Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions.
The University expects all areas of the institution to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world. Columbia University operates a comprehensive academic enterprise spanning sixteen schools, a world-renowned medical center, twenty-five libraries, and more than one hundred research centers in New York City. For more than 250 years, Columbia has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world, combining the intimate scale of a small college with the vast resources of a major research university.