The College of Physicians and Surgeons is one of 16 schools in the University. A significant advantage of studying is the ability to take advantage of classes and other opportunities throughout the University. Formal Dual Degree arrangements exist with P&S and the School of Public Health (MD/MPH), the College of Dental Medicine (MD/DDS), GSAS (MD/PhD) and the School of Business (MD/MBA).
The Columbia University Medical School Campus includes, in addition to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the following graduate divisions:
The College of Dental Medicine, one of the first dental colleges in the nation to become fully integrated with a research university in a world-renowned medical center, has origins dating to 1852. The College offers the D.D.S. degree as well as postdoctoral specialty education and dual degrees with other schools of the University, including the M.S. with certain specialties, the M.B.A., the M.P.H., and a Ph.D. and M.A. in the MA in Science Education and the M.A. in Biomedical Informatics. Over 2200 applicants recently sought positions in the class of 75 students. The four-year pre-doctoral curriculum is heavily biomedical. The students share much of the first two years of the P&S curriculum; this strong biomedical base serves well to support the medically oriented clinical years of the curriculum.
Community activities are extensive. The College has several off-site community-based facilities and a van for Head Start centers. The College is the major source of oral health care for the northern Manhattan area and offers that care at a reasonable cost. Special populations, including those with complex medical histories, are served through the College's clinics.
Approximately 96% of the D.D.S. students continue into postdoctoral education. Only 2 of the 57 other U.S. dental schools approach that percentage, and only one in three dental graduates in the U.S. match postdoctoral programs. The student body is rich in its diversity; 50% are women, 20% of the Year I class are "under-represented in dentistry" students, and a significant number of matriculating students hold advanced degrees, e.g. M.D., Ph.D., M.A., etc.
The College has a long tradition of excellence in research and supports research experiences with both internal and external short term training grants. Both the D.D.S. and specialty candidates are encouraged to be active participants in on-going clinical and basic science research within the Columbia University Medical Center.
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University offers doctoral (Ph.D.) programs in basic sciences. The Coordinated Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences consists of four programs, each with a number of specializations. The Graduate Program in Cellular, Molecular, Structural and Genetic Studies offers specialized study in: Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics; Cell Biology; Genetics and Development; and Microbiology, Immunology and Infection. The Graduate Program in Mechanisms of Health and Disease offers specialized study in: Cellular Physiology and Biophysics; Nutritional and Metabolic Biology; Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine; and Pharmacology and Molecular Signaling. The Graduate program in Neurobiology and Behavior offers specialized study in: Animal Models of Nervous System Disorders; Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience; Neural Development; Neurobiology of Behavior and Cognition; and Theoretical Neuroscience. The Graduate Program in Biomedical Informatics offers specialized study in: Bioinformatics; Clinical Informatics; Public Health Informatics; and Translational Informatics. A Master's Degree Program in Biomedical Informatics is also available. In addition, through one or more of these doctoral programs students can receive training in multidisciplinary areas in which there is strong expertise across multiple programs, including cancer biology, cardiovascular disease, computational biology, stem cell biology and vision sciences.
All students in the Coordinated Doctoral Program receive full support for tuition, student health services and medical insurance. Students also receive a generous stipend for their personal use that begins at registration and normally continues throughout the period of graduate study. Both international students and U.S. students are eligible for this support. Currently there are almost 400 Ph.D. students in the Coordinated Doctoral Programs. Over fifty percent are women and over twenty-five percent are international students from all parts of the world.
The Coordinated Doctoral Programs allow the students to become part of the exciting and highly interactive research community of faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at the Medical Center. Courses are generally concentrated in the first two years. The first year curriculum emphasizes research rotations in three different laboratories to allow students to experience a range of research topics and potential Ph.D. mentors. At the beginning of the second year, students choose their mentors and begin their research for the Ph.D. degree. The basic sciences faculty are committed to providing a complete graduate education that emphasizes intellectual challenge, supportive guidance, independence and sophisticated training in research. Ph.D. graduates from the Coordinated Doctoral Programs have consistently gone on to become world leaders in biomedical research.
The School of Nursing, a leader in nursing education for over 110 years, offers programs in advanced practice nursing, research and health policy. Today, students study alongside faculty members who have earned the highest authority of any advanced practice nurses anywhere. It was the first school of nursing to adopt a universal faculty practice plan, the first to award a Master's degree in a clinical nursing specialty, and the first to offer the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.
The combined degree program allows non-nurse college graduates to accelerate study in baccalaureate nursing and concentrate on master's level courses in advanced practice. The Master of Science degree program offers eleven areas of clinical specialization and six sub-specialties, encompassing primary and specialty care, and prepares skilled practitioners with the research and clinical foundation necessary for leadership in academic nursing and practice. A University Statutory Certificate program is offered to master's prepared advanced practice nurses who wish an additional area of clinical specialization. The DNSc program is a research-intensive curriculum preparing nurse scholars who are ready to conduct research in outcomes and health policy, independently and as part of interdisciplinary teams. The DNP program focuses on the clinical practice of nursing and represents the highest academic preparation for nursing practice. The School has an enrollment of approximately 580 students. Joint degree programs are offered with the School of Public Health (MS/MPH) and the Business School (MS/MBA).
The School maintains four academic research centers: The Center for AIDS Research, the Center for Health Policy, the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Development in Advanced Nursing Practice, and the Center for Evidence-Based Practice in the Underserved.
