The Columbia College curriculum and its academic policies are determined by the following faculty committees:

Committee on Instruction

The undergraduate curriculum for Columbia College, and all attendant policies, are governed by the Committee on Instruction (COI), a joint committee of Columbia College and the School of General Studies. The COI reviews and approves all new courses which CC and GS students can take for degree credit; reviews and approves all new programs of studies (majors and other formal programs of study) as well as all changes to existing programs of study; and determines academic policies that structure the undergraduate academic experience. The COI is composed of twelve faculty members (four from each of the three academic divisions), as well as school faculty representatives from Barnard, Engineering, and the School of the Arts. The COI also has four student representatives, and is supported by the academic deans and several administrators from the College and GS. Questions for the COI can be sent to cc-gs-courses@columbia.edu.

Committee on Instruction Members: 2024-2025

• Co-Chair: Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
• Co-Chair: Lisa Rosen-Metsch, dean of School of General Studies
• Rachel Adams, Department of English and Comparative Literature
• Matthew Engelke, Department of Religion
• Dorothea Lasky, School of the Arts
• Barclay Morrison, Department of Biomedical Engineering; vice dean of Undergraduate Programs, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Meredith Nettles, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Caterina Pizzigoni, Department of History
• Laurie Postlewate, Barnard College
• Teresa Sharpe, Department of Sociology
• [other members TBA]

Student Representatives:

• TBA

Ex-Officio:

• Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
• Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, School of General Studies
• Andrew Plaa, dean of Advising, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering
• Marlyn Delva, dean of Students, School of General Studies
• Amy Kohn, senior associate director, Academic Affairs, Columbia College
• Mandeep Singh, assistant director, Academic Affairs, School of General Studies

Newly Approved Courses

The following new courses have been approved for Spring 2024. As new courses are added to the list frequently, please visit this site for updates. Additional courses and major/concentration requirements may be found in the Columbia College Bulletin.

Spring 2024 Last updated November 20, 2023.

Committee on the Core

The Committee on the Core (CoC) is the main consultative body for the curriculum of the Core, for the policies that govern the Core, and for certain operations involved in the mounting of the Core. The CoC is convened by the Dean of Columbia College and is composed of the faculty Chairs of each of the “shared” Core courses — i.e., those with a shared curriculum across all sections: Art Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Frontiers of Science, Literature Humanities, and Music Humanities – as well as the Director of University Writing, the Director of Frontiers of Science, and the Chair of the Committee on the Global Core. The CoC also has three student representatives from the College and General Studies each year, and is supported by administrators from the College and General Studies. Questions for the Committee on the Core can be sent to core-curriculum@columbia.edu.

Committee on the Core Members: 2024-2025

• Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
• Ruben Gonzalez, Department Chemistry, chair of Frontiers of Science
• Joseph Howley, Department of Classics, chair of Literature Humanities
• Ivana Nikolic Hughes, director of Frontiers of Science
• Carol Rovane, Department of Philosophy, chair of Contemporary Civilization
• Benjamin Steege, Department of Music, chair of Music Humanities
• Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Department of Art History and Archaeology, chair of Art Humanities
• Nicole Wallack, Department of English and Comparative Literature, director of the Undergraduate Writing Program

Student Representatives:

• TBA

Ex-Officio:

• Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
• Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, School of General Studies
• Larry Jackson, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
• Christine Butcher, associate director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
• Scott Harris, assistant director of the Center for the Core Curriculum

Committee on the Global Core

The Committee on the Global Core (CoGC) is responsible for all matters relating to the Global Core requirement, including determining the list of courses approved for the requirement. The CoGC is chaired by a faculty member and is composed of 6-10 faculty members from departments and programs across the humanities, all of whom have experience in designing courses for the specific parameters and goals of the Global Core requirement. The CoGC also includes two student representatives from the College and General Studies, and is supported by administrators from General Studies and the College. Questions for the Committee on the Global Core can be sent to globalcore@columbia.edu.

Faculty interested in proposing new courses for the Global Core requirement can view information regarding the process.

Committee on the Global Core Members: 2024-2025

• Chair: TBA
• Courtney Bender, Department of Religion
• Kevin Fellezs, Department of Music and Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies
• Frank Guridy, Department of History and Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies
• Mana Kia, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
• Matthew McKelway, Department of Art History and Archaeology

Student Representatives:

• TBA

Ex-Officio:

• Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
• Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
• Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, General Studies
• Shannon Marquez, dean of Undergradauate Global Engagement
• Larry Jackson, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
• Mandeep Singh, assistant director of Academic Affairs, General Studies

Committee on Science Instruction

The Committee on Science Instruction (CoSI) is responsible for all matters relating to the Science requirement and for providing leadership on matters related to undergraduate science education. CoSI is chaired by a faculty member and is composed of representative faculty members from each department in the natural sciences, as well as mathematics, statistics, and computer science. CoSI also includes two student representatives from the College and General Studies, and is supported by administrators from the College and General Studies. Questions for CoSI can be sent to cosi@columbia.edu.

Committee on Science Instruction Members: 2024-2025

• James Applegate, Department of Astronomy
• Maria Diuk-Wasser, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
• Julien Dubedat, Department of Mathematics
• Ruben Gonzalez, Frontiers of Science, chair of the Committee on Science Instruction
• Brian Borowski, Department of Computer Science
• Batricia Lindemann, Department of Psychology
• Bärbel Hönisch, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Angelo Cacciuto, Department of Chemistry
• Kerstin Perez, Department of Physics
• Carol Prives, Department of Biological Sciences
• Gabriel Young, Department of Statistics

Student Representatives:

• TBA

Ex-Officio:

• Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
• Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
• Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, General Studies
• John Foo, senior assistant director of Center for Teaching & Learning
• Ivana Nikolic Hughes, director of Frontiers of Science
• Larry Jackson, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
• Amy Kohn, senior associate director, Academic Affairs, Columbia College

Student representatives to the undergraduate curriculum committees

Each of the undergraduate curriculum committees includes 1-2 student representatives from Columbia College who serve on the committees for a full academic year. Student representatives are current juniors or seniors of the College who can bring to bear their experiences to date of the Core Curriculum and of their major programs of study, as well as the many conversations they have had with their peers throughout their years at Columbia. While students are not voting members of the committees, they play a crucial role in advising faculty members on the student experience of the curriculum and in presenting to faculty members the typical questions and concerns of undergraduate students.

Apply to be a student representative

Columbia College students who are interested in serving as a student representative on a curriculum committee should write to cc-academic@columbia.edu with the following information:

1. What is your name, your class year, your major field(s) of study, your uni, and your email address?
2. Why are you interested in serving on a curriculum committee? What are you hoping to learn more about from the committee discussions? What are you hoping to share with faculty committee members?
3. Which committees committees are of particular interest to you, and why? And for those committees that deal with a particular piece of the undergraduate curriculum (the Core, the Global Core requirement, the Science requirement), what have been your chief impressions of that part of the curriculum so far?
4. What initial questions do you have about the work of the undergraduate curriculum committees?

• Please note: In order to serve on a particular curriculum committee in the 2024-2025 academic year, students must be available to meet in person at the scheduled meeting times (with the understanding that it might be necessary to miss an occasional meeting if there is an academic conflict):
  • Committee on Instruction: every Friday morning from 10:00 to 11:30am in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters
  • Committee on the Core: Fall 2024 meetings: September 25, 10:00-11:30am; October 30, 1:30-3:00pm; November 22, 12:00-1:30pm; December 13, 12:00-1:30pm
  • Committee on the Global Core: Fall 2024 meetings to be scheduled
  • Committee on Science Instruction: Fall 2024 meetings to be scheduled

Interviews for student representatives are held early in the Fall semester, and students who are selected are expected to serve as a representative for the full academic year.