49Undergrad & Postgrad Programmes
About Columbia Engineering, Columbia University
- Founded in 1864, Columbia Engineering is the third-oldest engineering school in the United States and one of its most distinguished — an Ivy League engineering education with a research portfolio to match.
- Scale and depth of graduate study: nine departments, 24 master's and 13 doctoral programs on campus, plus 21 master's and 2 doctoral programs offered online through the Columbia Video Network. Roughly 1,800 master's students and 850 doctoral students.
- Faculty: 270 full-time faculty, including 26 members of the National Academies and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Research: $120 million in research center funding over the past two years across 28 centers, spanning 18 foundational research areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, materials, genomics, fintech, and carbon capture.
- Artificial intelligence and data science are a particular strength, and the newest expression of that is our Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence, which pairs core AI coursework in computer science and engineering with specialized concentrations.
- Entrepreneurship: more than 57 faculty startups in the past ten years, 412+ patents issued, and 100+ industry partners sponsoring research, including Amazon, IBM, and Google.
- Interdisciplinary reach: joint programs with Medicine, Science, Policy, Statistics, Journalism, and Business, so an engineering degree here can be pointed at almost any sector
Campus highlights
Morningside Heights campus: the historic core of the University, anchored by Low Library and Butler Library, with the Engineering school based in the Seeley W. Mudd Building.
Manhattanville campus: Columbia's newer campus a few blocks north, home to the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, the Columbia Business School, and public-facing academic space designed by Renzo Piano.
One university, nine engineering departments, and immediate access to the full Columbia ecosystem — Medicine, Business, Law, Journalism, the Climate School, and the Data Science Institute are all part of the same institution and, in many cases, the same joint programs.
Best way to get in touch: email is fastest for application questions. Prospective students who want to hear from us directly should complete the QS inquiry form above, which also adds them to our event invitations and program updates.
Follow us on: Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn
About Columbia Engineering, Columbia University
- Founded in 1864, Columbia Engineering is the third-oldest engineering school in the United States and one of its most distinguished — an Ivy League engineering education with a research portfolio to match.
- Scale and depth of graduate study: nine departments, 24 master's and 13 doctoral programs on campus, plus 21 master's and 2 doctoral programs offered online through the Columbia Video Network. Roughly 1,800 master's students and 850 doctoral students.
- Faculty: 270 full-time faculty, including 26 members of the National Academies and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Research: $120 million in research center funding over the past two years across 28 centers, spanning 18 foundational research areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, materials, genomics, fintech, and carbon capture.
- Artificial intelligence and data science are a particular strength, and the newest expression of that is our Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence, which pairs core AI coursework in computer science and engineering with specialized concentrations.
- Entrepreneurship: more than 57 faculty startups in the past ten years, 412+ patents issued, and 100+ industry partners sponsoring research, including Amazon, IBM, and Google.
- Interdisciplinary reach: joint programs with Medicine, Science, Policy, Statistics, Journalism, and Business, so an engineering degree here can be pointed at almost any sector
Campus highlights
Morningside Heights campus: the historic core of the University, anchored by Low Library and Butler Library, with the Engineering school based in the Seeley W. Mudd Building.
Manhattanville campus: Columbia's newer campus a few blocks north, home to the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, the Columbia Business School, and public-facing academic space designed by Renzo Piano.
One university, nine engineering departments, and immediate access to the full Columbia ecosystem — Medicine, Business, Law, Journalism, the Climate School, and the Data Science Institute are all part of the same institution and, in many cases, the same joint programs.
Best way to get in touch: email is fastest for application questions. Prospective students who want to hear from us directly should complete the QS inquiry form above, which also adds them to our event invitations and program updates.
Follow us on: Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn
Available programmes
University information
Location — main benefits and advantages
Columbia Engineering sits on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus in Upper Manhattan — a classic, walkable Ivy League quad in the middle of New York City. Students get the rare combination of a genuine campus and immediate access to one of the world's great cities.
New York is a working laboratory for nearly every field we teach: finance and fintech, health systems and biotech, media and AI, climate and urban infrastructure, logistics and transportation. Research problems and employers are a subway ride away, not a flight away.
The city is the most direct career advantage we offer. Internships, industry mentors, conferences, recruiting events, and startup ecosystems are local. Students build professional networks during the degree, not after it.
