Hard-won advice from the directionally-challenged.

Columbia’s main campus in Morningside Heights is rather cozy, especially for a university of over 30,000 students. Yet navigating all those ancient green-tipped buildings can be confusing, especially when the first floor never seems to be on the actual first floor. You might even have to make the journey to Manhattanville—wherever that is—for the occasional class. No fear, freshman: below, I’ve compiled a humble overview of Columbia’s campuses, followed by assorted tips and a brief note on accessibility. Take it from someone who’s directionally challenged, as proven by my chronic use of Google Maps to find buildings less than five minutes from my dorm. Campus can be a maze, but soon it’ll become a maze of your very own.

An Overview of Columbia’s Campuses + Some Niche Details

According to Columbia University Life, Columbia splits into three campuses: Morningside, Manhattanville, and Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Barnard’s campus is right across Broadway street from Morningside.

Morningside, between Broadway and Amsterdam on 116th street, is Columbia’s main campus. As a Columbia College (CC) or School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) freshman, you’ll likely spend most of your time around here, in between dorms, classes, libraries of varying aesthetic appeal, and several dining halls. The heart of Morningside consists of the stretch between Lowe Library and Butler Library, with the path called College Walk threading between the two. College Walk connects Broadway on one end and Amsterdam on the other. Cross Broadway, walk up a bit, and you’ll hit Barnard. Cross Amsterdam, and you’ll see Wien Hall, one of the freshman dorms. Although you can cross the street to access the Amsterdam bit of campus, you could also cross the Law Bridge to avoid having to leave campus. As a bonus, taking the Law Bridge also means you get to watch the glittering river of cars and city lights unfold down Amsterdam.

Behind Lowe Library rests Uris Hall, which acts as a key landmark for navigating where buildings are in the clusters behind Lowe. Uris also houses Chef Mike’s Sub Shop and a library that allows food—I highly recommend taking joint advantage of these perks during study sessions! The Science and Engineering buildings line the very back of this upper part of campus. At the very left corner is the Science and Engineering library—a personal favorite place to study, as the oddly motivating depression of engineering students runs deep here. Mudd, the engineering building, lies at the far right corner.

Around the gated Morningside Campus lie various graduate schools, such as Union Theological Seminar and Teacher’s College, where Columbia College freshmen will take Frontiers of Science.

Manhattanville starts on 125th street just west of Broadway. It boasts many of the graduate buildings, including the Jerome L. Greene Science Center and—my personal favorite—the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Although you might have classes here, such as my friend who took an introductory film class at Lenfest, you’ll most likely only come down for special events related to the various graduate buildings. Lenfest events are especially brilliant, in this writer’s humble opinion: I even had the chance to witness Celine Song speak pure creative genius there.

CUIMC is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll have classes there. Some students do research with the medical center, though.

Assorted Tips

  • Google Maps is your best friend! Or Apple Maps—you choose. Put in basically any building hall or landmark, and you should be able to find it.
  • Consider downloading a copy of the campus map on your phone. It’s a handy tool in case WiFi or cellular isn’t quite cutting things.
  • Scout out where your classes are before they start and consider tracking how long it takes you to walk there, just so you can plan your schedule a bit more precisely.
  • Tips regarding libraries:
    • Explore! Each library brings its own charm to locking in. Although the great reading hall in Butler is perhaps over-hyped, the fourth and fifth floors are truly excellent places to study.
    • Enjoy libraries with generous windows during seasons where the light actually matters. Such places include the Barnard Library and Burke, which is especially beautiful.
  • There are weird tunnels and backways in some campus buildings. If you’ve got some time to kill, consider exploring Mudd Hall…
  • Overall, campus really isn’t that hard to find your way around because of its size. Directionally challenged or not, you’ve got this!

Brief Note on Accessibility

Columbia Morningside, as a campus built over a hundred years ago, was designed solely for able-bodied students. However, Columbia has made attempts to make campus more accessible. Basically all the buildings have elevators, and this official accessibility map details accessible routes and entrances around campus. Still, any areas for improvement still remain. Just two years ago, the Columbia Daily Spectator dropped this excellent article about the frustrations of wheelchair-users on campus.

Image via Bwog Archives