GS Welcomes Over 170 New Students During Spring Convocation

Columbia GS recently welcomed over 170 new students to campus at its annual Convocation Ceremony on Monday, January 12. 

Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch, alongside numerous GS Deans, University leadership, and GS student and alumni leaders, addressed the incoming class, underscoring how their nontraditional paths to Columbia will deepen their academic experiences and highlighting the transformative journey they’re all about to embark on.

Dean Rosen-Metsch opened the ceremony with words of encouragement and recognition of the diversity of students within GS that creates the school’s unique makeup. “What makes our school within the larger Columbia University truly special is our phenomenal student body,” she said, “you are innovators, change-makers, doers, and dreamers—you make things happen.”

Throughout her remarks, Dean Rosen-Metsch emphasized the year’s theme—Curiosity, Kindness, and Community—as guiding principles for students’ time at Columbia. “Your time here will equip you with the intellectual tools and habits of mind necessary to address the world’s most pressing problems,” she said.

Towards the end of her speech, Dean Roen-Metsch encouraged students to “not be afraid of new ideas and challenging philosophies that are the currency of a Columbia education,” she said, “by questioning the notions, you hold dear today, you will discover what you truly believe and find the ideas that will sustain you for the rest of your lives.”

Following Dean Rosen-Metsch’s speech, students and guests heard from Professor Amy Hungerford, the Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of the Arts & Sciences of Columbia University; Marlyn Delva, GS Dean of Students; and James Colgrove, Dean of the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program.

The ceremony highlighted GS’s distinction as one of the most diverse and dynamic colleges in the Ivy League, enrolling more military veterans than all its peer schools combined and welcoming a greater percentage of first-generation students than any other Ivy institution. By championing students who have taken nontraditional paths, GS continues to redefine what access and excellence look like in higher education.

The newest GSers officially joined a community that has, for nearly eight decades, redefined what it means to be a Columbia student.

Spring 2026 Incoming Class by the Numbers
53% of incoming domestic students are eligible for a Pell Grant*
27% of incoming students are international students
24% of incoming students are military veterans
60 incoming students are first-generation college students
20 incoming students are pursuing their second Bachelor’s degree

Enrollment
Undergraduate: 156
Postbac Premed: 18

Demographics
Age Range: 19 - 54
Students who are married: 21
Students with children: 8
U.S. residents hail from 22 states

Citizenship
23 countries represented

*International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, including Pell Grants

Note: Statistics and counts as of January 20, 2026