New York is also one of the most international cities in the world, which matters for students moving abroad for the first time. Whatever language you speak or food you grew up with, you can find it here.
Facilities throughout campus
28 research centers, including the Data Science Institute, the Columbia Nano Initiative, the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, the Precision Medicine Initiative, and the Climate School.
Newer centers in artificial intelligence, climate modeling, smart streetscapes, digital finance and technologies, business analytics, energy, and the neuroscience of decision making.
NSF-funded flagship centers, including the $26 million Center for Smart Streetscapes and the $25 million LEAP Science and Technology Center (Learning the Earth with Artificial Intelligence and Physics).
Hands-on and entrepreneurial space: the Columbia Makerspace, the Columbia Startup Lab, and dozens of faculty-led labs that hire graduate students during the year and over the summer.
A university library system among the largest in the United States, plus engineering-specific collections and study space.
Support systems for students
Office of Engineering Student Affairs — academic advising, orientation, community programming, and personal support from admission through graduation.
Graduate Career Placement (GCP) — a career office dedicated specifically to Columbia Engineering graduate students, with employer connections, interview training, and Career Connect.
Professional Development and Leadership (PDL) — practical training in business communication, networking, résumé strategy, and workplace skills, taught by experienced practitioners.
International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) — visa and immigration advising, arrival support, employment authorization guidance, and housing resources built specifically for international students.
Engineering Graduate Student Council (EGSC) — the hub of graduate student life, representing student interests and running community events year-round.
Student wellness and health services — counseling, health care, and wellbeing programming available through the University.
Clubs and organizations — professional, cultural, and social student groups across the graduate community.
Columbia Engineering sits on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus in Upper Manhattan — a classic, walkable Ivy League quad in the middle of New York City. Students get the rare combination of a genuine campus and immediate access to one of the world's great cities.
New York is a working laboratory for nearly every field we teach: finance and fintech, health systems and biotech, media and AI, climate and urban infrastructure, logistics and transportation. Research problems and employers are a subway ride away, not a flight away.
The city is the most direct career advantage we offer. Internships, industry mentors, conferences, recruiting events, and startup ecosystems are local. Students build professional networks during the degree, not after it.
New York is also one of the most international cities in the world, which matters for students moving abroad for the first time. Whatever language you speak or food you grew up with, you can find it here.
Facilities throughout campus
28 research centers, including the Data Science Institute, the Columbia Nano Initiative, the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, the Precision Medicine Initiative, and the Climate School.
Newer centers in artificial intelligence, climate modeling, smart streetscapes, digital finance and technologies, business analytics, energy, and the neuroscience of decision making.
NSF-funded flagship centers, including the $26 million Center for Smart Streetscapes and the $25 million LEAP Science and Technology Center (Learning the Earth with Artificial Intelligence and Physics).
Hands-on and entrepreneurial space: the Columbia Makerspace, the Columbia Startup Lab, and dozens of faculty-led labs that hire graduate students during the year and over the summer.
A university library system among the largest in the United States, plus engineering-specific collections and study space.
Support systems for students
Office of Engineering Student Affairs — academic advising, orientation, community programming, and personal support from admission through graduation.
Graduate Career Placement (GCP) — a career office dedicated specifically to Columbia Engineering graduate students, with employer connections, interview training, and Career Connect.
Professional Development and Leadership (PDL) — practical training in business communication, networking, résumé strategy, and workplace skills, taught by experienced practitioners.
International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) — visa and immigration advising, arrival support, employment authorization guidance, and housing resources built specifically for international students.
Engineering Graduate Student Council (EGSC) — the hub of graduate student life, representing student interests and running community events year-round.
Student wellness and health services — counseling, health care, and wellbeing programming available through the University.
Clubs and organizations — professional, cultural, and social student groups across the graduate community.
Student life
Student accommodationOn-campus: Columbia Residential manages roughly 150 apartment buildings, most within a short commute of campus, housing graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. University housing is competitive and priority is given to incoming doctoral students; remaining spaces are distributed to continuing doctoral and master's students through a lottery.
Off-campus: most master's students live in non-university housing, much of it still very close to campus. Columbia's Off-Campus Housing Assistance office (OCHA) maintains apartment listings and guidance, and International House offers a residential community popular with international graduate students.
