# Columbia University in popular culture

Columbia University in New York City, New York, as one of the oldest universities in the United States, has been the subject of numerous aspects of popular culture. Film historian Rob King explains that the university's popularity with filmmakers has to do with its being one of the few colleges with a physical campus located in New York City, and its neoclassical architecture, which "aestheticizes America’s intellectual history," making Columbia an ideal shooting location and setting for productions that involve urban universities. Additionally, campus monuments such as Alma Mater and the university's copy of The Thinker have come to symbolize academic reflection and university prestige in popular culture. Room 309 in Havemeyer Hall has been described as the most filmed college classroom in the United States.
Historical events on Columbia's campus have also served to draw attention to the university. The Beat Generation, which began at Columbia with students Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Lucien Carr, among others, is often associated with the university, which served as a conservative backdrop to the writers' literary experimentation. The university has often been portrayed in relation to the movement, including in Vanity of Duluoz by Kerouac and the film Kill Your Darlings, which depicts the earliest days of the movement at Columbia.
The Columbia University protests of 1968 were the target of heavy media attention while they transpired, and since have been the subject of numerous depictions, including memoirs, such as The Strawberry Statement by James Simon Kunen and the film based on it; novels, such as 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster; films, such as Across the Universe and 84 Charing Cross Road; and numerous documentaries, including Columbia Revolt and A Time to Stir, edited by Paul Cronin. The protests have also been the subject of significant academic inquiry, and has, along with subsequent protests throughout the decades, cemented Columbia's reputation as a hotbed for counterculture and student activism.

## Film

Movies making reference to Columbia and/or featuring scenes shot on Columbia's campus include:
* 3 lb
* A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
* Across the Universe
* Altered States
* Anger Management
* August Rush
* Awakenings
* Black and White
* Butterfield 8
* Charlie Bartlett
* Crimes and Misdemeanors
* Cruising
* The Detective
* Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna
* Enchanted
* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
* Everyone Says I Love You
* Finding Forrester
* Ghostbusters
* Ghostbusters II
* Ghostbusters (2016)
* Hannah and Her Sisters
* Hitch
* Husbands and Wives
* Igby Goes Down
* In the Blood (2006)
* Ishtar
* It's My Turn
* K-PAX
* Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
* Kill Your Darlings
* Kinsey
* Love the Hard Way
* Made of Honor
* The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart
* Malcolm X
* Manhattan
* Marathon Man
* The Mirror Has Two Faces
* Mona Lisa Smile
* Music of the Heart
* The Nanny Diaries
* New York Minute
* North
* Porn 'n Chicken'
* The Post
* Premium Rush
* The Princess Diaries
* The Pride of the Yankees
* The Producers: The Movie Musical
* P.S.
* Punchline
* Quiz Show
* Real Women Have Curves
* The Rock
* Rollover
* Simon
* The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
* Spider-Man
* Spider-Man 2
* Spider-Man 3
* Stay
* Still Alice
* Tadpole
* Ta Ra Rum Pum
* Teacher's Pet
* The Words

## Music

* The music video for the Fugees' single "Nappy Heads" (recorded in 1992 but not released until 1994) was partially shot on the steps of Low Library of Columbia University, where one of the members, Lauryn Hill, was a student.
* The Indigo Girls song, "Free of Hope," contains the lyrics, "Big brother's at Columbia University; quote unquote, he's tanning beaver pelts."
* Recording artist Nellie McKay released a song on her second album Pretty Little Head (2006), entitled "Columbia Is Bleeding", alleging animal abuse as part of the practice of animal testing at Columbia University.
* Vampire Weekend, which was founded at Columbia, frequently references the university in its lyrics, including in "Oxford Comma", "Harmony Hall", and "One (Blake's Got a New Face)".

## Video games

Due to its location in Manhattan, Columbia's campus frequently appears in video games that seek to replicate New York City in their maps, such as Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), as Vespucci University in the neighborhood of Varsity Heights; Assassin's Creed III (2012), as King's College in the late 18th century; and Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) and Spider-Man 2 (2023). The designs for university buildings in Cities: Skylines are based on the neoclassical architecture of the university.

