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 study (majors, minors, and special programs) as well as all changes to existing programs of study; and determines academic policies that structure the undergraduate academic experience. The COI is co-chaired by the Deans of Columbia College and The School of General Studies and 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 from CC and GS each year, and is supported by the academic deans and certain administrators from CC 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
- Sunil Gulati, Department of Economics
- Sarah Hansen, Department of Chemistry
- Dorothea Lasky, School of the Arts
- Jeffrey Lax, Department of Political Science
- 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
Student Representatives:
- Ronil Awalegaonkar CC'25
- Sarah Bryden CC'26
- Durga Chaloli GS'25
- Christopher Sizemore GS'25
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 2025 and Fall 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 2025 Last updated September 27, 2024.
DEPARTMENT/PROGRAM | COURSE NO. & DESIGNATOR | TITLE | |
Art History | AHIS UN3402 | Introduction to Design History | |
Comparative Literature and Society | CPLS GU4545 | Wittgenstein in the Machine | |
Comparative Literature and Society | CPLS GU4825 | Technology and Justice | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3437 | John Keats | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3438 | Archives and Afterlives in Postcolonial Texts | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3439 | Afro-Asian Literary Imaginaries | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3432 | Places for Poetry | |
History | HIST UN3321 | Solidarity in the Age of Decolonization | |
History | HIST UN3507 | A Trans History of the United States | |
History | HIST GU4385 | Rousseau and the Modern Self | |
History | HIST GU4695 | Urban Waters: ecologies, inequalities, and environmental justice in Latin American cities | |
Jewish Studies | JWST GU4158 | Zionist Thought: Center and Periphery | |
Nepali | NEPA UN1102 | Elementary Nepali II | |
Music | MPP UN1601 | Performance Seminar MasterClass | |
Music | MUSI UN3105 | Prescribing the Piano: Music, Medicine & The Body | |
Music | MUSI UN3216 | Piano Literature & Performance: 1900 - Present | |
Philosophy | PHIL UN3872 | Personal Identity in Parallel Universes | |
Philosophy | PHIL GU4090 | Early Greek Philosophy | |
Slavic Languages | CLRS GU4039 | Chekhov and Others | |
Sociology | SOCI UN2501 | THE POLITICS OF MASS INCARCERATION | |
Sociology | SOCI GU4049 | Workshop in Gender and Sexuality II | |
Fall 2024 Last updated September 27, 2024.
DEPARTMENT/PROGRAM | COURSE NO. & DESIGNATOR | TITLE | |
Art History and Archaeology | AHIS UN2622 | Introduction to East Asian Art: China, Japan, and Korea | |
Art History and Archaeology | AHIS UN3239 | Medieval and Renaissance Venice | |
Art History and Archaeology | AHIS UN3466 | AIDS Is Contemporary | |
Art History and Archaeology | AHIS UN3471 | The Harlem Renaissance & Black Modernism | |
Art History and Archaeology | AHCE W4149 | The Roman Art of Engineering: Traditions of Planning, Construction, and Innovation | |
Art History and Archaeology | AHIS GU4746 | Architecture, Labor, Industry, and the (long) “American Century” | |
Anthropology | ANTH UN3812 | Accusing Corpse - forensic trace | |
Astronomy | ASTR UN3986 | Astrostatistics | |
Chemistry | CHEM GU4149 | Total Synthesis of Natural Products | |
Cherokee | CHKR UN1101 | Elementary Cherokee I | |
Cherokee | CHKR UN1102 | Elementary Cherokee II | |
Classics | CLCV UN3016 | Celebrity and Politics in the Greek and Roman Worlds | |
Classics | CLCV UN3535 | IDENTITY & SOCIETY ANC EGYPT | |
Classics | CLST GU4515 | Connecting Histories: Roman Conquests and Coinage | |
Comparative Literature and Society | CPLS GU4227 | Blood, Guts, and Lancets: Anatomy in Nineteenth-Century Fiction | |
Comparative Literature and Society | CLPS GU4275 | TRAUMA AND PLEASURE | |
Comparative Literature and Society | CPLS GU4330 | ETHICS OF CARE IN FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE CINEMA | |
Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology | EEEB UN3330 | Explaining Biodiversity: Niches, Complex Systems, Chaos and Neutral Theory | |
Ethnicity and Race Studies | CSER UN3523 | INTRODUCTION TO LATINX STUDIES | |
Earth and Environmental Sciences | EESC UN3904 | INDEPENDENT RESEARCH IN CLIMATE SYSTEM SCIENCE | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | EARL UN3310 | The Body and/in Performance: Dance & Drama in Tibet & China | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | HSEA UN3320 | Making in Premodern Japan | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | KORN GU4103 | Korean Language in Contemporary Pop Culture | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | EAAS GU4534 | Medieval Travel Writing | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | HSEA GU4815 | Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | HSEA GU4968 | Japan 1968: student protest movements in global historical perspective | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN2100 | Drama Before Shakespeare | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3475 | Melville's Fiction | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3477 | New Suns: Worlding in Black Speculative Fiction | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3485 | Black Women Writing the City | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3675 | Transpacific Personalities: The Personal Essay and Immigrant History in Asian American Literature | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENTA UN3708 | Reenactment and Performance in 20th & 21st Centuries | |