Temporary housing and hotel resources are available for students who arrive before securing a permanent lease.
Cost of Living
Tuition fees
Scholarships
Doctoral students Students admitted to PhD or MS/PhD track programs receive a comprehensive departmental funding package: an annual stipend through assistantships, fellowships, or research grants; full tuition allowance; Columbia student health insurance; health, university services, and support fees. Funding decisions are made by departments on the basis of academic merit. No separate funding application is required — the application for admission is also the application for departmental funding.
Master's students Internal funding at the master's level is more limited and awards are not guaranteed, but a growing number of fellowships are available, and most are open to international students: CMA CGM Excellence Fund for Education — $50,000 merit-based award for outstanding master's students with demonstrated financial need and interest in applying technology and analytics to global challenges (logistics, infrastructure, sustainability, finance, AI).
Separate application after the admission application is submitted. Shardashish Interschool Fellowship — up to $50,000 for one year, for master's students with demonstrated financial need and a strong established commitment to India. Separate application after the admission application is submitted. The Behring Foundation Fellowship — up to $40,000 toward tuition and fees for master's students, established to build technology and entrepreneurship capacity in Brazil. No separate application required. Dean's MS Academic Excellence Fellowship — partial tuition fellowship awarded by academic departments on merit. No separate application required. Graduate Fellowship in Engineering for Change — partial tuition fellowship for master's students who have overcome extraordinary challenges in engineering and demonstrate financial need. Separate application after the admission application is submitted. Columbia University–CUNY Pathways Fellowship — partial tuition fellowship for high-achieving recent CUNY graduates admitted to a Columbia Engineering master's program. No separate application required. The National GEM Consortium — external fellowship network supporting graduate study in applied science and engineering. Yellow Ribbon Program — supplements Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for eligible US veterans. Students can also work on campus during their program — teaching assistantships, course assistantships, lab assistantships, grader roles, and paid research positions are open to graduate students, including international students.
The Office of Student Financial Planning supports all graduate students with payment plans and federal and private loan options. A note on funding statistics
QS asks for figures such as the percentage of students receiving assistance or an average award amount. Our funding structure doesn't reduce to a single number, and we would rather be precise than produce a statistic that misleads applicants. The accurate summary is:
Doctoral students are fully funded — tuition, fees, health insurance, and a generous stipend.
Master's funding is limited and not guaranteed. Named fellowships are available and competitive: the CMA CGM Excellence Fund for Education, the Columbia University–CUNY Pathways Fellowship, the Dean's MS Academic Excellence Fellowship, the Graduate Fellowship in Engineering for Change, and the Shardashish Interschool Fellowship.
Please present the master's-level funding honestly as competitive and limited rather than implying broad availability.
Doctoral students Students admitted to PhD or MS/PhD track programs receive a comprehensive departmental funding package: an annual stipend through assistantships, fellowships, or research grants; full tuition allowance; Columbia student health insurance; health, university services, and support fees. Funding decisions are made by departments on the basis of academic merit. No separate funding application is required — the application for admission is also the application for departmental funding.
Master's students Internal funding at the master's level is more limited and awards are not guaranteed, but a growing number of fellowships are available, and most are open to international students: CMA CGM Excellence Fund for Education — $50,000 merit-based award for outstanding master's students with demonstrated financial need and interest in applying technology and analytics to global challenges (logistics, infrastructure, sustainability, finance, AI).
Separate application after the admission application is submitted. Shardashish Interschool Fellowship — up to $50,000 for one year, for master's students with demonstrated financial need and a strong established commitment to India. Separate application after the admission application is submitted. The Behring Foundation Fellowship — up to $40,000 toward tuition and fees for master's students, established to build technology and entrepreneurship capacity in Brazil. No separate application required. Dean's MS Academic Excellence Fellowship — partial tuition fellowship awarded by academic departments on merit. No separate application required. Graduate Fellowship in Engineering for Change — partial tuition fellowship for master's students who have overcome extraordinary challenges in engineering and demonstrate financial need. Separate application after the admission application is submitted. Columbia University–CUNY Pathways Fellowship — partial tuition fellowship for high-achieving recent CUNY graduates admitted to a Columbia Engineering master's program. No separate application required. The National GEM Consortium — external fellowship network supporting graduate study in applied science and engineering. Yellow Ribbon Program — supplements Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for eligible US veterans. Students can also work on campus during their program — teaching assistantships, course assistantships, lab assistantships, grader roles, and paid research positions are open to graduate students, including international students.
