• A Message From The Deans
• Mission of the School
• About the School and University
• Undergraduate Studies
• Graduate Studies
• Faculty Administration
• Departments and Academic Programs
• Undergraduate Minors
• Interdisiplinary Courses and Courses in Other Divsions of the University
• Campus and Student Life
  • Campus Life
  • Student Services
• Scholarships, Fellowships, Awards, and Prizes
• University and School Policies Procedures, and Regulations
• Directory of University Resources

Campus Life

The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science attracts and admits an exceptionally interesting, diverse, and multicultural group of students, and it takes steps to provide a campus environment that promotes the continued expansion of each student’s ideas and perspectives. Starting with the residence halls, in which nearly all first-year undergraduate students live, the University assigns rooms to both Engineering and Columbia College undergraduate students, ensuring that all students will live either with or near a student attending the other program.

Once students have moved into their new campus home they will find themselves part of a residential system that offers undergraduates a network of social and academic support. Designed to make students aware of the vast number of social and academic opportunities available to them at the University, these networks provide an umbrella of comprehensive advising to help students articulate and realize their goals while at Columbia. More information about the residence halls can be found in the chapter ‘‘Housing and Residence Life’’ in this bulletin.

Division of Student Affairs Office

Undergraduate life is not confined to the classroom. A blend of academic, educational, social, and cocurricular activities contributes to the Columbia experience. While The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science is large enough to support a wide variety of programs, it is also small enough to promote the close interaction among students, faculty, and administration that has created a strong sense of community on campus.

With its mission of providing a wide range of services designed to enhance the student experience from the time of admission through graduation, the Division of Student Affairs Office is the hub of undergraduate student life. Admissions, Financial Aid and Educational Financing, Center for Student Advising, Residential Programs, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Parent and Family Programs, Office of Judicial Affairs, Events and Communications, Student Development and Activities, and Office of Student Group Advising are integral components of the Office, and the integrated effort of these units assures that individual students receive support in both their academic and cocurricular pursuits. The Division of Student Affairs Office is responsible for assisting students in all matters beyond actual course instruction and helping to create a special spirit and sense of community for students.

Center for Student Advising

The Center for Student Advising reflects the mission of the University in striving to support and challenge the intellectual and personal growth of its students and by creating a developmental, diverse, and open learning environment. Individually and collaboratively, each center:

• provides individual and group academic advisement, exploration, and counseling
• provides information on preprofessional studies, study abroad, and major declaration and completion, as well as various leadership, career, graduate school, and research opportunities; refers to additional campus resources
• designs and facilitates programming to meet the unique developmental needs of each class and to enhance community among students, faculty, and administrators • interprets and disseminates information regarding University polices, procedures, resources, and programs
• educates and empowers students to take responsibility in making informed decisions

Each student is assigned to an advising dean who will work with him or her during the undergraduate years. When a student declares a major, a faculty member is appointed to guide him or her for the next two years. Advising deans regularly refer students to their academic departments to receive coordinated expert advice in their engineering course selections.

Preprofessional Advising

The Office of Preprofessional Advising works closely with the Center for Student Advising and with the Center for Career Education to provide information for students who plan a career in law or the health professions. The Office advises and assists students throughout their four years, but works most closely with students during their application year and with alumni who apply for admission after graduation. Information sheets, forms, and helpful resources are available in the Office of Preprofessional Advising. Students will work with their advising deans as primary preprofessional advisers; these advisers will be instrumental in writing committee evaluations for some professional schools.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The Community Development team works to foster a vibrant and welcoming undergraduate community through organizational advising, leadership development, advocacy, diversity education, civic engagement, and community programming. The team includes the Office of Student Development and Activities, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office of Student Group Advising, and the Office of Residential Programs. Knowing that students’ learning continues beyond the classroom, Columbia University strongly encourages students to become involved in programs and activities to enhance their educational experience and personal growth. A wide array of student organizations addresses both student interests and professional concerns, including the arts, politics, identity, culture, and religion. Joining such groups offers an exciting and dynamic opportunity to develop leadership skills that will serve students well throughout their lives.

Student Organizations

Programs and activities at Columbia are shaped primarily by students who assume leadership and volunteer positions in hundreds of organizations across the campus. The Engineering Student Council and its associated class councils are the elected representative body of undergraduates with The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. Its members represent student interests on committees and projects addressing a wide range of issues facing the Columbia community and help shape the quality of life for Columbia students.

Working in conjunction with the Student Council, the Activities Board at Columbia (ABC), Student Governing Board (SGB), Inter-Greek Council (IGC), Community Impact (CI), Club Sports, and InterSchool Governing Board (IGB) oversee the management and funding of over 300 student organizations.

