Hello
So I’ve been kind of confused about this Barnard college/ Columbia University thing.
Is Barnard college apart of Columbia university?
It has a different application from Columbia but when you graduate from barnard your degree will be from Columbia University.
Someone please explain to me the whole thing please.
“What should I know about Barnard College?
Barnard College, founded in 1889, is a liberal arts college for women that is a partner of Columbia University. Named for the tenth president of Columbia University, Fredrick Barnard, the college provides women with an intimate liberal arts education with the resources of a major research university. While Barnard students get a Columbia University diploma, Barnard College has its own president (Sian Beilock) and its own board of trustees…”
https://barnard.edu/frequently-asked-questions-8
I assume that you are female.
Barnard is affiliated with Columbia; it is a partially independent subsidiary of Columbia University, and the degree is issued by Columbia University (no Columbia College); and also reflects that the student attended Barnard.
Most undergraduate courses (and some graduate level courses) at Columbia & Barnard are open to most students whatever college they attend. The exceptions are courses that are part of foundational required curriculum tied to the specific program – Core courses at Columbia, and Barnard’s first year seminars; and advanced level courses with restricted admission reserved for students within a specific major. The schools calendars and course sequence numbering are coordinated, and there is direct registration & enrollment for any courses.
In the US, the term “college” is generally used to mean a stand-alone school, whereas “university” generally refers to a larger institution that is made up of multiple schools and colleges that serve both graduates and undergrads. So, for example, New York University has many different schools that serve undergraduates - a business school, a college of arts & sciences, an arts school, a school of independent studies, etc. Typically in all these situations the degree is issued by the “university” – for example, I have a degree from the “University of California” signed by the governor of the state, but the university has multiple different campuses and each campus is made up of multiple undergraduate colleges.
Barnard’s arrangement with Columbia is a little different than most, but stems from historical discrimination against women. In the 19th and most of the 20th century, most of the Ivy League schools, including Columbia, were male only.; but many schools established separate women’s colleges on or near their campuses. At male-only Harvard, there was a women’s college called Radcliffe; at Brown, there was a women’s college called Pembroke. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s things began to change. Yale (which did not have a companion women’s college) went co-ed in 1969. Brown and Pembroke merged in the early 1970’s. And Radcliffe was gradually subsumed within Harvard.
In the 1970’s there was an effort at a full merger between Barnard & Columbia, but Barnard resisted and ultimately in 1983 Columbia started admitting women, with Barnard continuing as a separate college managing its own curriculum and admissions. Columbia University currently has 4 undergraduate colleges: Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science; the School of General Studies; and Barnard.
Also, historically, Barnard was part of a group of very prestigious women’s colleges called the Seven Sisters, which also included Radcliffe, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Bryn Mawr, and Vassar. Radcliffe no longer exists and Vassar is co-ed, but the other colleges have continued to thrive as women’s colleges.
Physically, both Barnard & Columbia campuses are quite small as it these are urban campuses with limited space, and Barnard is located directly across the street from Columbia.
Look.at.the Wikipedia entry.for Barnard College.
@deemmz I highly recommend you review posts from prior years as this question has been asked and answered MANY times. Barnard is legally ‘affiliated’ with Columbia University but in practice it operates as a division albeit with its own resources, governing body and President. Your diploma will be issued by Columbia University. You will be a full member of the university community. You are free to apply to both Barnard and Columbia College if you wish, as they operate separate admissions offices.