Columbia University in the City of New York Reviews

  • 489 Reviews
  • New York (NY)
  • Annual Tuition: $66,139
92% of 489 students said this degree improved their career prospects
92% of 489 students said they would recommend this school to others
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Student & Graduate Reviews

Caitlin
  • Reviewed: 3/10/2017
  • Degree: Social Work
"I have really been enjoying my experience at Columbia School of Social Work (CSSW). Overall, I feel I'm deriving great value from my education. I am gaining much greater awareness of concepts of power, oppression, and privilege, and exploring my own identity and responsibility to dismantle such systems of oppression. I am inspired by other students and professors in my program, and appreciate the energy and enthusiasm devoted to social justice. Drawbacks to this program are the high cost of tuition and limited availability of scholarship funds. I also wish the program were more diverse, and more representative of the communities social workers serve in New York City."
AD Joseph
  • Reviewed: 3/9/2017
  • Degree: Healthcare Administration
"Columbia is a great place to study with fantastic professors who bring a wealth of knowledge and skill sets that are applicable to the workplace. The Executive Masters of Healthcare Administration attracts students who are leaders in their fields and diverse backgrounds. Both the full-time and part-time faculty members stretch students to reach their best potential. It is a great institution of study."
Georgia Kromrei
  • Reviewed: 3/7/2017
  • Degree: Information Technology
"The four-semester academic program further enhances my training in computer science and journalism, enabling me to create and refine news gathering and digital media technologies that will redefine journalism as we know it. It is a very challenging program."
Gianna Harris
  • Reviewed: 3/6/2017
  • Degree: Veterinary Science
"Columbia University's mailman school of public health provides rigor, diversity, and optimal career opportunities. My field is epidemiology and global health which looks specifically into the trends and causes of various diseases. With this information, programs can be implemented to decrease the risk of the disease spreading to healthy individuals and begin addressing those who already have the disease to prevent further sickness."
Tim WM
  • Reviewed: 2/24/2017
  • Degree: Social Sciences
"This program provides a great deal of flexibility in terms of course and concentration selection. A thesis is required in the final term, allowing students to focus on a specific topic in great detail. Because it is interdisciplinary, students have the opportunity to take courses from across Columbia's many departments, making use of those departments resources. The program was large, with students coming from a diverse set of places and professional or disciplinary backgrounds. As Columbia is located in New York, opportunities for networking with the professional world were many, and easy to access."
Tabatha Smith
  • Reviewed: 2/23/2017
  • Degree: Health Sciences
"As high quality as much of the instruction in the program was, and as academically demanding as it promises to be to the point that medical school is a breeze by all points of comparison (this is according to other graduates), the expense of the program unfortunately does not justify the benefits of completing it. In many ways, I wish I had taken the courses at a public institution, at less of an expense, to achieve comparable results."
Bud Gankhuyag
  • Reviewed: 2/22/2017
  • Degree: History
"Columbia University is a place bursting with energy and creativity, a place where I come across new and engaging challenges every day. The people are friendly, intelligent, and fast-paced, and I have made solid friendships with even more solid people. Being one student in a university system full of brilliant people has felt at times daunting, and the hyper-organized bureaucratic order of things can be difficult to maneuver, but this environment is meant to be challenging, on all fronts. In the end, you will have learned more than you thought you could, met some of the best people you've met around you, and softly accumulated a web of memories of your time at Columbia."
Jenn
  • Reviewed: 2/17/2017
  • Degree: Marketing
"I attended Columbia's Institute for Human Rights. The program is interdisciplinary and therefore allows students to choose courses across a breadth of departments and schools (e.g. the law school, the public health school) on campus. It is also tremendous to have access to speaking events across campus, especially at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) which frequently invites diplomats and pundits in particular fields. A note, though, that the M.A. in Human Rights program is geared towards theoretical thinkers, and less on the practitioner-based side."
Laura J. DeInnocentiis
  • Reviewed: 2/12/2017
  • Degree: Social Work
"Columbia School of Social Work is a wonderful place to earn a master's degree in social work. The degree has several tracks allowing students to focus on the concentration they are most interested in pursuing: clinical, generalist practice and programming, policy, and social enterprise administration.. In addition, there are sub-specialties to choose from, including work with mental health and disabilities, international social welfare, children and families, school-based issues, contemporary issues, and aging. Columbia offers flexible programs to fit anyone's schedule. These are not limited to the 16-month accelerated, online, extended, part- and full-time options, as well as the minor and dual degree programs. Located in the heart of Morningside Heights in New York City, CSSW's diverse neighborhood allows students to experience a variety of populations without straying far from campus. The social work school, a large, modern building on 1255 Amsterdam Avenue, is self-contained. All classrooms, conference rooms, libraries, resource rooms, computer labs, offices as well as the library, writing center, and cafe are located inside for convenience. Columbia University's other wealth of resources, available on its main campus or at the medical center in Washington Heights, are both easily accessible by foot, public transportation, or the free Columbia shuttle. The University provides a great deal of support, from students' first admissions inquiries to financial aid questions, throughout registration and their academic careers, to graduation day and beyond. The Career Office helps students search for the best job match possible, prepare for interviews, update their resumes, and connect them to agencies and organizations through job fairs. From a current student's perspective, Columbia opened doors I had never imagined. This semester's "Spirituality and Religion in Social Work" class inspired me to add a meaningful new dimension of unifying transcendence to my work with individuals. I look forward to engaging and provocative classroom discussions and to the smaller break-out sessions we have to consider topics in more depth. My professors share their knowledge, experience, and expertise in their lectures, but it is their passion for helping others and their drive to change the world that becomes contagious. Columbia School of Social Work nurtures a community of compassionate, respectful, and collaborative thinkers and learners all working to promote human rights and social justice. For two years, all students spend three full days a week in field placements to gain hands-on experience in the area of social work they wish to specialize. This direct service work is most valuable, especially since Columbia offers consistent support during the transition period. The academic curriculum is rigorous but well-coordinated with other courses and programs that occur simultaneously or sequentially. If a student is interested in a particular subject, there is no shortage of opportunities to feed that thirst for knowledge. Every day, Columbia offers conferences, workshops, online courses, mini classes, films/videos, lectures, guest speakers, clubs, study/research groups, events, and performances to broaden students' experiences. The Columbia School of Social Work has established relationships with many countries around the world for those students who want to spread their love and service outside of global New York City."