## Fictional Columbians

| Character | Appearances | Notes |
| Grace Adler | Will & Grace; portrayed by Debra Messing | Graduate of Columbia College. In the show, she and Will Truman met at a party in Carman Hall. |
| Meg Altman | Panic Room, directed by David Fincher; portrayed by Jodie Foster | Attends Columbia in the film |
| Andie Anderson | How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, directed by Donald Petrie; portrayed by Kate Hudson | Graduate of the School of Journalism |
| Paul Andrews | Broken City, directed by Allen Hughes; portrayed by Kyle Chandler | Graduate of Columbia |
| Nate Archibald | Gossip Girl; portrayed by Chace Crawford | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Paul Armstrong | Just Cause, directed by Arne Glimcher; portrayed by Sean Connery | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Rachel Armstrong | Nothing but the Truth, directed by Rod Lurie; portrayed by Kate Beckinsale | Graduate of the School of Journalism |
| Radhika Banerjee Singh | Ta Ra Rum Pum, directed by Siddharth Anand; portrayed by Rani Mukerji | Is majoring in music at Columbia when she meets Rajveer Singh (portrayed by Saif Ali Khan) |
| Zoe Barry | Something's Gotta Give, directed by Nancy Meyers; portrayed by Frances McDormand | Professor of women's studies |
| Bender | Futurama; voiced by John DiMaggio | Attends "Columbiac University" in the episode "Free Will Hunting" |
| Naomi Bennett | Private Practice; portrayed by Audra McDonald | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Sam Bennett | Private Practice; portrayed by Taye Diggs | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Serena Benson | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; portrayed by Elizabeth Ashley | Graduate of either Columbia College or Barnard College |
| Charles Bigelow | Strange Invaders, directed by Michael Laughlin; portrayed by Paul Le Mat | Professor |
| James Brennan | Adventureland, directed by Greg Mottola; portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg | Is a college graduate slated to attend the Graduate School of Journalism |
| Buckaroo Bonzai | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, directed by W. D. Richter; portrayed by Peter Weller | Implied to have been a professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Matt Camden | 7th Heaven; portrayed by Barry Watson | Attends the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the show |
| Billy Campbell | Apartment, by Teddy Wayne | Attends the School of Arts in the book, along with the unnamed narrator |
| Alexis Castle | Castle; portrayed by Molly Quinn | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Quentin Coldwater | The Magicians; portrayed by Jason Ralph | Graduate of Columbia College |
| Richard Cooper | I Think I Love My Wife, directed by Chris Rock; portrayed by Chris Rock | An MBA degree from Columbia can be seen hanging in his office. |
| Ken Cosgrove | Mad Men; portrayed by Aaron Staton | Graduate of Columbia |
| Kevin Cozner | Brooklyn Nine-Nine; portrayed by Marc Evan Jackson | Professor of classics |
| Daredevil/Matt Murdock | Marvel Comics | Valedictorian of his class at Columbia Law School. In the comics, he also studies pre-law at Columbia College. |
| Jessica Darling | The Jessica Darling books, by Megan McCafferty | Attends Columbia in the books |
| Samuel Davenport | Archive 81; portrayed by Evan Jonigkeit | Professor of renaissance and medieval studies |
| Finn DeTrolio | The Sopranos; portrayed by Will Janowitz | Attends Columbia in the show, studying dentistry |
| Jack Duluoz | Vanity of Duluoz, by Jack Kerouac | Attends Columbia College in the book, which is based on Kerouac's own time at the university |
| Marshall Emerson | For Kings and Planets, by Ethan Canin | Attends Columbia in the book |
| Marshall Eriksen | How I Met Your Mother; portrayed by Jason Segel | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| F. Scott Feinstadt | P.S., directed by Dylan Kidd; portrayed by Topher Grace | Is accepted at the School of Arts following an affair with an admissions officer |
| Archie Ferguson | 4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster | Attends Columbia around the 1968 protests |
| Firestorm/Jason Rusch | DC Comics | Attends Columbia in the comics |
| Flag-Smasher/Karl Morgenthau | Marvel Comics | Studies political science as an undergraduate student |
| Joel Fleishman | Northern Exposure; portrayed by Rob Morrow | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Marco Stanley Fogg | Moon Palace, by Paul Auster | Attends Columbia College in the book |
| Eric Foreman | House; portrayed by Omar Epps | Studied biochemistry at the university on a full scholarship |
| Colin Forrester | Gossip Girl; portrayed by Samuel Page | Visiting professor |