The ABC provides governance for over 160 recognized student organizations, including cultural organizations, performance-based and theatrical groups, media and publications groups, competition and special interests groups and preprofessional organizations and societies. The preprofessional organizations and societies are of special interest to engineering students. These societies reflect the range of academic disciplines and interests to be found among students and include the Asian-American Society of Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Biomedical Engineering Society, just to name a few.

The SGB provides governance for approximately 100 recognized student organizations that are faith-based, spiritual, political, activist, and humanitarian and that encourage open interreligious and political dialogue at Columbia University’s Morningside Campus. The InterSchool Governing Board recognizes student organizations whose membership is open and spans among the
various undergraduate and graduate schools.

For more information on IGC see Residential Programs, below. For more information on Club Sports see Intercollegiate Athletics Program (page 208), and for more information on Community Impact see Office of the University Chaplain (page 207). All the governing groups provide networking and leadership and professional development for students.

Columbia University graduate students can participate in and enjoy hundreds of diverse, University-affiliated social, religious, cultural, academic,
athletic, political, literary, professional, public service, and other organizations. At SEAS, graduate students are encouraged to become active members of the Engineering Graduate Student Council (EGSC). The EGSC is a recognized group that consists of representatives from each of the nine academic departments at SEAS. The objectives of the EGSC are to foster interaction among graduate engineering students, to serve as a voice for graduate engineering students, and to sponsor social and educational events of interest to the graduate engineering community.

Office of Student Development and Activities

The Office of Student Development and Activities (SDA) provides programs and services designed to support a wide range of co-curricular activities that help build a sense of community, support responsible student governance and student group management, and further students’ leadership development and personal growth.

Student Development and Activities staff members advise all student organizations recognized through the Activities Board of Columbia (ABC), as well as the student governments of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and Columbia College. SDA serves as resources for event planning, organizational leadership, and budgeting. The Office of Student Development and Activities offers leadership training workshops and helps networking among student leaders and administrative offices. In addition, the SDA administers the Urban New York Program, the New Student Orientation Program, the Columbia Urban Experience Program, and the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program.

Orientation

All new students are required to participate in an Orientation program that is designed to acquaint them with the University and its traditions, the administration and faculty of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, upperclass students, and New York City. The New Student Orientation Program (NSOP) for new undergraduate students begins the week prior to the start of the fall semester. NSOP is intended to assist all new students with the transition to college life.

Orientation is busy, exciting, and a lot of fun, but it is also a week in which important academic decisions are made. Scheduled into the program are information sessions and opportunities to meet with academic advisers. Through large group programs and small group activities, students will be introduced to faculty members, deans, resident advisers, and other students. NSOP includes walking tours of New York City, social events, and information sessions on University services and co-curricular opportunities. During NSOP, new students have the campus to themselves. This provides students with a unique opportunity to make friends and settle into life at Columbia before classes begin.

Undergraduate students may e-mail nsop@columbia.edu or call 212-854-5808 for additional information on NSOP.

Orientation for graduate students is scheduled during the week prior to the beginning of each semester. For more information on orientation for graduate students, contact the Office of Graduate Student Services.

Office of Student Group Advising

The Office of Student Group Advising (OSGA) is committed to supporting the programming of our faith-based, spiritual, political, activist, and humanitarian student organizations. In reaching to fulfill this commitment, OSGA provides programming in leadership skills, program development, and organizational management to all undergraduate student organizations recognized by the Student Governing Board (SGB) and organizations recognized by the Interschool Governing Board (IGB). OSGA assists students in their development as individuals, community members, and leaders.

Issues of social responsibility and civic engagement are central to the mission of OSGA and the student organizations that OSGA supports. OSGA strives to encourage open dialogue at Columbia University’s Morningside Campus and seeks to find connections among student groups. The Office of Student Group Advising works to enhance the undergraduate educational experience by fostering a dynamic and enriching University community, supporting responsible student governance and co-curricular activities. Through advising, the office encourages critical thinking and the free exchange of ideas by all of the student organizations it supports.

Office of Multicultural Affairs

The Office of Multicultural Affairs is devoted to promoting a just society and exploring issues of interculturalism and diversity within and beyond the Columbia University community. By promoting forums that address diversity issues, self-discovery takes place along with a greater awareness and appreciation of cultural history within and between communities on campus. We endeavor to empower students, faculty, and staff with the tools to be able to successfully navigate their environments and thus be able to positively change and impact the community at large.

