Academic-diversity

“Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let’s go into this with a powerful collective intention.” Alexandra Watson, a First-Year Writing lecturer at Barnard, said as she led a Zoom call in a breathing exercise. With its participants newly focused, the Cite Black Barnard Faculty Cite-a-Thon began.

If you’ve just completed your undergraduate degree or are currently pursuing it, it’s never too late (or early!) to consider graduate school. In the face of Columbia’s whopping 17 graduate schools, each with its own set of unique requirements and degrees, choosing the right program might feel like an overwhelming decision. To help you through your selection process, Spectrum has answered your most pressing questions and compiled a guide to every Columbia graduate school.

Mary Boyce, the first female dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, will serve as Columbia’s chief academic officer starting in July, University President Lee Bollinger announced in an email Wednesday afternoon. She will be the first woman to serve as provost in University history.

Columbia College and School of General Studies students will be able to pass/D/fail one fall semester class without restriction until the end of the term and withdraw from courses till Dec. 14, according to a statement released by Columbia College Dean of Academic Affairs Lisa Hollibaugh on Nov. 18. The announcement followed a similar statement made by the School of Engineering and Applied Science earlier this week.

First off, congratulations on getting in! You’ve done all the grunt work, and now you can look to your bright, exciting future here. Along with the potential for a varied college experience, transferring to a new school comes with a new set of academic requirements that are important to consider before you begin your year. 

As the coronavirus began to spread across the United States a few months ago, Columbia students left campus knowing that the next academic year will be far from conventional. With the release of University President Lee Bollinger’s and Barnard President Sian Beilock’s emails to students this afternoon, we now have a better picture of what this new year will look like. Here are our main takeaways.

As fears of the growing COVID-19 outbreak spread across the nation, universities have moved to cancel study abroad programs, impose travel restrictions over spring break, and heavily limit organized campus events and gatherings. Many of Columbia’s peers, including Harvard, Cornell, and Amherst, have informed students that they should not return following spring break, although they have provided little information on accommodations for students with financial insecurity or who live with those in high risk of contracting the virus.