The Institute of Human Nutrition, founded in 1954, is an interdisciplinary unit whose mission is to study all aspects of nutrition that relate to human health. The Institute serves to conduct, coordinate, and lead nutrition research and education activities throughout Columbia University and its affiliated institutions. These activities include basic research, clinical research, public health-preventive medicine programs, and education and training at many levels. A long-standing mission of the Institute is to train individuals for scholarly activities and for positions in universities and research centers that are in the forefront of the movement to advance nutrition as a health science. In addition, the Institute seeks to augment the training of physicians and other health specialists who are interested in emphasizing nutrition in their professions. The Institute functions to coordinate academic nutrition activities being carried out within many administrative units (Faculties, Departments, Centers) within the Columbia University system.
The specific aims of each of these units, the research being conducted within them, and the programs of instruction offered are outlined in other sections of this handbook. Although each unit conducts its own program of research and training, its work is coordinated to achieve two basic goals: conduct research to advance knowledge of nutrition and training in areas of nutrition relevant to the physician and scientist. To achieve this coordination, collaborative research projects among the faculty are frequent, and joint seminars and courses are conducted regularly involving faculty members and students in different departments.
Members of the Institute of Human Nutrition hold appointments in over 18 academic departments and centers within the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, and other divisions of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. These faculty members, in addition to expertise in their own disciplines, have research and teaching interests in the area of human nutrition relevant to the mission of the Institute of Human Nutrition.
The Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University has been on the cutting edge of public health education since its inception over three-quarters of a century ago. It has assumed leadership in disease prevention and, with equal emphasis, in the active promotion of health for all. It is one of thirty-nine schools of public health in the United States accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health. Currently more than 900 students are enrolled in the degree programs leading to the Master in Public Health (MPH), Master of Science (MS), Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Public health, as a profession, naturally interfaces with most professional disciplines that affect the lives of people. The School developed its dual degree programs to encourage students to integrate public health training with other clinical or professional studies. Dual degree programs currently enroll students in a variety of the University’s professional schools, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, occupational therapy, social work, international and public affairs, urban planning, business, and law. Among the overall educational objectives for all graduates of the School is the development of individual competence and improved skills, particularly in;
Public health is inherently interdisciplinary in its research, teaching and service programs. The School is unique in its extensive involvement in direct service delivery programs. The School and several of its Departments are involved in a number of substantial programs that provide public health services directly to populations in need, and in programs that provide ongoing technical assistance to other service-delivery organizations. Furthermore, as is appropriate for a school of public health, many of the School’s research projects focus explicitly on topics that are directly applicable to the delivery of public health services. More and more frequently, the problems and issues that engage the efforts of those working in public health are played out at “center stage” in the global community — the challenges of AIDS, environmental carcinogens, inequities in health care delivery systems, advances in genetics that may radically affect health behavior, the plight of populations displaced by natural disasters or civil strife. These problems are enormous in scope and require our best efforts. They are being addressed daily in the academic programs at the Mailman School of Public Health, and by our faculty and students in their research and in their service activities. At the same time, the Mailman School of Public Health, located in a multi ethnic neighborhood of New York City with a medically underserved population, delivers care at the most immediate local level. Our outreach includes a model Head Start program with a health component, school-based health clinics that aim to provide basic health care and prevent early pregnancy and school dropout, and community health promotion programs to screen for cancer and provide self-help education for the growing number of asthma sufferers in our urban neighborhoods
The Programs in Occupational Therapy have a long and celebrated history at Columbia University. Consistently being ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the best occupational therapy educational programs in the country, our program has also exceeded accreditation standards (Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education) since its inception in 1941. Our faculty is nationally and internationally recognized.
Columbia University’s Occupational Therapy Programs are known for educating individuals who have distinguished themselves as leaders in the profession, working as master clinicians, educators, researchers, administrators, and consultants. Through the offerings of an entry-level M.S. degree, a post-professional M.S. degree, and the first joint M.S./M.P.H. degree (with the Mailman School of Public Health) in the country, students receive a strong foundation across all practice areas, and work in a variety of clinical and community settings. In addition, we are partnered with Teachers College and offer an Ed.D. program in occupational therapy and motor learning.
Through cutting edge programs, our faculty and students have led the way in defining emerging practice areas and in promoting evidence-based practice and research. The structure of each program, which combines principles of adult learning with professional education, allows for didactic experiences that will prepare occupational therapists to work in and contribute to an ever-changing healthcare arena. Stressing multidisciplinary learning, students are prepared to work collaboratively with professionals of all disciplines. The close faculty-student interactions further allow for solid professional mentorship. Strong ties to fieldwork sites in New York City and across the country facilitate the continuum from theoretical and scientific knowledge, to practical application. Currently, the Programs enroll approximately 100 students each year.
Columbia offers an entry-level Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT). The goal of the program is to prepare graduates who are self-directed generalists with clinical problem solving skills. Students graduate with a comprehensive foundation of basic principles in the art and science of physical therapy. With 10.5 full-time faculty and a roster of distinguished adjunct instructors and laboratory assistants from Columbia University Medical Center, students are ensured individualized attention. In recognition of the varied abilities, interests and learning styles of graduate students, the professional curriculum is designed to be flexible and innovative, using a wide variety of learning styles. Emphasis is on an adult methodology that incorporates clinical decision-making, evidence-based practice and self-directed learning activities. Students design and complete a capstone project, collaborating with scientists and clinicians from many parts of the University. The curriculum provides for some specialized skill development through advanced seminars and electives offered during the third year of study. The concept that learning is a lifelong process pervades the educational program. Physical therapists with generalist capabilities are prepared to develop specialty skills, contribute to the leadership and growth of physical therapy, and advance the quality of health care through clinical research. All students participate in a clinical mentorship program during the second year of the curriculum and complete 36 weeks of full-time clinical education. The DPT degree is awarded upon successful completion of both the academic and clinical education components of the curriculum. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education and is registered with the Department of Education of the State of New York. Class size is limited to approximately 50 students per year.