School of Engineering and Applied Science (Columbia University)

School of Engineering and Applied Science (Columbia University)
Name	Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science
Established	1864
Type	Private
Parent	Columbia University
City	New York City
State	New York
Country	United States
Dean	(Dean)
Students	(Students)
Campus	Morningside Heights

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School of Engineering and Applied Science (Columbia University)

The School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University is a professional school within Columbia, located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan and integrated with institutions such as Columbia College (New York), Barnard College, Columbia Law School, Columbia Business School, and Mailman School of Public Health. Founded during the era of the American Civil War and the presidency of Frederick A. P. Barnard, the school has evolved alongside entities like Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and collaborations with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

History

The school's origins trace to the 19th century with ties to Columbia College (New York), Barnard College, and figures such as Frederick A. P. Barnard and William Kean Seymour; it developed through milestones involving World War I, World War II, and partnerships with Bell Labs, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and U.S. Department of Defense. Expansion included construction of facilities near Low Memorial Library and growth in programs influenced by donors like Alfred P. Sloan and Andrew Carnegie, and connections to companies such as General Electric, IBM, and AT&T. Throughout the 20th century the school intersected with innovators from Vannevar Bush, Ira A. Fulton, Arthur H. Compton, Enrico Fermi, and Edward Teller, and with projects associated with Manhattan Project collaborators, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Columbia Engineering awards degrees at the Bachelor of Science level and graduate degrees including Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy across departments such as Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and interdisciplinary programs linked to Data Science Institute, Columbia Business School, School of International and Public Affairs, and Columbia Law School. Professional degree offerings connect to centers like Columbia Earth Institute and joint initiatives with The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science donors and industry partners including Google, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Amazon, and Facebook.

Research is organized through institutes and centers including the Data Science Institute (Columbia University), Columbia Nano Initiative, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Energy Engineering Center, Engineering Systems Design Group, and partnerships with NASA, National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and National Institutes of Health. Collaborative projects involve IBM Research, Siemens, Intel, Facebook AI Research, Bell Labs, Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and New York Genome Center. Research themes intersect with initiatives like Human Genome Project-era biology collaborations, Manhattan Project-era physics heritage, Internet Engineering Task Force standards work, and translational efforts with Columbia University Medical Center clinicians.

Facilities occupy the Morningside Heights, Manhattan campus with buildings such as Avery Hall, Tow Center (Columbia University), CEPSR, Brown Hall (Columbia University), and laboratories adjacent to Butler Library and Low Memorial Library. The school leverages specialized infrastructure including clean rooms through the Columbia Nano Initiative, machine shops, computational clusters connected to NYU Langone Health and national supercomputing resources, and maker spaces inspired by partnerships with MIT Media Lab and Stanford University collaborators. Off-campus facilities and collaborations extend to Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University Medical Center, and startup incubators linking to Columbia Startup Lab and Entrepreneurship@Columbia.

Admissions are coordinated with Columbia College (New York), Barnard College, and centralized university offices, attracting applicants from across the United States and international locations including China, India, United Kingdom, Canada, and Brazil. Student organizations include chapters of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Association for Computing Machinery, and links to societies such as Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. Extracurricular life engages with Student Government Association, athletics through Columbia Lions, arts organizations tied to Miller Theater, and career support from Columbia Career Services alongside recruiting by firms like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Deloitte.

Alumni and faculty span leaders such as inventors and executives from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Nobel laureates associated with Columbia University, recipients of the Turing Award, and contributors to industry giants like Bell Labs, General Electric, and Siemens. Notable affiliated scholars include winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and members of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The community includes entrepreneurs who founded startups supported by Y Combinator and investors from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

The school is regularly ranked by publications including U.S. News & World Report, QS World University Rankings, and Times Higher Education for programs in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering, and its research impact is documented through citations in venues such as Nature, Science, and proceedings of IEEE conferences. Economic and societal impact is reflected in technology transfer through Columbia Technology Ventures, startup formation at Columbia Startup Lab, and collaborations with municipal initiatives in New York City and national programs administered by National Science Foundation and Department of Energy.