| Gabriel the Devil Hunter | Marvel Comics | Is described as "a scholar at Columbia University" |
| Ana García | Real Women Have Curves, directed by Patricia Cardoso; portrayed by America Ferrera | Is accepted at Columbia with a full scholarship in the film |
| Ross Geller | Friends; portrayed by David Schwimmer | Holds a PhD in paleontology from Columbia |
| Erin Gilbert | Ghostbusters, directed by Paul Feig; portrayed by Kristen Wiig | Professor of physics |
| Sarah Glass | 7th Heaven; portrayed by Sarah Danielle Madison | Attends the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the show |
| Robert Goldman | Marvel Comics | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Stanley Goodspeed | The Rock, directed by Michael Bay; portrayed by Nicolas Cage | Graduate of Columbia College |
| Lucas Goodwin | House of Cards, portrayed by Sebastian Arcelus | A Columbia degree can be seen hanging in his office. |
| Bram Greenfeld | Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli | Is accepted early decision to Columbia |
| Ben Gross | Never Have I Ever, portrayed by Jaren Lewison | Is accepted at and attends Columbia in the show |
| Louise Harrington | P.S., directed by Dylan Kidd; portrayed by Laura Linney | Director of admissions at the School of the Arts |
| Alexander Hartdegen | The Time Machine, directed by Simon Wells; portrayed by Guy Pearce | Professor of applied mechanics and engineering |
| Miles Heller | Sunset Park, by Paul Auster | Graduate student at Columbia; withdrew before the events of the novel |
| Miranda Hobbes | Sex and the City, And Just Like That...; portrayed by Cynthia Nixon | Attends Columbia in And Just Like That... |
| Dave Hodgman | The First Time, directed by Jonathan Kasdan; portrayed by Dylan O'Brien | Is a high school senior slated to attend Columbia in the fall |
| Beatrice Horseman | BoJack Horseman; voiced by Wendie Malick | Graduate of Barnard College |
| Alice Howland | Still Alice, directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland; portrayed by Julianne Moore | Professor of linguistics |
| Isbisa/Simon Meke | Marvel Comics | Professor of physics |
| Linda Jackson | Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, directed by Adam McKay; portrayed by Meagan Good | Graduate of the School of Journalism |
| Rosie Jarman | The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect, and The Rosie Result, by Graeme Simsion | Attends the College of Physicians and Surgeons in The Rosie Effect |
| Emily Jessup | Altered States, directed by Ken Russell; portrayed by Blair Brown | Is a PhD student in physical anthropology in the film |
| Jess Jordan | Succession; portrayed by Juliana Canfield | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Willie Keith | The Caine Mutiny, by Herman Wouk | At the beginning of the book, is a student at the Columbia University Midshipmen's School, which operated during World War II |
| Candace Kelmeckis | The Perks of Being a Wallflower, directed by Stephen Chbosky; portrayed by Nina Dobrev | Is a high school senior slated to attend Columbia in the fall |
| Mindy Lahiri | The Mindy Project; portrayed by Mindy Kaling | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Todd Lancaster | Broken City, directed by Allen Hughes; portrayed by James Ransone | Graduate of Columbia |
| Gregory Larkin | The Mirror Has Two Faces, directed by Barbra Streisand; portrayed by Jeff Bridges | Professor of mathematics |
| Karen Wagner Leland | The Detective, directed by Gordon Douglas; portrayed by Lee Remick | Professor |
| Thomas "Babe" Levy | Marathon Man, directed by John Schlesinger; portrayed by Dustin Hoffman | Is a PhD student at Columbia in the film |
| Lizard/Curt Connors | Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi; portrayed by Dylan Baker | Professor of physics |
| Kate Lloyd | The Thing, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.; portrayed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead | Studied paleontology at Columbia |
| Veronica Lodge | Riverdale; portrayed by Camila Mendes | Graduate of Barnard College |
| Kim Joo-won | Secret Garden; portrayed by Hyun Bin | Graduate of Columbia |
| Justice/Vance Astrovik | Marvel Comics | Attends Columbia, and re-enrolls after going to jail for killing his father |
| Carl Luce | The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger | Columbia College student and former classmate of Holden Caulfield |
| Dinah Madani | The Punisher; portrayed by Amber Rose Revah | Holds a master's degree in Islamic studies from Columbia |
| Veronica Mars | Veronica Mars; portrayed by Kristen Bell | Attends Columbia Law School in the show |
| Tracy McConnell | How I Met Your Mother; portrayed by Cristin Milioti | Studied economics at Columbia |