Programs and services provided by Multicultural Affairs include Student and Alumni Mentoring Programs; Respecting Ourselves and Others Through Education (ROOTED), a peer diversity faciliation program; Dessert and Discussion, the signature lecture series; and the Inter-cultural House (ICH), a unique residential experience that is supportive of Multi-cultural Affairs’ goals.

Residential Programs

The Residential Programs staff, supervised by the Assistant Dean/Director of Residential Programs and consisting of professional staff and graduates students as well as selected undergraduates, contributes to the growth, well-being, and personal and intellectual development of students. The Residential Programs staff strives to enhance the quality of residential life by cultivating an atmosphere conducive to educational pursuits and the development of community within the student body. These contributions form an integral part of a Columbia education by stimulating mutual understanding and by fostering an atmosphere based on the appreciation of the differences and similarities characterizing such a diverse cultural community.

The undergraduate student staff, resident advisers (RAs), and community program assistants (CPAs) serve as role models for their residents. They facilitate discussions about community standards, provide community building programs, and serve as a resource for the residents of their floors and buildings. They are available to assist and respond to the variety of issues and incidents that emerge in a residential community. Additionally, RAs/CPAs serve as the front line of a layered on-call system. As backup, they have graduate assistants (GAs), associate directors (ADs), and a dean-on-duty.

The well-known and highly successful program of Faculty-in-Residence allows students, alumni, and faculty to meet formally and informally throughout the year for conversations, guest speakers, and other activities. These faculty members live in several of the residence halls throughout the year, establishing mentorships with residents that often endure long after graduation. Resident professors invite students to dine in their apartments; organize special programs around issues of interest; provide opportunities for academic growth and challenges within the residence halls; and help students establish links with major cultural, political, and professional institutions in New York City.

Begun in fall 2006, the Gateway Residential Initiative allows SEAS first-years, sophomores, juniors, and seniors to live together clustered in the Hartley and Wallach Living Learning Center (LLC). This initiative seeks to bridge the academic and co-curricular experience for SEAS students. Mentorship between students, connection among the class years, and alumni interaction are the foundations for the success of the program.

Fraternities and Sororities

Columbia has a diverse Greek system that includes fourteen men’s fraternities, one coed society, and four National Pan-Hellenic conference sororities. Many of the organizations have brownstones near the campus and most of the organizations without brownstones have a suite within the residence halls. There is a full-time Assistant Director for Greek Life and Leadership.

The Office of Judicial Affairs

Office of the University Chaplain

The Office of the University Chaplain is located in the Earl Hall Center and includes the United Campus Ministries, the Common Meal Program, and “Music at St. Paul’s.” The mission of the Center is to build community within the University and with its neighbors while providing students with an opportunity to explore the relationship between faith and learning. The Center is as diverse as the university it serves. United Campus Ministries, which includes denominations of Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Eastern practices, provides students with individual counseling, religious and nonreligious group support, referrals, and personal assistance.

The University Chaplain is the director of the Earl Hall Center. As University Chaplain, Jewelnel Davis supports the coherence and unity that connects the University. She focuses on a nexus of issues including religion, spirituality, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, gender, social justice, and community service.

One point of focus for Chaplain Davis is accessibility to students. Students often e-mail her, make appointments with her individually or in groups, or speak with the chaplain associates or program coordinators—student liaisons who work directly with Chaplain Davis on student programming initiatives. The Common Meal Program is a weekly gathering to which student leaders from Columbia College, Barnard, SEAS, General Studies, and the graduate schools are invited along with faculty and senior administrators to discuss ideas and opinions about Columbia’s past, present, and future.

In addition to student programming, community service is also a main function of the Center. As a center for all undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools at Columbia, the Earl Hall Center offers any student a number of great opportunities. Columbia University’s largest community service program, Community Impact, which is located in the Earl Hall Center, involves more than 900 student and neighborhood volunteers in twenty-six programs, including GED, Earth Coalition, Peace Games, a soup kitchen, and student help for the aging.

Besides Earl Hall, the Center includes St. Paul’s Chapel. One of Columbia’s oldest and most beautiful buildings, the Chapel not only hosts weddings and various religious services, but also features many speakers and performances. The Postcrypt Coffeehouse at St. Paul’s Chapel is a favorite spot for artists to play music, read poetry, or exhibit artwork.

The administrative offices for the Center are open during regular business hours, but the buildings have more extensive hours—as late as 11:00 p.m. on weekends. For more information, please call the Earl Hall Center at 212-854-1474 or 212-854-6242.

