Columbia University Courses 2026: Popular UG, PG, & Certificate Courses

The highest salary earned by graduates of the Columbia Uni USA is USD 450,000 (INR 4.3 Cr) in the Real Estate industry. This is three times the average salary package students got offered in the Real Estate industry. The average package for students in Real Estate was USD 150,000 (INR 1.43 Cr) for the MBA Class of 2025.

Undergraduate students at Columbia University have access to five residential halls, namely Carman Hall, Furnald Hall, Hartley Hall, John Jay Hall, and Wallach Hall. International students at Columbia University are provided with four years of undergraduate housing. Currently, about 90% of students opt to live on campus. Some of the on-campus features include dining halls, hangouts, late-night spots, and campus cafés.

Given below is the breakdown of the expenses of attending the Columbia University:

Conversion Rate: 1 USD = INR 83.96

Below is the cost of living at Columbia University. However, the cost of living might vary as it totally depends on the individual and their spending. However, check out the below table: 

1st year tuition fees

Other expenses in 1st Year

Calculated at the exchange rate of 1 USD = INR 82.94

Times Higher Education (THE) is known for providing rankings to evaluate the university performance on the global level. According to the THE rankings 2025, Columbia University has received a rank of #18. Some of the other university level rankings at Columbia are mentioned below:

Not if you go by their overall university rankings. While both rank in and around the top 10 universities in the US, Harvard (#2) ranks well ahead of Columbia (#12), in national level rankings, given by Shiksha. 

Though Harvard offers more course options, and overall brand recognition, Columbia is considered by many as the better of the two for its Engineering courses, something Harvard is not known for.

Columbia University has been ranked at #11 for its MS courses according to the Shiksha Popularity World Rankings. Some of the other rankings of the MS courses at the university are mentioned below:

Columbia University’s Law course ranks exceptionally well in THE subject rankings. It ranks at the #4 position in 2024. A few of the other courses that rank well are:

Yes, Columbia Business School provides scholarships. In fact, the CBS is well renowned for the having one of the largest scholarship funds. There is no need to apply for the scholarships separately, it is integrated in the CBS application process. Below mentioned are the scholarships provided to MBA students:

Yes, it is hard to get admission into the Columbia MBA programme because of the high competition. The Columbia University acceptance rate for the MBA programme is around 22%. For the class of 2022, the Columbia Business School receive 6177 applications out of which 1363 are admitted to the Columbia MBA program. International students require a good GPA and academic profile to get into the university Students can know more about MBA in the USA and then apply.

Columbia MBA graduates are paid very well for their contributions, with the average salary figure for Class of 2024 MBA graduates standing at USD 175,000 (INR 1.5 Cr), per data curated from official sources.

12.3% of the MBA graduates were also on the receiving end of additional guaranteed compensation worth USD 225,000 (INR 1.93 Cr). 

Conversion rate: 1 USD = INR 86.06

According to the FT rankings published recently in 2025, Columbia Business School ranks #2 among the best b-schools offering an MBA program. CBS is ranked 8^th in the world for its MBA programs in the 2025 QS Global MBA rankings, with an overall score of 96.9 out of 100, based on factors like, placement rates, faculty, curriculum etc. Based on the rankings published by US World and News 2024, CBS ranks #12 out of the best 124 B-Schools in the world. 

The university provides all essential facilities needed to maintain a decent lifestyle to students as part of its residential buildings. Given below is a description of the same:

·      Door Attendant – Full time

·      Laundry in each unit

·      Elevator Building

·      Bike Storage

·      Community Room

·      Playroom

·      Gym

·      Parking

·      Roof Deck

·      Shuttle service to & from the campus

Most of the institute's student body is based in the university-owned housing in Morningside Heights. The residential facilities that consist of shared apartments & dormitory style-rooms are just a walking distance from the university campus.

Students are also housed in Manhattan Valley, just south of Morningside Heights. Additionally, some students are also housed in Riverdale, Bronx, at The Arbor. Shuttle services are available to & from the Arbor.

The university does not maintain off-campus accommodation facilities, however, it does maintain a special Off-Campus Housing Assistance Office (OCHA) that helps students contact room lenders near the university campus & get the best accommodation facilities possible at affordable prices.

The SIPA recommends the GRE or GMAT, but it is not a mandatory requirement. GRE/GMAT score is a complementary requirement that students can opt to pursue in case they feel they do not have a strong list of quantitative courses/ work experience as the exam scores strengthen the application.

A score above 320 can significantly improve the chances of admission.

MPA & MIA degrees are very similar in terms of the area of study they focus on. MPA program is more aligned with rigorous quantitative & data-driven aspects of public policy while MIA takes a more qualitative approach to international issues & diplomacy harnessing language skills & expertise.

Listed below are some of the most notable members of the Columbia SIPA alumni network:

• Radha Kulkarni: Investment Manager, UNICEF
• Frank Reig: Co-founder & CEO of Revel
• Gabriela Rocha: Co-founder & CEO of Laboratoria
• Lingdong Hua: Vice-chair of ISSB
• Katie Napolitano: Co-Founder & Director of Fair Futures

Getting into Columbia can be hard but as an Indian student you can get in if you follow some basic steps of the Columbia University application process, take a look - 

• First things first, start by registering yourself on the application portal
• Then, you would have to put your personal details and a really good essay on why Columbia?  
• Now, upload all the required documents and pay the Columbia application fee 
• At the last, all you can do is wait for a decision from the uni. 

India had around 1,241 students at Columbia, by Fall 2024, the second the largest international community of students, behind only China (6,463). Of these, around 72 were enrolled in UG, 1,153 in graduate, and 16 in non-degree courses at Columbia Uni.

James Gunn is among those to have attended Columbia. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts, having pursued his UG studies at St. Louis University. 
Gunn has directed several hit comic book movies and shows which includes The Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy, Superman, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker.