Columbia University

Basic Information

Type Private
Geographical Reach National
Population 14,000,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 105 (50%)
Sunshine Hours 2,535 (41%)
Days Without Precipitation 243 (42%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 8,595
Men / Women 51% / 49%
From State 17%
From Region 14%
Athletes 799 (9.5%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 27%
International 20%
Asian 19%
Hispanic 15%
Black 7%
Mixed 6%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Columbia College 2,148 50% 33% 16% 7% 12% 20% $111,658 98 +1.61 94 92%
Computer Science 377 +39 64% 21% 29% 8% 12% 23% $205,718 97 +2.36 100 93% — — — —
Computer Science & Mathematics 25 +5 52% 32% 16% 0% 8% 24% $170,985 90 +1.22 100 — — — — —
Data Science 6 +2 83% 33% 33% 0% 0% 33% $149,067 93 +1.72 99 — — — — —
Information Science 23 — 57% 35% 17% 9% 9% 17% $163,909 100 +3.19 100 — — — — —
Astronomy 4 +1 25% 75% 0% 25% 0% 0% $105,289 93 +1.56 91 — — — — —
Astrophysics 11 +1 55% 36% 0% 9% 0% 18% $105,219 93 +1.56 91 — — — — —
Chemistry 12 +1 75% 17% 8% 0% 33% 8% $79,908 85 +0.80 63 — — — — —
Climate System Science and Engineering (Course 1-12) 7 +1 0% 29% 14% 0% 14% 29% $71,640 82 +0.59 43 — — — — —
Geology/Earth Science 12 +3 50% 33% 8% 17% 17% 8% $46,831 3 -1.65 3 96% — — — —
Materials Science 2 — 50% 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% $80,592 86 +0.87 65 — — — — —
Mathematics 40 +27 85% 28% 40% 0% 5% 22% $120,273 89 +1.32 97 96% — — — —
Mathematics-Statistics 26 +7 73% 23% 19% 0% 12% 27% $153,792 89 +1.43 100 90% — — — —
Physical Sciences 2 — 50% 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% $105,671 93 +1.59 91 — — — — —
Physics 21 +4 81% 33% 10% 5% 0% 19% $106,373 95 +1.64 91 — — — — —
Biochemistry 18 +2 39% 33% 17% 17% 11% 11% $79,514 80 +0.71 63 — — — — —
Biological Sciences 58 +3 43% 29% 24% 9% 14% 9% $69,386 65 +0.34 37 80% — — — —
Biophysics 7 — 43% 57% 14% 0% 0% 14% $81,555 89 +0.90 66 — — — — —
Computational Biology 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $83,035 92 +1.03 69 — — — — —
Evolutionary Biology 5 +1 20% 40% 0% 40% 20% 0% $90,771 99 +1.72 79 90% — — — —
Neuroscience and Behavior 90 — 32% 29% 17% 11% 13% 16% $88,180 97 +1.86 77 95% — — — —
Environmental Science 8 +1 12% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $83,970 99 +3.18 71 90% — — — —
Economics 343 +29 60% 31% 19% 3% 9% 33% $123,551 84 +0.96 97 91% — — — —
African American and African Diaspora Studies 7 +5 57% 0% 14% 86% 0% 0% $54,035 39 -0.41 6 100% — — — —
American Studies 17 +4 47% 71% 6% 0% 0% 0% $75,239 94 +1.27 53 89% — — — —
Ancient Studies/Civilization 1 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $82,872 96 +2.53 69 — — — — —
Classical Languages 10 +1 70% 60% 0% 0% 30% 0% $69,201 88 +1.00 37 — — — — —
Comparative Literature 16 — 44% 31% 25% 6% 12% 12% $66,341 96 +1.70 29 — — — — —
Creative Writing 38 +14 34% 58% 5% 8% 13% 8% $37,375 1 -1.83 1 94% — — — —
East Asian Studies 12 +10 33% 25% 17% 8% 17% 17% $75,239 94 +1.27 53 89% — — — —
English Language and Literature 90 +27 38% 43% 6% 3% 11% 19% $61,842 92 +1.15 18 91% — — — —
Ethnic Studies 11 +17 27% 0% 0% 9% 82% 0% $54,035 39 -0.41 6 100% — — — —
