Columbia and New York | Columbia University in the City of New York

“The best things of the moment were outside the rectangle of Columbia; the best things of all human history and thought were inside the rectangle,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winner Herman Wouk, Columbia College '34, on the “doubled magic” of living and learning in New York City.

Columbia has long been defined by its place at the heart of one of the world’s great cities. Each new generation of Columbians adds to that tradition through their unique experiences at an urban research university that offers a wide array of partnerships, service-learning programs, cultural activities, and other services in our Upper Manhattan community.

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Civic Engagement

Expanding on a long history of partnership between campus and community, New York City, and New York State

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Cultural Opportunities

The Arts Initiative ventures to make arts and culture a meaningful part of every Columbian's experience by creating and facilitating opportunities for cross-disciplinary exchange across campus and throughout the city.

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Economic Engine

Columbia is an engine of economic opportunity for New York, providing a growing source of good middle-income jobs and generating the new discoveries that drive our city's innovation economy.

Partnering with Our Community

Community Impact

Community Impact provides meaningful volunteer opportunities for students at Columbia and Barnard College to serve individuals in need in Upper Manhattan through dozens of community-based organizations.

Double Discovery Center

For more than 50 years, Double Discovery has worked with low-income and first-generation college-bound, Manhattan-area public school and GED students to ensure high school graduation, college enrollment and completion, and responsible adulthood.

Washington Heights Health Initiative

The Washington Heights Health Initiative of Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a coordinated effort to measurably improve the health of the communities of Washington Heights and Inwood.

Engineering Outreach Programs

Columbia Engineering Outreach provides multiple entry points for training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, especially for traditionally underrepresented students in our community.

Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center

The Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center offers resources, mentorship, and programs for small-business owners and entrepreneurs in the Harlem and southern Bronx neighborhoods.

Freedom and Citizenship

Freedom and Citizenship is a college seminar and academic enrichment program that introduces high school students to college-level work in the humanities and prepare them for lives as informed, responsible citizens.