Columbia Engineering graduates wave inflatable hammers at Class Day and Commencement outside Butler Library.

At A Glance

At Columbia Engineering, we have an ambitious vision for excellence and impact. On this page, we’ve assembled some numbers that help you see in concrete terms where we are as an institution and what we are accomplishing together. 

The School

  • Founded in 1864, the nation’s third-oldest engineering school
  • 270 full-time faculty
  • 26 National Academy and American Academy of Arts and Sciences members
  • Nine departments:
    • Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics
    • Biomedical Engineering
    • Chemical Engineering
    • Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics
    • Computer Science
    • Earth & Environmental Engineering
    • Electrical Engineering
    • Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
    • Mechanical Engineering
  • 1,700 undergraduate students
  • 1,800 master’s level students
  • 850 doctoral students
  • 17 areas of undergraduate study with 15 minors
  • 24 master’s and 13  doctoral programs on campus 
  • 21 master’s and 3 doctoral programs offered through the Columbia Video Network

View Academic Programs

Research 

  • $120 million in research center funding in the past two years
  • 28 research centers
  • Cross-disciplinary research through the Data Science Institute, The Climate School, Columbia Nano Initiative, Precision Medicine Initiative, and Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute
  • Joint programs with Medicine, Science, Policy, Statistics, Journalism, and Business
  • New Centers in AI, Climate Modeling, Smart Streetscapes, Digital Finance and Technologies, Business Analytics, Energy, and Neuroscience of Decision Making
  • $26 million National Science Foundation grant for the Center for Smart Streetscapes
  • $25 million in funding for Learning the Earth with Artificial Intelligence and Physics (LEAP), an NSF Science and Technology Center
  • 18 foundational areas of research including robotics, quantum computing, materials, genomics, fintech, carbon capture, and artificial intelligence

Learn More About Research

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

  • 57+ faculty startups in the past 10 years, including Singular Genomics, Trident Desal, and Voyant
  • 100+ industry partners sponsoring research, including Amazon, IBM, and Google
  • 412+ patents issued in past 10 years
  • MixComm, 5G communication startup, acquired for $155 million
  • An ecosystem of innovation: Columbia Makerspace, Columbia Startup Lab, senior design projects, human-centered design curriculum
  • Recent student-led startups include Kinnos, creator of visible disinfectants, and Surplex VR tracking shoes
  • Supported by Columbia Technology Ventures, Columbia Engineering Entrepreneurship, and Columbia Entrepreneurship

Go to Innovation, Design & Entrepreneurship

Alumni & Outcomes

  • 49,000+ alumni worldwide
  • Top employers: Microsoft, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Meta, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, IBM, PwC
  • Recent awards: Fulbright, Marshall Scholars, Goldwater Scholars, Schwarzman Scholars, NSF Graduate Research Fellows, Rhodes China Scholars, Forbes 30 Under 30, and MIT Tech Review Innovators Under 35

Learn More About Alumni