

Columbia University: Rankings, Popular Courses, Fees
- Private University
1 Campus
- Estd. 1754
Columbia University Ranking 2026
Columbia University is one of the finest universities for higher education in the USA. When it comes to Columbia University rankings, it is one of the top ranked universities worldwide. In the Shiksha Popularity Rankings 2026, Columbia University has an overall ranking of #11 in the USA and #19 in the world. Shiksha Popularity Rankings also ranked Columbia University courses that are listed below-
| Columbia University Course Name | Shiksha Popularity Ranking 2026 (World) | Shiksha Popularity Ranking 2026 (Country) |
|---|---|---|
| MSN | #7 | #4 |
| LL.M. | #7 | #6 |
| M.A. | #7 | #6 |
| MFA | #21 | #8 |
| M.Arch | #16 | #4 |
| Others PG | #17 | #6 |
| MBA/PGDM | #8 | #5 |
| MS | #18 | #11 |
By Other Ranking Bodies
Apart from Shiksha Popularity ranking, QS has also ranked the university globally. It ranks University of Alberta at #94 in 2026. University of Alberta ranking stood at #156 as per US News in 2025 and #119 by THE in 2026, globally.
#19
#11
Commonly asked questions On Rankings
Not if you go by their overall university rankings. While both rank in and around the top 10 universities in the country, Harvard (#2) ranks well ahead of Columbia (#10), 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.
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.
Yes, Columbia accepts more than 100 transfer students each year. For admission at Columbia as a transfer student, students would need to satisfy the eligibility criteria given below:
- Should have 24 points of credit at another institution or be registered to complete the same
- A high school diploma
- Must be enrolled at an institute where courses are offered by each term (quarters, semesters, etc.) AND a grade is given for each course, every term AND the institute can provide an English language transcript of the same
- Must secure the minimum score, in either of the following: TOEFL-iBT: 105, IELTS: 7.5, Duolingo English Test: 135, or Cambridge English: 191
Columbia University Programs
Students can choose from a lot of courses at Columbia University, with more than 100 degree program options. The Columbia University Courses are split across the undergraduate and graduate levels of study, with more than 80 options to choose from as part of Columbia University Undergraduate Courses, while the Columbia University Graduate Courses include 132 course options to choose.
Columbia University Popular Programs
While students can choose from a big pool of courses, some are popular among them than others. These include Biology, Computer Science, Political Science, Psychology, Business Administration, Economics, and Electrical Engineering.
Columbia University Online Courses
Columbia offers several professional certificates, MicroMasters, and XSeries programs, in online formats, to allow students to upskill across a wide variety of subjects that include Financial Engineering, Public Health, Applied Machine Learning, and Digital Marketing, among others.
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Commonly asked questions On Popular Programs
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.
Yes, several schools at Columbia University are known to offer online courses to students. The Columbia College offers more than 70 online programs to students across a number of prominent fields including: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Earth and Environmental Science among others.
The cost of an undergraduate online course is USD 375 (INR 32.8 K), and the annual cost is USD 11,250 (INR 9.86 L) for a course with 30 credit hours.
Conversion rate: 1 USD = INR 87.68
Columbia University offers a number of scholarships to international students. Each scholarship has its own criteria and conditions. Columbia University provides scholarships to students from all socio-economic backgrounds including international students. Columbia is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated need of all admitted first-year international students. It has a substantial amount of financial aid for international students totalling over USD 17 million for the class of 2027.
Columbia is home to around 7,200 faculty members in teaching & research as part of its university faculty network.
Of these, 2,741 are full-time members, giving it a full-time faculty rate of around 38%. The rest of the faculty are employed part-time.
The university faculty impart their knowledge across several prominent sectors including: Business, Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education & Health among others.
Columbia University Admission 2026
As an Indian student, you can apply to Columbia University by submitting either the Common Application, Coalition Application, or the QuestBridge application. You would have to submit certain personal and academic documents along with the application for the relevant authorities to verify your credentials. As part of the Columbia University Admissions, you would have to pay the Columbia University application fee of around USD 85 (INR 7.5 K) for admission to UG courses, and somewhere between USD 120 and USD 150 (INR 10.6 K and INR 13.3 K) if you're applying to a PG course.
Columbia University Application Deadline 2026
The upcoming deadlines at Columbia are mentioned below:
| Application Type | Application Deadline |
|---|---|
| Regular Decision - PG | Feb 15, 2026 |
| Regular Decision - UG | Early Jan 2027 (Tentative) |
*Some programs may have different deadlines than the ones mentioned above. You're advised to check the deadline for each program via the course page.
Columbia University Eligibility for Indian Students
- Completed Columbia University application
- Official Academic Transcripts
- Prove Verbal and Written English Proficiency
- Personal Essay
- Letters of Recommendation
- A valid passport with passport-sized photos
- USA Student Visa
Columbia University Undergraduate Requirements
Apart from the general requirements above, you'd also have to submit a Class 12th completion certificate and valid scores in either the ACT or the SAT exam. Other than that, you may have to submit a School Profile and any other certifications or achievements of yours, either academic or non-academic.
Columbia University Graduate Requirements
For PG courses, you'd have to submit a Bachelor's degree, with a minimum GPA of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale. Some courses, like the Columbia University MBA, may also ask you to submit valid scores in either the GRE or the GMAT exam. You should maintain a very good non-academic profile to improve your admission chances.
- Application fees :USD 80.4 - 250
- Type of deadline :Depends on course
| Type of documents | Applicable for |
|---|---|
| SOP | Needed for few courses |
| LOR | Needed for few courses |
| Essays | Needed for few courses |
| CV | Needed for few courses |
| Additional documents | Required |
Commonly asked questions On Admissions
Columbia accepts around 4 applications for every 100 it receives. Its acceptance rate was 4.29% for the Class of 2029. NYU accepts twice the number of applications, at an 8% acceptance rate. You would have to work hard to get into either. However, at NYU you have a better chance.
