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Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University Crown 2020.svg
Type Private
Established 1754; 271 years ago (1754)
Parent institution
 Columbia University
Dean Josef Sorett
Students 4,500
Location
New York City
,
New York
,
United States

Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University. This university is a private, top-ranked school in New York City. It is part of the Ivy League, a group of famous universities.

Columbia College is located in Morningside Heights in Manhattan. It was started in 1754 as King's College. King George II of Great Britain gave it a special paper called a royal charter. It is the oldest college in New York and the fifth oldest in the United States.

Columbia College is known for its special Core Curriculum. This is a set of required classes. It is also one of the hardest colleges to get into in America. In 2024, only about 3.85% of applicants were accepted.

History of Columbia College

Kings College Charter
First page of the King's College Charter from 1754

Columbia College began as King's College in 1754. This was in the Province of New York. King George II of Great Britain from Great Britain gave it a royal charter. The college was built near Trinity Church on Broadway. This was close to Wall Street in New York City. The college stayed there for less than ten years.

Samuel Johnson became the first president. He was also the only professor for a while. Back then, all classes and tests were done in Latin.

Moving to Park Place

By 1760, Columbia moved to a new spot. This was on Park Place. It was near the city commons, where New York City Hall is today.

In 1767, Samuel Bard started a medical school here. It is now called the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. It was the first medical school in America to give out the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree.

Classes stopped from 1776 to 1784 because of the American Revolutionary War. But before the war, the college had already taught important leaders. These included Alexander Hamilton, who helped General George Washington. He also wrote many of The Federalist Papers. Hamilton became the first Secretary of the Treasury.

John Jay also wrote for the Federalist Papers. He was the first Chief Justice of the United States. Robert Livingston helped write the Declaration of Independence. Gouverneur Morris helped write the United States Constitution.

Hamilton joined a volunteer group called the "Hearts of Oak" in 1775. He became a Lieutenant. They wore special uniforms with "Liberty or Death" on their hats. They practiced near St. Paul's Chapel. In August 1775, they took cannons from Battery Park. This made them an artillery unit.

Columbia1790
College Hall in 1790, a building at Columbia College

After the war ended in 1783, the college reopened in 1784. The new nation was free from Kingdom of Great Britain. So, King's College changed its name to Columbia College. This is the name it still uses today. For a short time, it was a state school. But it became a private school again in 1787. This 1787 plan is still used today. The college became known as a great school. It welcomed students from many different backgrounds.

The Midtown Campus

Columbia stayed at its Park Place campus for almost 100 years. Then, in 1857, it moved to 49th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

During its 40 years at this spot, the college grew. It started giving out Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degrees. New schools were added, like the Columbia Law School (1858). The Columbia School of Mines (1864) also started. It is now called the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The first Ph.D. from Columbia was given in 1875.

At this time, "Columbia College" meant the whole institution. This included all its schools. In 1890, Seth Low became president. He wanted each school to be its own separate part of a larger university. Barnard College for Women joined Columbia in 1889. Teachers College joined in 1891. Also, new programs for advanced degrees like the Ph.D. were created.

Oldcolumbiasfield
Hamilton Hall (left), the new home of Columbia College, and Hartley Hall, the first student dorm, in 1907

So, in 1896, the school changed its overall name. It became Columbia University in the City of New York. The name Columbia College went back to meaning only the original undergraduate college. This was the one founded as King's College in 1754.

Moving to Morningside Heights

Seth Low also moved the university to its current spot. This is on a hill in Morningside Heights in uptown Manhattan. Land was bought from 114th St. to 120th St.. It was between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

Charles McKim designed the new campus. He wanted it to look like buildings from the Italian Renaissance. Many American universities at the time looked like old castles. But Columbia's new neoclassical style showed its roots in the Age of Enlightenment. This was a time of new ideas and discoveries. Columbia College and the university moved to the new campus in 1897.

Vanamquad
Van Amringe Quadrangle has a memorial for John Howard Van Amringe. He was the college's first dean after Columbia University was formed.

Columbia College's traditions started with classical education. In 1919, the famous Core Curriculum was officially set up. John Erskine started the first seminar on important books from Western history. A course called "War and Peace" was also required for all students.

In the 1960s, Columbia College faced student protests. Students were upset about the Vietnam War. They also protested plans to expand the campus into Morningside Park. The university wanted to build a new gym there. Students were unhappy about separate entrances for students and local residents. On April 23, 1968, over 1,000 students took over five campus buildings. Police removed them after five days. Because of the protests, the university president retired. Secret military research projects stopped. The gym expansion plans were canceled.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the university had money problems. Admissions standards changed a bit. In 1983, women were allowed to attend Columbia College. This helped the college become more competitive with other Ivy League schools. In the 1980s and 1990s, the college received many donations. This helped it grow and improve. Many buildings were updated. The number of dorms increased. This meant all students could live on campus for four years. Hamilton Hall, the main academic building, was also renovated.

Columbia College Today

Columbia University Bulletin Columbia College 1980 1981
A Columbia College bulletin from 1980-1981

Admissions

Columbia College is one of the most selective colleges in America. This means it is very hard to get in. For the fall of 2010, over 26,000 people applied. Only about 2,400 were accepted. By the fall of 2024, applications had more than doubled. Over 60,000 people applied for about 2,300 spots. This means the acceptance rate was about 3.85%.

Academics

Columbia College is known for its strong Core Curriculum. These are required classes that are a big part of a student's learning.

Students must also pass a swimming test to graduate. They can skip the foreign language requirement if they pass a special test. Most students earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in four years.

Campus Life

Hamilton statue at Columbia University IMG 0958
Hamilton Hall, the main building for Columbia College, at Columbia University.

Most of the college's buildings are on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus. Hamilton Hall holds the main offices. It also has the offices for the Core Curriculum.

Butler Library is the main library for the humanities. It has over 2 million books. It was recently updated. It has a special collection of about 100,000 books. These books are chosen to help with the Columbia College curriculum. The entire university library system has over 9.2 million books.

Students at Columbia College are guaranteed a place to live for all four years. Dorms are on the main campus or nearby. First-year students live in John Jay, Carman, Wallach, Hartley, and Furnald Halls.

The two main dining halls are John Jay Dining Hall and Ferris Booth Commons. All first-year students must have a meal plan. Other dining spots are in Alfred Lerner Hall, Faculty House, and Uris Hall.

How the College is Run

In 2011, James Valentini became the Dean of Columbia College. The students elect the Columbia College Student Council (CCSC). This group represents the students to the university.

The college also has a board of visitors. This group is made of college alumni and parents. They advise the dean and support the college. Members include business leaders, artists, and government officials.

List of Deans of Columbia College

  1. 1896–1910 John Howard Van Amringe
  2. 1910–1917 Frederick Paul Keppel
  3. 1918–1943 Herbert Hawkes
  4. 1943–1950 Harry J. Carman
  5. 1950–1958 Lawrence Henry Chamberlain
  6. 1958–1962 John Gorham Palfrey
  7. 1963–1967 David B. Truman
  8. 1967–1968 Henry S. Coleman (interim)
  9. 1968–1972 Carl Hovde
  10. 1972–1976 Peter Pouncey
  11. 1976–1977 Robert L. Belknap (acting)
  12. 1977–1982 Arnold Collery
  13. 1982–1989 Robert Pollack
  14. 1989–1993 Jack Greenberg
  15. 1993–1995 Steven Marcus
  16. 1995–2009 Austin Quigley
  17. 2009–2011 Michele Moody-Adams
  18. 2011–2022 James J. Valentini
  19. 2022–Present Josef Sorett

Famous People from Columbia College

Further information: List of Columbia College people and List of John Jay Award recipients

Many well-known people have studied or taught at Columbia College. This includes its earlier name, King's College.

Some famous alumni include Founding Fathers of the United States like Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Gouverneur Morris. Morris wrote the famous "We, The People" part of the U.S. Constitution. Other political figures include New York Governor DeWitt Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.

People in academics include historians Jacques Barzun and Alfred Thayer Mahan. Writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg also attended.

In the arts, there are pianist Emanuel Ax, actor James Cagney, and musician Art Garfunkel. Composers Richard Rodgers and John Corigliano also went here. Playwrights like Tony Kushner and Terrence McNally are alumni.

Other notable alumni include baseball player Lou Gehrig and football player Sid Luckman. Business leader John Kluge also attended.

More recent famous alumni include former President Barack Obama. Also, actors Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Paquin, Casey Affleck, Amanda Peet, Matthew Fox, Timothée Chalamet, George Segal, Julia Stiles, and Kate McKinnon. Directors Jim Jarmusch and Brian De Palma are also alumni. The band Vampire Weekend also has members who went to Columbia College.

Columbia College has educated at least 16 Nobel Prize winners. It also has alumni who won many Emmy Awards, Tony Awards, Academy Awards, and Pulitzer Prizes.

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