from 1784-1787, however the university now operates under a 1787 charter that places the institution under a private board of trustees.

Columbia University is home to the Pulitzer Prize, which, for over a century, has rewarded outstanding achievement in journalism, literature and music. As of 2007, 82 Nobel Prize winners have been in some way affiliated with Columbia, putting the school on a par with Harvard University (also 82), followed closely by the University of Chicago (81), and rivaled only by the University of Cambridge (85).

It has been the birthplace of FM radio, the first American university to offer anthropology and political science as academic disciplines, the first American school to grant the M.D. degree, and where the foundation of modern genetics was discovered. An early research center for Manhattan Project development of the atomic bomb, its Morningside Heights campus was the first North American site where the uranium atom was split. Literary and artistic movements as varied as the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat movement and post-colonialism all took shape within Columbia's gates in the 20th century.

The university is affiliated with Barnard College (BC), Teachers College, and the Union Theological Seminary (UTS), all located nearby in Morningside Heights. A joint undergraduate program is available through the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as well as through the Juilliard School.

History

Columbia is the oldest institution of higher education in the state of New York. Founded and chartered as King's College in 1754, Columbia is the sixth-oldest such institution in the United States (by date of founding; fifth by date of chartering). After the American Revolutionary War, King's College was renamed Columbia College in 1784, and in 1896 it was further renamed Columbia University. Columbia has grown over time to encompass twenty schools and affiliated institutions.

Profile

Columbia University is home to some very selective undergraduate schools. Columbia College admitted 9.1% of applicants for the Class of 2011, one of the lowest rates in the country. The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences admitted 18.6%, a record for the School. Columbia College ultimately admitted an additional 29 students from the waiting list, while the Engineering school admitted 16 students.

Columbia is also a diverse school , with approximately 49% of all students identifying themselves as people of color. Additionally, over 50% of all undergraduates in the Class of 2011 will be receiving financial aid. The average financial aid package for these students exceeds $27,000, with an average grant size of over $20,000.

Its undergraduate schools are: Columbia College (CC), the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), and, for students who want to begin or resume their education after one or more years of interruption, the School of General Studies (GS). Also affiliated with Columbia is Barnard College, an all women's institution.

The university has numerous graduate schools, the most notable of which include the Columbia Law School, the Graduate School of Business (Columbia Business School or CBS), the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia's medical school), Columbia University School of Nursing, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia College of Dental Medicine, the Graduate School of Journalism (J-School or CJS), the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), the Columbia University School of the Arts (SoA), Columbia University School of Social Work, and Teachers College (the Graduate School of Education of Columbia University). Some graduate students also attend the engineering school. Columbia University's School of Continuing Education offers classes for non-matriculated elective course students, Master of Science Degrees, Postbaccalaureate Certificates, English Language Programs, Overseas Programs, Summer Session, and High School Programs.

The undergraduate school of Columbia University is ranked 9th (tied with The University of Chicago) among national universities by U.S. News and World Report (USNWR), 7th among world universities and 6th among universities in the Americas by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 12th among world universities and 9th in North America by the THES - QS World University Rankings, 36th among national universities by The Washington Monthly, 10th among "global universities" by Newsweek, and in the 1st tier among national universities by The Center for Measuring University Performance. According to the National Research Council, graduate programs are ranked 8th nationally.

Academics

COLUMBIA SCHOOLS AND AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS

Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Graduate School of

Arts, School of the

Arts and Sciences, Faculty of

Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of

Barnard College (Affiliate)

Business, Graduate School of

Columbia College

Continuing Education, School of

Dental Medicine, College of

Engineering and Applied Science, The Fu Foundation School of

General Studies, School of

· Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program

International and Public Affairs, School of

Jewish Theological Seminary (Affiliate)

Journalism, Graduate School of

Law, School of

Nursing, School of

Physicians and Surgeons, College of

Public Health, Mailman School of

Social Work, School of

Teachers College (Affiliate)

Union Theological Seminary (Affiliate)

Columbia University ranked 11th in the 2007 THES-QS World University ranking

Columbia University ranked 10th in the 2008 THES-QS World University ranking
Columbia University ranked 11th in the 2009 THES-QS World University ranking
Columbia University ranked 11th in the 2010 QS World University ranking

Columbia University ranked 10th in the 2011 QS World University ranking