School of General Studies

The School of General Studies, or GS as it is known, was formed out of the University Extension Program in 1947. It became Columbia's third official undergraduate school. It is sometimes claimed that Barnard College is Columbia's third undergraduate school, and GS is its fourth, however Barnard is officially only affiliated with Columbia University, whereas GS, its deans and students are formally integrated into the university proper, along with Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. It initially served to educate GIs returning from World War II. GS originally had its own faculty and degree programs. In the 1980s it was separated from the Division of Continuing Education. In 1990, its faculty merged into the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. Since then, the classes available to GS students are generally the same as those available to Columbia College students. The median age of GS students is 29.

Admissions

The School of General Studies is notoriously tight-lipped about its admission criteria and the statistics on admitted students. The School tends to admit approximately forty to fifty per cent of applicants. The profile of the applicant pool or the admitted pool is unknown.

Although there is little information to support the claim, the consensus seems to favor the notion that GS is a 'back-door' to Columbia. The general impression is that GS students come to Columbia with lower SAT scores, lower GPA, and fewer 'accomplishments.'

Housing

General Studies students are not eligible for the CC/SEAS Room Selection process. However, many GS students receive housing through University Apartment Housing.

Relationship to Columbia College

The School of General Studies is loosely defined as a school for 'non-traditional students.' Non-traditional in GS terms seems to refer to anybody who has had a gap of one year or more in their undergraduate studies. By inference, Columbia College is for 'traditional students' who matriculate directly from high school and have not had a gap in their undergraduate studies. On this basis, students interested are applying to study at Columbia University are tracked to an 'appropriate' school. These admissions criteria favor tracking older students into the School of General Studies and is de facto if not de jure age discrimination.

Other differences between GS and CC

• GS students may attend full-time or part-time. CC students are expected to attend full-time (part-time study is accepted under special circumstances.)
• Although everybody must take University Writing, the sections are segregated into GS and CC sections.
• Graduation requirements somewhat different. CC requires the completion of the Core Curriculum. While GS students may opt to use this curriculum to satisfy requirements, they may also satisfy the requirements a wider variety of classes.

External links

• GS website
• GS Housing website
• OwlNet, GS Alumni website
• The Unwashed Brother (article on GS in Time Magazine, circa 1959.