Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY · Private nonprofit · 8,973 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$85 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$4,570
$30,000 – $48,000	$2,275
$48,000 – $75,000	$5,866
$75,000 – $110,000	$11,782
Over $110,000	$50,621
All incomes (average)	$21,590

Sticker tuition and fees: $71,845 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Columbia University in the City of New York's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$18,680
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$20,322
Books and supplies	$1,282
Other expenses, on campus	$1,804
Other expenses, off campus	$2,848

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,494 of them) in 2022–23; 56% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	52%	$65,173
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	22%	$5,747
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	51%	$61,951
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	6%	$5,103

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1553
Median ACT: 35
Students with Pell grants: 23%
Graduation rate (6yr): 96%
Freshman retention: 98%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $102,491
Median debt at graduation: $21,500
International undergrads: 1,756 (19.3%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $85
Students per faculty member: 6 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 43%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 740–780
SAT Math: 770–800
ACT composite: 34–35

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Required
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Considered if submitted
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 57,613
Admitted: 2,439
Enrolled: 1,540

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Social Sciences27%

Computer Science16%

Engineering12%

Biology & Life Sciences7%

English & Literature5%

Visual & Performing Arts5%

Psychology5%

Mathematics & Statistics5%

History4%

Physics & Chemistry3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (28)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Computer Science	449	$135,612	$188,265national $107,009	$16,500
Economics	312	$97,674	$137,710national $82,686	$19,698
Political Science and Government	225	$72,705	$100,245national $63,293	$21,500
Research and Experimental Psychology	153	$57,188	$86,946national $55,695	$31,181
History	122	$58,276	$98,079national $50,680	$22,250
English Language and Literature, General	108	$50,370	$59,396national $48,590	$18,971
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	105	$39,186	$70,244national $62,451	$18,442
Visual and Performing Arts, Other	94	$48,217	$46,535national $47,629	$27,000
Mathematics	91	$55,980	$117,252national $69,562	—
Mechanical Engineering	81	$92,862	$111,491national $92,135	$10,275
Area Studies	63	$56,970	$96,884national $56,625	$18,000
Biology, General	62	$44,866	$53,698national $57,214	$22,250
Sociology	57	$59,638	$101,536national $52,657	$20,750
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	55	—	—national $93,451	$11,500
Philosophy	53	$49,361	$56,885national $54,455	$16,000
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	51	$44,703	$47,702national $48,471	$35,252
Operations Research	50	$125,285	$167,572national $122,531	—
Statistics	45	$98,912	—national $92,425	—
Sustainability Studies	45	$80,080	$85,545national $57,887	$27,000
Social Sciences, Other	41	$45,369	$65,085national $56,812	$19,500
Anthropology	31	—	$83,493national $46,676	$25,000
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	29	$26,913	—national $60,190	—
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	28	$63,128	$55,472national $51,710	$17,750
Computer Engineering	25	—	$194,365national $109,015	—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	24	—	$143,332national $100,647	—
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	22	$49,430	—national $55,000	—
Civil Engineering	18	—	$108,246national $86,517	—
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	2	—	$99,679national $53,072	$21,500

Master's degrees (47)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	1,677	$215,957	$116,859national $124,807	$105,581
Computer and Information Sciences, General	739	$133,400	$150,951national $124,201	$60,500
Social Work	546	$64,626	$75,980national $65,123	$66,998
Statistics	438	$100,892	$167,848national $123,816	—
Public Administration	409	$94,158	$115,874national $81,408	$61,500
Computer Science	403	$180,031	—national $145,571	$41,000
Public Health	350	$77,407	$98,728national $82,751	$66,000
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies	337	$101,570	—national $101,000	—
Operations Research	326	—	—national $161,561	$50,215
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	307	$130,699	$142,412national $120,193	$114,333
Sustainability Studies	273	$93,339	$123,641national $76,897	$61,500
International Relations and National Security Studies	266	$88,603	$107,574national $95,627	$93,000
Architectural Sciences and Technology	259	$71,907	$83,355national $77,466	$107,000
Journalism	230	$61,586	$78,880national $69,034	$61,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	224	$126,706	$152,001national $133,654	—
Social Sciences, General	185	—	—national $65,443	$80,500
Data Analytics	184	—	—	$56,313
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	183	$82,308	$108,698national $82,527	$70,167
Mechanical Engineering	144	$107,343	$137,970national $115,974	$50,347
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	143	$94,670	—national $106,375	$65,131
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	131	$120,402	$166,264national $110,121	$50,682
Civil Engineering	127	$83,275	$111,924national $98,323	$41,000
Chemical Engineering	122	—	$114,037national $115,468	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	114	$48,535	$53,592national $55,035	$74,821
Real Estate Development	108	$122,218	$144,863national $124,997	$121,189
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	99	$37,896	$56,444national $51,486	$125,000
Health and Medical Administrative Services	92	$96,229	$144,395national $89,981	$70,027
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	89	$151,659	—national $121,855	$76,495
Nutrition Sciences	88	$51,966	$79,247national $67,126	$78,677
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	69	$46,694	$57,723national $49,978	$127,000
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	64	$88,778	$107,139national $62,033	$61,500
History	61	—	$72,306national $55,360	—
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	58	$85,714	$93,415national $79,665	$137,955
Communication and Media Studies	58	$93,048	$120,003national $71,953	—
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	55	$75,506	$98,458national $74,607	$41,000
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	53	$82,307	$84,917national $71,416	$102,784
Area Studies	51	$62,498	$81,697national $68,936	$60,500
Political Science and Government	49	$58,969	—national $78,850	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	49	$85,220	$251,708national $103,485	$66,057
Human Resources Management and Services	48	$126,350	—national $83,558	—
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	47	$64,839	—national $100,487	$98,750
Social Sciences, Other	42	$70,973	$87,609national $64,286	$78,005
Dispute Resolution	29	—	$73,611national $74,725	—
Visual and Performing Arts, Other	28	$29,411	$21,409national $56,099	$50,945
Historic Preservation and Conservation	26	—	$70,565national $64,496	—
Construction Management	25	$114,495	$120,469national $112,166	—
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	9	$236,233	—national $235,700	—

First professional degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	523	$226,792	$308,943national $107,773	$204,847
Medicine	142	$79,570	$106,442national $112,460	$90,371
Dentistry	97	$81,345	$182,326national $170,812	$380,644
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	79	$86,090	$92,870national $81,641	$152,839

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	7	$136,888	$164,885national $138,131	$191,264

Graduate certificates (6)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Public Health	258	$76,457	$99,797national $88,684	$66,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	81	—	—national $126,911	$181,005
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	72	$73,138	$102,199national $95,414	$74,888
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	47	$206,235	$220,151national $207,164	—
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	42	$90,552	—national $117,834	$89,151
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies	36	—	$312,330national $114,740	—

Post-baccalaureate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	—	—	—national $71,215	$25,000

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 251 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: West 116 St and Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Phone: (212) 854-1754
Institutional accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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