Colette Eustace
  • Reviewed: 2/7/2017
  • Degree: MBA in Public Administration
"This program will allow you to meet important professionals in the field of international development. It takes a holistic approach to creating sustainable change and partnerships on a global level. Courses are great, and instructors are true professionals in their field. There are opportunities to grow and you will certainly be challenged in coursework. The price is extremely high and this should be considered. As individuals planning to enter public service post-graduation, the high tuition makes this a challenging reality as students may be forced to take higher-paying jobs for debt purposes as opposed to jobs that are lower paid and create the most impact. This is my main and only concern with the program."
Lester Lambert
  • Reviewed: 2/7/2017
  • Degree: Pre-Medicine
"The pre-medicine curriculum at Columbia University is second to none. The courses are challenging yet fulfilling. Moreover, the Post-Baccalaureate Program in the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University provided me with the freedom and flexibility to enroll in excellent medical school prerequisite courses while participating in various team sports."
C. Barry
  • Reviewed: 2/6/2017
  • Degree: Biology
"It's important to remember that many (most?) of the prestigious universities are 'soft-money' institutions, which means that most of the professors are paid primarily via research grants. Thus, while you will often learn from experts in their respective fields, many (most?) are not keen to teach and you will struggle to find one-on-one investment from your teachers. For many students -- myself included -- this works just fine; it is more of a 'sink-or-swim' environment, and you are expected to meet a minimum standard or quality of work at all times. For some disciplines, this works very well (i.e. research) but for others it may fail. Though it is entirely up to the student to gage his/her learning style and select a school accordingly, this is one very important thing to keep in mind, and it is unfortunately something many student's fail to realize until it is a bit too late."
Sarang Krishnan
  • Reviewed: 2/2/2017
  • Degree: Environmental Science
"I have really enjoyed the warmth, love, energy and support of Columbia's faculty, administration as well as the students that make it such a great school. Being in New York also enables students to constantly be in contact with professionals from Wall Street, the UN as well as other high-profile companies, organizations and individuals. Another highlight of Columbia as well as my program is the way in which lessons are taught theoretically as well as practically with a view to bring students out of the classroom and experience the world. I have enjoyed every bit of my Columbia experience so far. I do hope that you will too!"
Brady Jackson
  • Reviewed: 2/1/2017
  • Degree: Creative Writing
"Columbia's writing faculty cannot be matched. You have access to professionals on both the authorial and editorial side, all of whom are there to ensure that you succeed in meeting your own expectations, as well as point you in directions you might have not seen coming. Our strengths are not always clear to us, and I have found this to be the most exciting aspect: to have those strengths made clear to me. The graduate fiction program is large by comparison to others across the nation, which I have found to be rewarding, rather than stifling (an early concern). Why limit yourself to a number of future readers and friends? The enthusiasm and drive that I am surrounded by is inspiring; it motivates me to not only meet my expectations but to continuously reevaluate themto aim higher. The tuition might be intimidating, but as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for." Not only that, Columbia has an excellent financial-aid team that will walk you through the steps of making the necessary payments. In short, I have no regrets. I love this school."
Esmeralda Negron
  • Reviewed: 2/1/2017
  • Degree: Sports Management
"The Columbia University Sports Management graduate program is ranked #2 globally. The program is current with trends in the sports industry today and the professors are all very accomplished in their respective fields. The program is challenging but manageable and pushes students to look at things from different vantage points. I would certainly recommend this program to anyone looking to pursue a career in the sports industry."
Anonymous
  • Reviewed: 1/31/2017
  • Degree: Public Health
"Columbia University School of Public Health gave me some practical tools and theoretical knowledge. I do wish there were more opportunites to learn research skills and approach health intervention more intersectionally"
Anonymous
  • Reviewed: 1/24/2017
  • Degree: Accounting
"Very good. Not the greatest but it was good"
Riddick
  • Reviewed: 1/24/2017
  • Degree: Architecture
"Is a great university with a great level of study"
Anonymous
  • Reviewed: 1/24/2017
  • Degree: MBA
"A fantastic school with highly regarded and engaging professors and a highly motivated student body and excels in business."
Anonymous
  • Reviewed: 1/24/2017
  • Degree: Architecture
"Columbia University is a great school with great resources in the middle of NYC. You gain exposure to so many awesome experiences and culture with wonderful people and teachers who know what they teach."