French 1 +4 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $65,829 77 +0.69 27 90% — — — —
German 3 +6 100% 67% 0% 0% 0% 0% $70,003 89 +1.07 39 — — — — —
History 95 +25 52% 46% 14% 7% 5% 11% $88,294 98 +3.06 77 93% — — — —
Italian — +2 — — — — — — $65,829 77 +0.69 27 90% — — — —
Latin American and Caribbean Studies — +3 — — — — — — $75,239 94 +1.27 53 89% — — — —
Linguistics 6 +3 17% 33% 0% 0% 33% 0% $69,665 89 +1.04 38 — — — — —
Near Eastern and Semitic Languages 10 +7 10% 10% 0% 20% 0% 30% $90,427 100 +2.89 79 95% — — — —
Philosophy 38 +16 68% 45% 8% 3% 13% 16% $61,691 58 +0.02 17 83% — — — —
Philosophy and Religious Studies 4 — 75% 50% 25% 0% 0% 0% $75,686 86 +1.07 54 — — — — —
Religion 9 +4 33% 56% 0% 0% 22% 0% $62,497 93 +1.44 19 — — — — —
Slavic Languages 5 +5 60% 60% 0% 0% 0% 20% $68,710 86 +0.95 35 — — — — —
Spanish 1 +4 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $65,829 77 +0.69 27 90% — — — —
Anthropology 15 +6 47% 27% 13% 20% 7% 7% $85,896 98 +2.63 74 84% — — — —
Cognitive Science 33 +4 30% 39% 15% 9% 12% 21% $85,371 76 +0.12 73 — — — — —
Humanities/Humanistic Studies 2 +4 0% 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% $89,944 99 +3.00 79 94% — — — —
Political Science 209 +24 53% 40% 8% 9% 16% 16% $90,036 91 +1.31 79 94% — — — —
Research & Experimental Psychology 116 +28 34% 29% 13% 10% 19% 21% $83,749 98 +2.46 70 86% — — — —
Social Sciences 36 +7 28% 42% 6% 3% 17% 22% $79,973 97 +2.09 63 87% — — — —
Sociology 46 +9 50% 33% 13% 11% 15% 13% $98,927 99 +3.81 87 96% — — — —
Sustainability Studies 50 +2 36% 48% 6% 4% 10% 20% $79,288 99 +1.91 62 83% — — — —
Architecture 20 +1 40% 20% 20% 20% 25% 5% $78,207 92 +1.16 60 90% — — — —
Art History and Archaeology 26 +16 23% 46% 4% 4% 12% 19% $51,293 59 -0.04 4 87% — — — —
Dance 2 +4 50% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $47,474 80 +0.59 3 — — — — —
Drama and Theatre Arts 8 +2 50% 50% 0% 0% 25% 0% $33,812 6 -1.24 1 90% — — — —
Music 9 +5 44% 33% 11% 0% 44% 0% $43,988 38 -0.30 2 94% — — — —
Urban Studies 22 — 32% 32% 18% 9% 9% 5% $78,268 92 +1.17 60 — — — — —
Visual and Performing Arts 82 +14 32% 29% 15% 12% 16% 20% $68,366 100 +3.39 34 96% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science 348 50% 24% 22% 6% 20% 19% $128,326 100 +1.65 98 95%
Applied Physics 13 — 85% 31% 15% 0% 8% 23% $134,380 95 +2.12 99 — — — — —
Biomedical Engineering 56 — 16% 25% 29% 0% 30% 11% $120,753 93 +1.88 97 95% — — — —
Chemical Engineering 22 — 41% 14% 23% 9% 32% 14% $120,754 94 +1.56 97 100% — — — —
Civil Engineering 14 — 36% 21% 21% 14% 36% 7% $87,828 24 -0.64 76 93% — — — —
Computer Engineering 21 — 52% 33% 24% 19% 10% 14% $177,537 99 +2.85 100 100% — — — —
Earth and Environmental Engineering 13 — 38% 31% 23% 0% 15% 23% $96,874 96 +1.58 85 — — — — —
Electrical Engineering 28 — 68% 21% 21% 4% 29% 21% $104,420 24 -0.60 90 88% — — — —
Industrial Engineering 11 — 82% 27% 18% 0% 0% 45% $134,666 93 +1.35 99 — — — — —
Mechanical Engineering 69 — 61% 30% 17% 9% 29% 6% $111,200 93 +1.51 94 98% — — — —
Operations Research 55 — 53% 15% 24% 7% 7% 36% $173,114 100 +3.82 100 86% — — — —
Applied Mathematics 46 +11 54% 24% 20% 4% 11% 28% $123,385 79 +0.46 97 100% — — — —