The Office of Student Financial Planning supports all graduate students with payment plans and federal and private loan options. A note on funding statistics
QS asks for figures such as the percentage of students receiving assistance or an average award amount. Our funding structure doesn't reduce to a single number, and we would rather be precise than produce a statistic that misleads applicants. The accurate summary is:
Doctoral students are fully funded — tuition, fees, health insurance, and a generous stipend.
Master's funding is limited and not guaranteed. Named fellowships are available and competitive: the CMA CGM Excellence Fund for Education, the Columbia University–CUNY Pathways Fellowship, the Dean's MS Academic Excellence Fellowship, the Graduate Fellowship in Engineering for Change, and the Shardashish Interschool Fellowship.
Please present the master's-level funding honestly as competitive and limited rather than implying broad availability.
Scholarships
Selecting the right scholarship can be a daunting process. With countless options available, students often find themselves overwhelmed and confused. The decision can be especially stressful for those facing financial constraints or pursuing specific academic or career goals.
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Employability
Career & Employment
Career support Columbia Engineering operates its own graduate career office — Graduate Career Placement (GCP) — dedicated exclusively to engineering graduate students rather than shared across the whole university. Services include employer connections through Career Connect, industry and company research tools, and interview training through Big Interview. Professional Development and Leadership (PDL) delivers skill-building sessions on business communication, networking, and application materials. Each of the nine departments also maintains its own career resources and placement information, so students get discipline-specific guidance alongside school-wide support.
Employment outcomes Columbia Engineering does not publish a single school-wide placement figure, since outcomes are tracked and reported at the departmental level. As one representative example, our Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) master's programs report placement rates of 91 to 99 percent. Top employers of Columbia Engineering graduates university-wide include Microsoft, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Meta, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, IBM, and PwC. Departmental placement data is published by each of the nine academic departments and linked from our Career Development page.
Career support Columbia Engineering operates its own graduate career office — Graduate Career Placement (GCP) — dedicated exclusively to engineering graduate students rather than shared across the whole university. Services include employer connections through Career Connect, industry and company research tools, and interview training through Big Interview. Professional Development and Leadership (PDL) delivers skill-building sessions on business communication, networking, and application materials. Each of the nine departments also maintains its own career resources and placement information, so students get discipline-specific guidance alongside school-wide support.
Employment outcomes Columbia Engineering does not publish a single school-wide placement figure, since outcomes are tracked and reported at the departmental level. As one representative example, our Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) master's programs report placement rates of 91 to 99 percent. Top employers of Columbia Engineering graduates university-wide include Microsoft, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Meta, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, IBM, and PwC. Departmental placement data is published by each of the nine academic departments and linked from our Career Development page.
Where recent IEOR graduates are working?
Banking, markets, and asset management: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Barclays, UBS, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Société Générale, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Neuberger Berman, American Express, Bank of China, GIC Group, StoneX.
Trading and quantitative firms: Belvedere Trading, Transmarket Group, Longrun Partners, ASL Capital Markets, Deep Market Making, Real Value Capital, Resera Capital, Sovereign Fund.
Technology: Apple, Uber, Autodesk, TikTok, Meituan.
Consulting and professional services: McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, PwC, Cross Country Consulting.
Industry, health, and public sector: Merck, ENGIE North America, Benjamin Moore, Beam Dental, the United Nations, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Representative job titles
Quantitative and trading roles: Quantitative Analyst, Quantitative Researcher, Quantitative Trader, Quantitative Strategist, Senior Quantitative Analyst, Commodities Quantitative Analyst, Exotic Trader, Program Trader, Trading Desk Analyst, Desk Strategist, Sales & Trading Analyst, Global Markets Analyst (Equities), Global Capital Markets Strats, Equity Structuring Associate, Systematic Portfolio Engineer.
Investment and risk roles: Investment Analyst, Investment Banking Analyst, Financial Analyst, Senior Financial Analyst, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Analyst, Risk Analyst, Model Risk Analyst, Mortgage Operations Research Associate.