Per an official media release, the Columbia University student population, for the Class of 2029, stands at 2,946 students. The university received a total of 59,616 applications, for admissions to its courses, however, the only the above mentioned number of students secured a seat at the institute.
Columbia UniversityColumbia University Scholarships
Commonly asked questions On Scholarships
Columbia University does not discriminate between domestic and international students. At the university, scholarship application process is the same for all students, regardless of their citizenship or country of residence. International students are advised to check the application instruction for more information on the procedure and requirements for scholarships.
Yes, as an Indian student, if your family's annual income is less than USD 6,000 (INR 5.4 L), you can get a 100% Scholarship at Columbia. Your parents don't need to contribute anything towards your cost of attendance. More information can be found on the scholarships page.
1 USD = INR 89.86
Yes, Columbia University is known to offer athletic scholarships for a number of sports including American Football.
The scholarships are given on the basis of need & overall performance of a student & are available for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NAIA & NJCAA.
As per data curated from unofficial sources, 34% athletes at the university are awarded scholarships.
Yes, just like a domestic student international students can apply for Early Decision for scholarship at Columbia University. However, some international students may fall out of the ‘need-blind’ scholarship category despite of excellent academic record. In such cases, those students will be deferred to Regular Decisions so that Committee on Admissions may review the entire global applicant pool.
Columbia UniversityStudents Ratings & Reviews
- 67% students never faced discrimination in this university
Columbia University Job Outcomes
Columbia University graduates are in very high demand by some of the top companies in the US and abroad. The university saw a higher number of graduates get placed in 2025, compared to 2024. Consulting, Financial Services, Technology, Internet Services, and Real Estate were some of the top industries that offered jobs to students as part of the Columbia University Placements.
Columbia University Placement Rate
92% of the Class of 2025 graduates of the Columbia Business School received job offers after just 3 months of studies. Around 90% of these students accepted the offers. Given below is detailed information about the salary earned by MBA graduates.
| Compensation Type | Percentage of Graduates Who Received | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | 100% | INR 1.57 Cr |
| Signing Bonus | 68.9% | INR 27 Lakhs |
| Other Guaranteed Compensation | 15.5% | INR 28.75 Lakhs |
ROI After Education at Columbia University USA
MBA graduates of Columbia University got twice the return on their investment in tuition fees. Given below is the average salary earned by students in comparison to the initial investment made by them in tuition costs.
|
Course |
Annual Fee |
Salary |
|---|---|---|
|
MBA |
INR 78.6 L |
Median Base Salary: INR 1.57 Cr |
|
Median Signing Bonus: INR 27 Lakhs |
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Top Recruiters
Commonly asked questions On Placements
The highest salary earned by graduates of the Columbia Uni USA is USD 450,000 (INR 4.1 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 1.34 Cr) for the MBA Class of 2025.
1 USD = INR 89.90
FAANG companies, Consultancy firms, Law firms, and Finance giants hire MBA graduates from the Columbia B-School. Given below is a list of some popular names who hired graduates of the Class of 2025.
| Company | Number of Graduates Hired |
|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | 62 |
| Boston Consulting Group | 62 |
| Amazon | 21 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | 24 |
| Bain & Company | 33 |
Consulting, Investment Management, Real Estate, Private Equity, and Investment Banking are the top 5 best paying industries for MBA graduates at Columbia Uni. Given below is the average salary offered by these industries to students.
Industry | the highest Salary offered in USD | the highest Salary offered in INR |
|---|---|---|
Real Estate | USD 450,000 | INR 4.1 Cr |
Private Equity | USD 400,000 | INR 3.6 Cr |
Investment Management | USD 290,000 | INR 2.6 Cr |
Consulting | USD 250,000 | INR 2.25 Cr |
Investment Banking | USD 225,000 | INR 2.02 Cr |
1 USD = INR 89.90
Columbia UniversityStudent profile
Others
58%
Asian
18%
Hispanic
15%
Black
7%
Out of state
63%
In state
19%
Foreign
16%
UG Number of Applicant
Overall Graduation Rate
Columbia UniversityStudying in USA
Key Facts About USA
Insights on education, demographics & weather.Columbia University
Student Forum
Answered 5 days ago
Between Lovely Professional University and Chandigarh University, LPU generally has stronger overall placement volume and a larger number of participating recruiters across CSE, IT, management, and other streams; while both universities attract major IT service companies and some product-based roles
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
Yes, Columbia University offers 9 months-1 year MA programme to international students. Some popular programs are International Affair, Film and Media Studies, Political Science, Psychology in Education, and more. The tuition fees is between INR 21L and INR 69L.
J
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 weeks ago
In the QS rankings for 2026, the University of British Columbia ranking is #40. For the MBA rankings, UBC ranking is #111-120 in 2026. In the Masters in Business Analytics rankings by QS subject rankings, UBC ranks at #32 in 2026.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
In Times Higher Education ranking, UBC ranking is #45 in 2026. A few of the subject rankings in THE rankings are #52 for Arts and Humanities, #36 for Business and Economics, #31 for Medical and Health, #46 for Engineering in 2026. In the QS rankings, UBC is ranked at #40 in 2026.
G
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, for 2025, the Columbia Business School saw its MBA graduates accept full time positions with 346 organizations worldwide. Moreover, more than 200 employers hired CBS MBAs for the first time. Of the 92% students who received a job offer, 90% accepted a job role within 3 months.
R
Contributor-Level 10
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