Columbia University Arts and Sciences
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is the intellectual heart of Columbia University. Home to five schools, more than 1,000 faculty, 60 research centers and institutes, and 28 academic departments, we provide a transformative educational experience to more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and PhD students at Columbia – nearly half the student body.
Our field-defining research – anchored in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences – engages fundamental questions about our society and our world, and supports Columbia’s broader mission to advance knowledge, learning, and impact at the highest levels.
Transformative Learning
The five schools within the Arts and Sciences comprise a vibrant community of learners, including pre-college, full-time undergraduate and graduate, non-traditional, and part-time students.
Undergraduate Schools
• Columbia College
• School of General Studies
Graduate Schools
• Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• School of the Arts
• School of Professional Studies
Breakthrough Research
Arts and Sciences faculty and researchers are producing extraordinary discoveries that are reshaping our understanding of science, culture, society, and the universe.
Research News
Columbia to Lead $20 Million National Research Center on Organismal Resilience
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Synthesis Center for Organismal Resilience will leverage real-world data and innovative AI techniques to improve understanding of how plants and animals build resilience in dynamic environments.
September 24, 2026
Professor Galen Mckinley of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences will lead the project’s data analytics and observing strategy.
September 22, 2026
According to Lucia Rondini, they are ‘fizzy’ with quantum objects, popping in and out of existence all the time.
September 09, 2026
Professor Göran Ekström tracks incidents like landslides and glacier collapse using tools once used only to monitor earthquakes.
Faculty News and Updates
The program, which will welcome its first cohort in Fall 2027, will support accomplished leaders seeking to pivot from successful careers to meaningful next chapters of their lives.
The prestigious award, given by the American Philosophical Society, was in recognition of her book The Deformation.
Professor Duncan Menge is the new chair of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. In his spare time, he plays guitar in the department band.