Barnard and Columbia's Academic Relationship
It’s been amazing connecting with so many engaged and curious prospective students this summer. Between the Summer Open House, the weekly Information Sessions hosted by our admissions counselors, and our weekly Ask a Student Chats, we’ve received so many good questions from prospective students with some of the most common questions being about the academic relationship that exists between Barnard College and Columbia University. Through explaining how course registration works each semester, talking about classroom culture and experiences, and reflecting on my own experiences in classes across Barnard’s and Columbia’s campuses during my first year, I hope to demystify and clarify this unique relationship!
Let’s start with the basics of course registration, shall we? The entirety of Columbia University, Barnard College included, operates on a schedule whereby the academic year is split into two semesters* and students register for courses each semester. Barnard and Columbia students use the same Directory of Classes that lists over 3,000 courses each semester for students to choose from. Barnard students can take classes on Columbia’s campus and vice versa. Contrary to popular belief, when registering for classes, there is no preference given to Columbia students who want to take Columbia classes or Barnard students who want to take Barnard classes. The only things that can affect “priority” when registering for classes are details like seniority based on class year and whether a course is required for your major. Most academic departments exist on both campuses while a few departments are housed exclusively on either Barnard’s or Columbia’s campuses. With the exception of a handful of courses (such as your First-Year Writing and First-Year Seminar courses which are entirely made of of fellow Barnard students), all of the courses listed on the Directory of Classes across all departments and across both campuses are open to all Barnard College and Columbia University students.
While Barnard and Columbia’s unique and nuanced relationship means that Barnard students have access to a wide breadth of different courses across the University, it also means that we benefit from a rich classroom and academic culture. In any given classroom that you step into as a Barnard student, you will be learning alongside peers from all four of Columbia University’s undergraduate colleges - all of whom were drawn to different undergraduate communities and experiences yet drawn to the same course. Deep and meaningful connections are made in the classroom when students draw from their different backgrounds and communities and bring their experiences to the coursework. I would also add the Barnard students are uniquely situated in this academic exchange as they are able to bring the values and practices of our women’s college to any space we step into. I’ve also noticed that Barnard students are unafraid to speak their minds, be themselves, and take on leadership roles in the classroom.
Over the course of my first year at Barnard, I had the opportunity to personally take advantage of a small part of all that is possible through Barnard and Columbia’s academic relationship. I took course on both campuses as a matter of happenstance and I completely underestimated how profoundly having those different classroom experiences would enrich my first year of college. My Statistics, Spanish, and Portuguese courses on Columbia’s campuses were very evenly mixed in terms of gender and undergraduate college representation while my Africana Studies, Biology, and Comparative Literature courses on Barnard’s campus were majority-female and majority Barnard students. Those varied classroom experiences were also tempered by my First-Year Writing and First-Year Seminar courses that gave me the opportunity to bond with and learn alongside other extraordinary young women in my graduating class. That level of diversified and varied classroom experience was only made possible through Barnard and Columbia’s unique academic relationship that provides students with freedom and breadth when registering for courses as well as experience and depth once we step into the classroom.
*For the 2020-2021 academic year, Barnard has implemented a one-year three-semester model offering students the opportunity to spread their courses over three semesters. Full information on the 2020-2021 academic and classroom experience can be found here.
- Zuri Mabrey-Wakefield ‘23
Photo credit: Cherrie Zheng / Staff Photographer Columbia Spectator