Financial

Tuition & Fees $76,150
ROI Percentile 95th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 98%
4-Year Graduation Rate 81%
6-Year Graduation Rate 96%
Transfer-Out Rate 0%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Social Sciences 20.3% 507 43% 37% 10% 9% 16% 18% $87,203 98 +1.88 75 90% —
Computer Science 17.3% 431 64% 22% 28% 7% 11% 23% $200,684 97 +2.33 100 93% —
Humanities 15.0% 374 45% 44% 9% 7% 12% 12% $68,401 93 +1.22 34 91% —
Business & Economics 13.7% 343 60% 31% 19% 3% 9% 33% $123,551 96 +0.96 97 91% —
Engineering 12.1% 302 49% 24% 22% 6% 22% 18% $129,080 99 +1.83 98 94% —
Physical Sciences & Math 7.3% 183 65% 28% 20% 4% 10% 22% $113,074 94 +0.92 94 96% —
Life & Natural Sciences 7.2% 179 37% 31% 18% 11% 13% 13% $81,003 95 +1.21 65 89% —
Arts 6.8% 169 33% 33% 13% 10% 17% 14% $65,012 93 +1.86 25 93% —
Agriculture & Food Science 0.3% 8 12% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $83,970 100 +3.18 71 90% —

Research R1

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Health Sciences $759M #12 74% $75.7M 35 #56 130 821
Life & Natural Sciences $293M #15 81% $3.6M 96 #22 613 247
Physical Sciences & Math $150M #19 78% $2.1M 65 #40 544 217
Engineering $122M #40 81% $5.8M 84 #43 733 176
Humanities & Social Sciences $75.1M #19 36% $2.5M 237 #3 222 32
Computer Science $36.1M #18 83% $2.1M 29 #24 206 30
Education $4.9M #102 98% $0 33 #123 — —
Agriculture & Food Science $4.7M #94 33% $0.6M 8 #60 29 —
Business & Economics $2.8M #138 12% $0.0M 38 #18 178 —
Total $1,448M #19 74% $92.4M 625 #24 2,655 1,523

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D1

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 123 $534K $534K $0
Football 111 $5.4M $5.4M $0
Baseball 40 $1.6M $1.6M $0
Other Sports 40 $880K $880K $0
Swimming & Diving 39 $642K $642K $0
Rowing 34 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Wrestling 31 $768K $768K $0
Soccer 29 $517K $517K $0
Basketball 18 $2.2M $2.2M $0
Fencing 18 $434K $434K $0
Squash 16 $361K $361K $0
Tennis 12 $748K $748K $0
Golf 8 $380K $380K $0
Total 435 $15.6M $15.6M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 165 $588K $588K $0
Rowing 53 $928K $928K $0
Swimming & Diving 33 $578K $578K $0
Soccer 32 $695K $695K $0
Lacrosse 31 $499K $499K $0
Fencing 30 $428K $428K $0
Field Hockey 19 $376K $376K $0
Softball 19 $598K $598K $0
Volleyball 18 $447K $447K $0
Basketball 13 $2.8M $2.8M $0
Squash 12 $342K $342K $0
Tennis 11 $614K $614K $0
Archery 10 $286K $286K $0
Golf 8 $370K $370K $0
Total 364 $9.5M $9.5M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 288 $1.1M $1.1M $0
Football 111 $5.4M $5.4M $0
Rowing 87 $2.1M $2.1M $0
Swimming & Diving 72 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Soccer 61 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Fencing 48 $863K $863K $0
Baseball 40 $1.6M $1.6M $0
Other Sports 40 $880K $880K $0
Basketball 31 $4.9M $4.9M $0
Lacrosse 31 $499K $499K $0
Wrestling 31 $768K $768K $0
Squash 28 $703K $703K $0
Tennis 23 $1.4M $1.4M $0
Field Hockey 19 $376K $376K $0
Softball 19 $598K $598K $0
Volleyball 18 $447K $447K $0
Golf 16 $751K $751K $0
Archery 10 $286K $286K $0
Total 799 $43.3M $43.3M $0

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 4.2%
Yield (non-ED) 46%
Early Decision 1 Nov 1
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 4% 5% 2%
Early Decision 14% 17% 8%
Unhooked Early Decision 9% 9% —

Hooked: legacy, recruited athletes, faculty-related, and Questbridge

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 67%
SAT Range 1510 – 1560
SAT Math Range 760 – 800
SAT RW Range 740 – 770