Data and AI roles: Data Scientist, Data Engineer, BI & Data Analyst, Senior Associate – AI Engineer & Data Scientist, Strategy & Growth Analytics.
Business and consulting roles: Business Analyst, Consultant, Technology Consultant.
Banking, markets, and asset management: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Barclays, UBS, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Société Générale, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Neuberger Berman, American Express, Bank of China, GIC Group, StoneX.
Trading and quantitative firms: Belvedere Trading, Transmarket Group, Longrun Partners, ASL Capital Markets, Deep Market Making, Real Value Capital, Resera Capital, Sovereign Fund.
Technology: Apple, Uber, Autodesk, TikTok, Meituan.
Consulting and professional services: McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, PwC, Cross Country Consulting.
Industry, health, and public sector: Merck, ENGIE North America, Benjamin Moore, Beam Dental, the United Nations, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Representative job titles
Quantitative and trading roles: Quantitative Analyst, Quantitative Researcher, Quantitative Trader, Quantitative Strategist, Senior Quantitative Analyst, Commodities Quantitative Analyst, Exotic Trader, Program Trader, Trading Desk Analyst, Desk Strategist, Sales & Trading Analyst, Global Markets Analyst (Equities), Global Capital Markets Strats, Equity Structuring Associate, Systematic Portfolio Engineer.
Investment and risk roles: Investment Analyst, Investment Banking Analyst, Financial Analyst, Senior Financial Analyst, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Analyst, Risk Analyst, Model Risk Analyst, Mortgage Operations Research Associate.
Data and AI roles: Data Scientist, Data Engineer, BI & Data Analyst, Senior Associate – AI Engineer & Data Scientist, Strategy & Growth Analytics.
Business and consulting roles: Business Analyst, Consultant, Technology Consultant.
Campus locations
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Admitted students receive housing application instructions from the Office of Engineering Student Affairs within two to three weeks of accepting their offer, and the University's Off-Campus Housing Assistance office provides listings, lease guidance, and neighborhood information for students searching the private market. The ISSO maintains an additional set of housing resources for international students.
Columbia Engineering offers something few schools can combine: the rigor and reputation of an Ivy League research university, a faculty actively shaping fields like AI, climate, and biotechnology, and a campus in the middle of New York City. That location is not a lifestyle perk — it is an academic and professional asset. Our students work on problems drawn from the city around them, intern with employers a subway ride away, and graduate into a global alumni network of more than 49,000 people concentrated in exactly the industries they want to enter.
What differentiates us is the combination of breadth and access. Nine departments and more than 35 graduate programs mean you can specialize precisely, while joint work with Columbia's schools of Medicine, Business, Journalism, and the Climate School means you are never boxed in by your department. And because we are one university on one campus, that access is genuinely available to a master's student, not just a doctoral candidate.
What differentiates us is the combination of breadth and access. Nine departments and more than 35 graduate programs mean you can specialize precisely, while joint work with Columbia's schools of Medicine, Business, Journalism, and the Climate School means you are never boxed in by your department. And because we are one university on one campus, that access is genuinely available to a master's student, not just a doctoral candidate.
Students are surprised by how accessible faculty are. The research reputation suggests distance, but graduate students routinely end up in labs, on papers, and in office hours with people whose textbooks they used as undergraduates. The campus feels like a campus. Prospects often assume a New York university means scattered buildings and no community — Columbia's Morningside Heights quad is the opposite, and students describe it as the reason the city feels manageable rather than overwhelming
Recruiters come to us because they already employ our alumni. The employer relationships are self-reinforcing, and students notice how often the person interviewing them turns out to be a Columbia Engineer. Cohorts stay connected after graduation, and because so many alumni stay in New York, the network is something students use rather than something they read about.
Recruiters come to us because they already employ our alumni. The employer relationships are self-reinforcing, and students notice how often the person interviewing them turns out to be a Columbia Engineer. Cohorts stay connected after graduation, and because so many alumni stay in New York, the network is something students use rather than something they read about.
Yes. Doctoral funding packages are awarded on merit regardless of citizenship. At the master's level, several of our named fellowships are explicitly international in focus or open to international applicants — including the CMA CGM Excellence Fund, the Shardashish Interschool Fellowship (India), and the Behring Foundation Fellowship (Brazil). Full details are on our Graduate Funding page.
Columbia Engineering, Columbia University
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