Lerner Hall

Columbia’s new student center, Lerner Hall, officially opened in the fall of 1999. Located on the southwest corner of campus, this 225,000-square-foot student center was designed by Bernard Tschumi, the former Dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Architectural features of Lerner Hall, such as the glass facade and ramps, allow the campus to clearly view the activities within the building, and offer those within Lerner scenic views of the campus.

Undergraduate students are likely to visit Lerner to check the mail from the 7,000 student mailboxes located along the ramps. Students may check their e-mail in Lerner’s computer center or by plugging in their laptop computers at one of Lerner’s Ethernet-outfitted lounges. Students will also visit Lerner to interact with one another in various ways. They may strategize and plan events with their student organizations in one of the student club offices, or in the meeting rooms designated for student club usage. Students may also meet friends in one of Lerner’s two dining locations, for an event in the auditorium, in various lounges, or in one of the building’s multipurpose spaces that are ideal for exercise classes.

In addition to providing spaces for student interaction, Lerner is home to the Columbia University Bookstore. Lerner also features retail services, including a travel agency, a copy center, and an electronic banking center. Included in the building are orchestra/band rehearsal and art exhibition spaces, and various administrative offices (Student Affairs, Student Services, Residential Programs, Judicial Affairs, Multicultural Affairs, Center for Student Advising, Financial Aid, and Educational Financing). These offices also include Student Development and Activities, the Double Discovery Center, Columbia TV, WKCR, Disability Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Columbia’s Alice! The Health Education Program.

Office of Graduate Student Services

Intercollegiate Athletics Program

Columbia has a long tradition of success in intercollegiate athletics, and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science has always been an active participant in these programs. While Columbia’s intercollegiate athletic program is governed by Ivy League regulations, Columbia is also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Columbia sponsors men’s varsity teams in baseball, basketball, cross-country, fencing, football, golf, rowing (heavyweight and lightweight), soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and wrestling.

Women in all undergraduate divisions of Columbia and in Barnard College compete together as members of University-wide athletic teams. The arrangement, called a consortium under NCAA rules, is one of only three in the nation and the only one on a Division I level. Currently, there are women’s varsity teams in archery, basketball, cross-country, fencing, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball.

Columbia’s commitment to success in intercollegiate sporting competition has been matched by the determination of alumni and administrators to upgrade the University’s sports facilities. The Baker Field Athletic Center, a few miles up the Hudson River on the northern tip of Manhattan, has been completely rebuilt and expanded. The Center features a precast concrete football stadium capable of seating 17,000 spectators; an Olympic-quality synthetic track; a 3,500-seat soccer stadium; softball and baseball fields; and an Astroturf field hockey field. At the Columbia Tennis Center near the Baker Field Athletic Center, Columbia maintains six hard tennis courts, which are covered by an air dome for winter use. The 1929 Boathouse includes a three-bay shell house, complete with an upper level that includes an erg and weight room.

Columbia’s Dodge Physical Fitness Center draws thousands of students each day for recreation, physical education classes, intramural play, club competition, and varsity sport contests and practices. The Dodge Center houses most indoor sports and is available to all registered students. Major athletic facilities on campus include two full-sized gymnasiums for basketball, volleyball, and badminton; twelve squash and handball courts; the eight-lane Uris pool with three diving boards; a fully equipped three-level exercise and weight room facility; two aerobic dance/martial arts rooms; a fencing room; a wrestling room; an indoor running track; two fully equipped saunas.

Eligibility for Intercollegiate Athletics

Any student in the Engineering School who is pursuing the undergraduate program or a combined program toward a first degree is eligible for intercollegiate athletics. To be eligible for athletic activities, the student must:

• be a candidate for a bachelor’s degree
• be registered for at least 12 points of credit
• make appropriate progress toward the degree as defined by the NCAA, the Ivy League, and Columbia University. These criteria are monitored by the Director of Compliance and certified by the Office of the Registrar.
• have attended the University for not more than eight terms
• not have completed the requirements for the bachelor’s degree

Questions about athletic eligibility should be referred to the appropriate academic adviser or the Director of Compliance in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education.

Recreational Programs

Campus Safety and Security

At Columbia University, the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff is a priority. Columbia’s campuses and their environs are safe and have a very low crime rate for an urban university.

The University is required by federal law to publish an annual security report containing information with respect to campus security policies and statistics on the incidence of certain crimes on and around our campuses. This information is available at the Web site for the United States Department of Education (ope.ed.gov/Security/search.asp); by requesting a copy of the report from: Campus Crime Report, Department of Public Safety, Columbia University, 111 Low Library, Mail Code 4301, 535 West 116th Street, New York, NY 10027 (Attn: Mr. Rocco Osso); or at the Web site for Public Safety (www.columbia.edu/cu/publicsafety).