Student Life
For a general overview of programs, please consult the Graduate Life page. At the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, diversity is an academic value — one that is a marker of institutional excellence as well as a benchmark of innovation for our research and scholarship, programming, and student experience. Find more information about the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion here.
Going out
Arts Initiative offers great discounts to Columbia students on Broadway and Off-Broadway shows as well as a wide array of concerts at the Met Opera, NYC Ballet, Carnegie Hall, etc. They also offer discounts for most movie theaters.
Moreover, as a Columbia student you have free admission to many museums around the city such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.
To stay informed about what’s going on around campus, take a look at the two student-run newspapers, Bwog and Columbia Spectator.
Finally, if you’re looking for fun and affordable activities to do around New York, The Skint compiles a daily list of whatever is going on in the city.
Health
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences waives the insurance fee for all its fellows. Besides excellent health centers, medical services include acupuncture, osteopathic manipulation therapy, tobacco cessation programs, travel medicines, vaccinations, and much more.
Columbia has numerous initiatives that could help you at some point during your PhD.
–Search Go Ask Alice! to find health information by subject on many topics such as alcohol & other drugs, emotional health, nutrition & physical activity, general health, relationships, and sexual & reproductive health, among others.
–The Columbia Medical Service provides nutrition services to all Columbia students.
– You can also schedule a one-on-one Birth Control educational session.
– Friend2Friend is a workshop to develop skills to recognize and understand how to act if a friend is exhibiting indicators of depression, anxiety, and general distress.
– Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) also hosts several workshops that deal with many issues that you could potential face such as help for international students adapt to a new environment, fighting against procrastination, etc.
–Get a good night’s sleep with Columbia’s sleep resources.
– Stressbusters organize events around the exam period to help you relax. Usually located at Butler Library, they offer back-rubs, bring puppies, and free snacks.
