How does the pre-med track work at Columbia University?

At Columbia, “pre-med” is not a major. It usually means you are completing the courses and experiences needed to apply to medical school while majoring in whatever academic subject you want.

So you could major in biology, history, English, neuroscience, economics, or something else entirely, as long as you also finish the medical school prerequisites.

In practice, the pre-med track is a set of coursework plus advising. Typical requirements include biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, math or statistics, and often English. Many students also take biochemistry, psychology, or sociology because those can help with the MCAT or specific med school expectations.

At Columbia College and Columbia Engineering, students can pursue pre-med alongside their degree requirements. That means your schedule has to balance Core or engineering requirements, your major, and the pre-med sciences. It is doable, but planning early matters because science sequences build on each other.