Columbia College, Columbia University
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Columbia College, Columbia University
Columbia College
Established
1754
School type Private
Dean
Michele Moody-Adams
Location
New York, New York, USA
Enrollment
ca. 4,100
Homepage www.college.columbia.edu
[1]
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main
campus of Morningside Heights in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York. It was founded in 1754 by
the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II of Great Britain. Columbia
College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States.
The college is highly selective in its admissions. For the class of 2013, the college accepted 8.9% of its applicants,
the third lowest acceptance rate in the Ivy League behind Harvard and Yale.[2]
History
Columbia College was founded as King’s College by royal charter of King George II of Great Britain in the Province
of New York in 1754. Due in part to the influence of Church of England religious leaders, a site in New York City in
the Trinity Church yard, Wall Street on the island of Manhattan was selected.
Samuel Johnson was chosen as the college’s first president and was also the college’s first (and for a time only)
professor. During this period, classes and examinations, both oral and written, were conducted entirely in Latin.
18th century
In 1767, the college established a medical college, now known as the Columbia University College of Physicians and
Surgeons, which was the first medical school to grant the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in America.
Due to the American Revolutionary War, instruction was suspended from 1776 until 1784, but by the beginning of
the war, the college had already educated some of the nation's foremost political leaders. Even at this young age,
King's College had already educated Alexander Hamilton, who served as military aide to General George
Washington, then as the first Secr