| Joy Meachum | Iron Fist; portrayed by Jessica Stroup | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Mister Fear/Larry Cranston | Marvel Comics | Professor at Columbia Law School, under the name Harold Cranstone |
| Simon Mendelssohn | Simon, directed by Marshall Brickman; portrayed by Alan Arkin | Professor of psychology |
| Lucrecia Montesinos Hendrich | Elite; portrayed by Danna Paola | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Addison Montgomery | Grey's Anatomy; portrayed by Kate Walsh | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Rose Morgan | The Mirror Has Two Faces, directed by Barbra Streisand; portrayed by Barbra Streisand | Professor of English literature |
| Michael Moscovitz | The Princess Diaries, by Meg Cabot | Attends Columbia in the books |
| Ted Mosby | How I Met Your Mother; portrayed by Josh Radnor | Becomes a professor of architecture in the show |
| Sammy Mourad | The 39 Clues, by various authors | Postdoctoral researcher in biochemistry |
| Elektra Natchios | Marvel Comics; Daredevil, directed by Mark Steven Johnson; portrayed by Jennifer Garner | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Foggy Nelson | Marvel Comics; Daredevil, directed by Mark Steven Johnson; portrayed by Jon Favreau | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Roland Nilson | The Switch, directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon; portrayed by Patrick Wilson | Professor of English |
| Erica Noughton | Nip/Tuck; portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave | Holds a PhD in clinical psychology from Columbia |
| Sarah Obeng | Queen of Glory, directed by Nana Mensah; portrayed by Nana Mensah | Doctoral student in neuro-oncology |
| Oliver | Call Me by Your Name, by André Aciman; Call Me by Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino; portrayed by Armie Hammer | Postdoctoral researcher in classics |
| Harry Osborn | Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi; portrayed by James Franco | Attends Columbia in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 |
| Camille Parks | Harlem; portrayed by Meagan Good | Professor of anthropology |
| Mitchell Pritchett | Modern Family; portrayed by Jesse Tyler Ferguson | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Quiet Man | Marvel Comics | Attended Columbia |
| Clare Quilty | Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov | Attended Columbia |
| Wendell Rand | Iron Fist; portrayed by David Furr | Graduate of Columbia |
| Erin Reagan | Blue Bloods; portrayed by Bridget Moynahan | Graduate of Columbia |
| Nicky Reagan-Boyle | Blue Bloods; portrayed by Sami Gayle | Attends and graduates from Columbia in the show |
| Esteban Reyes | Weeds; portrayed by Demián Bichir | Graduate of Columbia |
| Rachel Rose | Keeping the Faith, directed by Edward Norton; portrayed by Rena Sofer | Graduate of the School of Journalism |
| Jamie Ross | Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial by Jury; portrayed by Carey Lowell | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Kendall Roy | Succession; portrayed by Jeremy Strong | Graduate of Columbia Business School |
| Artur Sammler | Mr. Sammler's Planet, by Saul Bellow | Lectures at Columbia in the book |
| Sheila Sazs | Suits; portrayed by Rachael Harris | Head of admissions |
| Kimmy Schmidt | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; portrayed by Ellie Kemper | Attends, and is expelled from, Columbia in the show |
| Carol Seaver | Growing Pains; portrayed by Tracey Gold | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Mark Sloan | Grey's Anatomy; portrayed by Eric Dane | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards | Marvel Comics | Holds a doctorate from Columbia |
| Edward H. Simpson | Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton | Emeritus professor of zoology |
| Ollie Slocumb | Igby Goes Down, directed by Burr Steers; portrayed by Ryan Phillippe | Attends Columbia as an economics major in the film |
| Nadia Shanaa | Elite; portrayed by Mina El Hammani | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Juliet Sharp | Gossip Girl; portrayed by Katie Cassidy | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Jack Shephard | Lost; portrayed by Matthew Fox | Graduate of Columbia |
| Derek Shepherd | Grey's Anatomy; portrayed by Patrick Dempsey | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Meadow Soprano | The Sopranos; portrayed by Jamie-Lynn Sigler | Attends Columbia College in the show |
| Jessie Spano | Saved by the Bell; portrayed by Elizabeth Berkley | Attends Columbia in the show's spinoff, Saved by the Bell: The College Years |
| Egon Spengler | Ghostbusters; portrayed by Harold Ramis | Professor of parapsychology at Columbia before forming the Ghostbusters |