English and Comparative Literature | CLEN UN3725 | Literary Guides to Living and Dying Well from Plato to Montaigne | |
English and Comparative Literature | CLEN UN3790 | Caribbean Radicalisms in New York, 1890-1990 | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL UN3837 | UnLondon: Writing (and Re-Writing) Urban Space | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL GU4559 | August Wilson | |
English and Comparative Literature | ENGL GU4462 | Gender and Resistance in Early Modern Literature | |
English and Comparative Literature | CLEN GU4575 | Source Texts of Postcolonial Vision | |
English and Comparative Literature | CLEN GU4777 | Conspiracy Theory | |
English and Comparative Literature | CLEN GU4899 | Resistance Literature | |
Film | FILM UN2530 | Lab in the Video Essay | |
Film | FILM UN3020 | INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES | |
Film | FILM GU4111 | Auteur Study: David Lynch and The American Imaginary | |
Film | FILM GU4945 | Contemporary Russian Media | |
French | FREN UN3249 | French Through The Visual Arts | |
French | FREN UN3557 | Politics of the Psyche in Postwar France | |
French | FREN UN3725 | Asylum/ Asile: Theory and Practice of Asylum Law Through Francophone African Asylum Claims in New York | |
French | FREN GU4022 | How to Love: Medieval French and Arabic | |
French | FREN GU4028 | French Film Aesthetics | |
French | FREN GU4082 | Rebel Literature: Politics and the Novel in the Francophone World (1950-1980) | |
Germanic Languages | GERM UN2520 | Intermediate Conversation | |
Germanic Languages | GERM UN3458 | Medical Surreal: Doctor and Patient Narratives | |
Germanic Languages | CLGR UN3458 | Netflix Culture | |
Germanic Languages | CLGR GU4271 | Orientalism and Empire | |
Germanic Languages | GERM GU4251 | Kant with Arendt | |
History | HIST UN2709 | Medieval Middle East | |
History | HIST UN1071 | History of Christianity from the Origins to the Reformation | |
History | HIST UN2154 | The British Isles and the British Empire, 1485-1815 | |
History | HIST UN2851 | Making Modern Korea | |
History | HIST UN3328 | Neoliberal Britain? | |
History | HIST UN3927 | Global Histories of Plants and Empire, c. 1500-1800 | |
History | HIST GU4298 | Food in Modern East Central Europe: A Cultural and Political History | |
History | HIST GU4435 | Democracy and its Technocrats | |
History | HIST GU4527 | Topics in U.S. Foreign Relations History | |
History | HIST GU4363 | Pascal and the Modern Self | |
History | HIST GU4374 | Welfare States and Warfare States, Europe and the United States since c. 1870 | |
History | HIST GU4681 | The Nahuas Through Their Sources | |
History | HIST GU4721 | Archaeology and Heritage in the Ottoman Lands in the Long 19th Century | |
History | HIST GU4736 | Ottoman Westernization and Orientalism in the Long 19th Century | |
Human Rights | HRTS GU4011 | Indigenous Rights and Settler Colonialism in North America | |
Human Rights | HRTS GU4985 | Hum Rights, Activism & US Carceral State | |
Italian | CLIA UN3024 | Nationalism in Theory and History | |
Italian | CLIA UN3662 | FORBIDDEN BOOKS? CENSORSHIP AND THE CIRCULATION OF AMERICAN LITERATURE UNDER FASCISM | |
Jewish Studies | JWST UN2155 | Music, Sound, and Antisemitism | |
Jewish Studies | JWST GU4146 | Between Philosophy and Mysticism: Jewish Thought in the Middle Ages | |
Jewish Studies | JWST GU4157 | Israeli Politics in Times of Turmoil | |
Latin American and Iberian Cultures | SPAN UN2104 | Intermediate Spanish II: Topics on Climate Discourse | |
Latin American and Iberian Cultures | SPAN UN3893 | Latin American & Latinx Speculative Fiction in Arts & Media | |
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | |||
Music | |||
Music | |||
Music | |||
Music | |||
Music | |||
Philosophy | |||
Political Science | |||
Psychology | |||
Religion | |||
Slavic Languages | CLRS GU4039 | Chekhov and Others | |
Sociology | SOCI UN2501 | THE POLITICS OF MASS INCARCERATION | |
Sociology | SOCI GU4049 | Workshop in Gender and Sexuality II |
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 CC and GS each year, and is supported by the academic deans and certain administrators from CC and GS. 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:
- Ishaan Barrett CC'26
- Alejandra Diaz-Pizarro CC'25
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 CC and GS each year, and is supported by the academic deans and certain administrators from CC and GS. 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
- 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:
- Ichiro Ng CC'25
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 CC and GS each year, and is supported by the academic deans and certain administrators from CC and GS. 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:
- What is your name, your class year, your major field(s) of study, your uni, and your email address?
- 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?
- 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?
- 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.