Columbia University

Columbia is on a 36-acre campus in the urban setting of New York, New York, not far from New York City.

Columbia Student Activities

Columbia has many clubs, organizations, and activities for students to join – including band, chorus, theater groups, a campus newspaper, a radio station and more.

Interested in Greek life? Columbia has fraternities and sororities.

Columbia has the community service. In fact, more students participate in the community service than any other on-campus activity.

Other popular student organizations at Columbia include cultural organizations, performing arts, athletics and publications.

Columbia students' favorite campus events are Homecoming, Tree Lighting/Yule Log Ceremony and Varsity Show.

Columbia Housing

This table offers information on housing at Columbia.

Columbia offers housing for students. Students are required to live on campus through freshman year. First year students are guaranteed on-campus housing.

The majority of Columbia students live on campus. In 2022, 87% of undergrads at Columbia lived in some kind of on-campus housing and 13% of students lived off-campus or commuted to Columbia.

Columbia offers coed housing and housing for students with disabilities.

Columbia Athletics

At Columbia there are a variety of athletic options for students interested in joining a sports program.

Intercollegiate sports are the highest tier of college sports and can be very competitive. Intercollegiate teams are regulated by the NCAA, funded by the university, and compete against teams from other universities. The division of a sports team depends on the size of the university, funding, and competition level. An intercollegiate school team will be Division I, II or III, with Division I being the highest level.

Club sports are not regulated by the NCAA and are a great option for students not interested in trying out for an intercollegiate team. Club sports are usually student run but can also be funded by the university.

Intramural sports are the most casual and informal. Intramural sports are often free and require very little time commitment.

Let's take a look at the athletic options available at Columbia:

Is Columbia Safe?

College is like a home away from home. Whether you're walking to class or coming back from late-night studying (or partying!), it's important to feel safe on campus.

Columbia University is patroled 24 hours a day by trained security. The Columbia campus has emergency telephones or alarms for students to use anytime of day or night.

Columbia offers late-night transportation or safety escorts for students. Dorms can only be accessed with secure key cards so that students can feel confident that they are safe in on-campus housing.

Plan a Visit to Columbia

While you're planning, check out other schools in New York you may want to visit too. Click the heart at the top of each school's page to save it to your college list.

Want to visit but can't make the trip? Explore Columbia's campus without leaving home by taking a virtual campus tour

Keep Reading About Columbia

Choose one of the options below to find out more about about Columbia:

Overview

Admissions

Academics

Tuition & Aid

Join the conversation about about Columbia in the College Confidential forums.