| Spider-Man/Peter Parker | Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi; portrayed by Tobey Maguire | Acquires his powers at a Columbia laboratory, and later attends the university in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 |
| Gwen Stacy | Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi; portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard | Attends Columbia in the film |
| Ray Stantz | Ghostbusters; portrayed by Dan Aykroyd | Professor of parapsychology at Columbia before forming the Ghostbusters |
| Martin Stein | DC Comics | Professor of physics |
| Richard Stone | Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton | Head of the Tropical Diseases Laboratory of the Columbia University Medical Center |
| Doctor Strange | Marvel Comics | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons; resident at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for five years |
| David Strom | The Time of Our Singing, by Richard Powers | Is a physicist at Columbia |
| Superwoman/Kristin Wells | DC Comics | Graduate student and later professor of history |
| Stanley Sweetheart | The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart, directed by Leonard Horn; portrayed by Don Johnson | Attends Columbia in the film |
| Lance Sweets | Bones; portrayed by John Francis Daley | Holds doctorates in clinical psychology and behavioral analysis from Columbia |
| Oluwakemi "Kemi" Talbot | Veep; portrayed by Toks Olagundoye | Graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School |
| Orno Tarcher | For Kings and Planets, by Ethan Canin | Attends Columbia in the book |
| Don Tillman | The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect, and The Rosie Result, by Graeme Simsion | Visiting professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Will Truman | Will & Grace; portrayed by Eric McCormack | Graduate of Columbia College |
| Taissa Turner | Yellowjackets; portrayed by Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Val Tyler | What I Like About You; portrayed by Jennie Garth | Holds a degree in public relations from Columbia |
| Serena van der Woodsen | Gossip Girl; portrayed by Blake Lively | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Macy Vaughn | Charmed; portrayed by Madeleine Mantock | Holds an MA and PhD in genetics |
| Iris Vegan | The Blindfold, by Siri Hustvedt | Is a graduate student at Columbia in the book |
| Peter Venkman | Ghostbusters; portrayed by Bill Murray | Professor of parapsychology at Columbia before forming the Ghostbusters |
| Blair Waldorf | Gossip Girl; portrayed by Leighton Meester | Attends Columbia in the show |
| Adam Walker | Invisible, by Paul Auster | Attends Columbia in the book, and befriends political science professor Rudolf Born |
| Matty Walker | Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan; portrayed by Kathleen Turner | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Mara Waters | The Au Pairs, by Melissa de la Cruz | Decides to attend Columbia in the book |
| Abe Weissman | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; portrayed by Tony Shalhoub | Tenured professor at the university |
| Iris West | DC Comics | Graduate of Columbia |
| McAfee Westbrook | The Politician; portrayed by Laura Dreyfuss | Graduates in the show. |
| Angela Wheatley | Law & Order: Organized Crime; portrayed by Tamara Taylor | Professor of mathematics |
| Julia Wicker | The Magicians; portrayed by Stella Maeve | Graduate of Columbia College |
| James Wilson | House; portrayed by Robert Sean Leonard | Graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| Lee Wing | Marvel Comics | Professor of Oriental studies |
| Wyatt Wingfoot | Marvel Comics | Briefly attended |
| Frank Wheeler | Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates | Described as an "intense, nicotine-stained, Jean-Paul Sartre sort of man" while a student |
| Harold Woodsman | Amsterdam, directed by David O. Russell; portrayed by John David Washington | Graduate of Columbia Law School |
| Professor X | Marvel Comics | Holds a PhD in anthropology from Columbia; professor of biology |
| Boris Yelnikoff | Whatever Works, directed by Woody Allen; portrayed by Larry David | Professor of physics |
| Leopold York | Marvel Comics | Professor of law |
| Rachel Zane | Suits; portrayed by Meghan Markle | Attends Columbia Law School in the show |
| Toby Ziegler | The West Wing; portrayed by Richard Schiff | Professor at Columbia, following his dismissal by President Josiah Bartlet |
| Sidney Zwiebel/"New Jersey" | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, directed by W. D. Richter; portrayed by Jeff Goldblum | Implied to have been a professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons |