Columbia’s general education requirements expose students to a wide range of subjects, including the humanities, the natural sciences, foreign languages, and global cultures. The aim is to familiarize students with the many ways in which we convey meaning and create knowledge. By exploring these diverse ways of thinking about the world, Columbia students become more versatile thinkers with richer lives, who join a community of inquiry and discover skills and interests that they were not previously aware of.
At the heart of the Core Curriculum are five required courses:
These five courses, which have been offered at Columbia for decades, create a community of learners who engage collaboratively with some of the images, ideas, discoveries, stories, and sounds that help us to make sense of our world.
Students in Columbia College are also required to satisfy requirements in Foreign Languages, the Global Core, Physical Education, and the Sciences. Columbia’s general education requirements vary by school, so please consult with your advising dean and refer to your school’s Bulletin for additional information:
For a list of courses that satisfy the Global Core requirement, please refer to the Global Core Navigator.
Points of Contact
The Center for the Core Curriculum (core-curriculum@columbia.edu) for questions about Art Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Frontiers of Science, Literature Humanities, Music Humanities, and Core as Praxis/Fieldwork.
The Undergraduate Writing Program (uwp@columbia.edu) for questions about University Writing.
Academic Affairs (cc-academic@columbia.edu) for general inquiries about the Foreign Language, Global Core, and Science requirements for Columbia College students. Please direct course-specific questions to the department and/or instructor offering the course.
Physical Education (phed@columbia.edu) for questions about the Physical Education requirement.