Columbia University Archives: Alumni Search

Here are some additional sources readily available online to help you find information about former Columbia students:

• Columbia University Roll of Honor
  This website is intended as a memorial acknowledging the sacrifice and contributions of each Columbia war casualty as an individual. The site is searchable by war, by Columbia class and by name.
   
• Yearbooks, Class Books, and Commencement Programs
  A small number of Columbia College yearbooks, class books, class histories and commencement programs have been digitized by different repositories. These range from 1871 to 1921. As more of these become available, they will be added to Yearbook section of the University Archives website. You can also find both digital and paper volumes in the Yearbooks, Facebooks and Class Books finding aid. 
   
• Columbia College Today
  Thanks to a gift from the board of the Columbia University Club Foundation, Columbia College Today and the Columbia University Libraries have recently digitized back issues from 1954 to 2016. This donation was made in recognition of the 18 and a half years that Alex Sachare CC 1971 was CCT's editor (1998-2016). To find specific CCT articles and features, please search the CCT Index. This Excel spreadsheet includes all CCT content (except for "Class Notes"), from the short news items in "Around the Quads,"  the sports coverage in "Roar, Lion, Roar," the book excerpts in "Columbia Forum," to the full-length features and cover stories. While the Class Notes have not been indexed, a list of decedents can be found in the "Obituaries" tab of the CCT Index. The index will note the volume, issue, year and page numbers for each article. You can find the issues available on the Internet Archive.
   
• Alumni Registers
  Before the Alumni Register of 1932, there are earlier editions of the Register or sometimes called the Catalogue. These include the names of all the graduates of the University and their degrees, organized by school and by year and a list of honorary degree recipients. Volumes also contain geographical and alphabetical indexes of graduates. Here is a list of some of the catalogues which have been scanned and are available online.
   
• Directory of the Chinese Students in the United States of America, 1911-1912
  From a 1906 article in the Columbia University Quarterly, we learn that Chinese students at Columbia were exceed in number only by the Chinese students of the University of California. Published by Chinese Students' Alliance in the United States of America, these student directories include all Chinese students in America, including Columbia students, from the 1910s. There are also other publications (including student handbooks) available online. 
   
• Other Publications

  • Catalogue of matriculants who have not graduated, 1758-1897. Supplement to the General Catalogue of 1894. New York: Published for the University, 1897.

  • Association of the Alumni of Columbia College. Alumni Directory, Revised to January 1897. Printed by the Order of the Association, 1897.

  • Thomas, Milton Halsey. Columbia University Officers and Alumni 1754-1857. Compiled for the Committee on General Catalogue. New York: Columbia University Press, 1936.

  • Fuld, Leonhard Felix. King's College Alumni. New York, 1913 (biographical sketches, organized by class year, for classes 1758 to 1775, material originally appeared in the Columbia Quarterly.)

  • The New York School of Social Work, Columbia University. Graduate directory, 1898-1956. New York: International Press, 1956.

  • Sloan, William S. The Undergraduate Record: A Book of Statistical Information. New York, Gillis brothers, 1881. 

If you are looking for a former student at Columbia University, here are the most popular sources. Please note that these are non-circulating materials available only at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) reading room.  In order to use the University Archives collections at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML), visitors are required to register their own Special Collections Research Account before their visit and to validate the account in person with government-issued photo identification or Columbia ID card. Once you have created your Special Collections Research Account, you will be able to request the boxes directly from the finding aid or from the CLIO online library catalog record. For more information on how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website.

• Historical Biographical Files
  Compiled by the Columbiana curators and University Archives staff, this collection contains information on alumni, faculty, officers and other notable Columbians. You can request materials directly from HBF Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
   
• Directories of Officers and Students
  The University Archives has paper copies of the staff and student directories from 1893-1894 to 2005-2006. When requesting the Directories from CLIO, the online library catalog, look for the University Archives holdings on the right, and click on "Request: Special Collections." This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form. When requesting the directories, please specify the academic year and/or summer session.
   
• Yearbooks, Facebooks and Class Books
  You can find the University Archives holdings for all the years and all the Columbia schools in the Yearbooks, Facebooks and Class Books finding aid. To request any of these publications, you will need to use your Special Collections Research Account.  
  • Yearbooks are published every year and include information about the students enrolled and the activities students engage in such as athletic teams, debating societies, publications, performing arts groups, fraternities and other social organizations. Early yearbooks provide only lists of names. You can find both digital and paper volumes in the Yearbooks, Facebooks and Class Books finding aid. 
    • The yearbooks for the CUIMC health sciences campus schools (College of Physicians & Surgeons, College of Dental Medicine, College of Pharmacy, School of Nursing) are archived at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library. 
    • The School of Public Health and Administrative Medicine yearbook holdings are available online.
    • The volumes of the Columbia Optometrist, the yearbook of the School of Optometry, are available from offsite storage.
    • Barnard College yearbooks, the Annual and later the Mortarboard, are available from the Barnard Digital Collections. 
    • For the Law School, please contact the Special Collections Librarian at the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library. 
    • For Teachers College and additional Horace Mann School yearbooks, please visit the Teachers College online repository.
  • Facebook is the more common name of the freshman student directory. This publication is similar to a yearbook with photographs of the individual students, short biographical sketches (high school and hometown), and campus directory information; but it is created to familiarize new students with their fellow classmates when they are still relatively new to campus. You can find facebooks for Columbia College, Engineering, Barnard and SIPA in  Yearbooks, Facebooks and Class Books finding aid. 
    • The School of Journalism used to publish facebooks and those can be found in the Graduate School of Journalism Facebooks, 1950-2008.
  • A Class Book summarized the class's progress and adventures during their four years at Columbia. These are sometimes called class books, class histories, and even senior year books. These volumes can also include student lists (e.g., student organization rosters), commencement speeches, class poems and songs, biographical sketches of individual class members, and, in some, photographs. There are also class minutes, directories, newsletters and reunion materials in this collection, mostly from Columbia College from the 1860s to the 1920.  You can find the class books in the Yearbooks, Facebooks and Class Books finding aid. 

If you have any questions on how to request any of the yearbooks, please reach out to uarchives@columbia.edu. 

For more information about our complete yearbook holdings, see our Collections Overview description on yearbooks, facebooks and class books. To learn more about how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website. If you have any questions about how to find materials, please contact uarchives@columbia.edu.

Here are some additional sources for finding former students.  Please note that these are non-circulating materials available only at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) reading room. 

In order to use the University Archives collections at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML), visitors are required to register their own Special Collections Research Account before their visit and to validate the account in person with government-issued photo identification or Columbia ID card. Once you have created your Special Collections Research Account, you will be able to request the boxes directly from the finding aid or from the CLIO online library catalog record. For more information on how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website.

• Alumni Directories 
  Over the years, the University Archives has collected a number of alumni registers and directories, both from the University as a whole and from the individual schools (Architectures, Business, Columbia College, Engineering, General Studies, Journalism, Law, etc.) . To see the complete listing with instructions on how to request each of these volumes, see the Alumni Directories and Registers finding aid.
   
• Alumni Federation Cards
  A collection of index cards kept by the Alumni Federation, these records contain degree and year for alumni as well as information about their lives after Columbia: occupation, addresses, milestones, etc. There are two alphabetical sequences in this collection: those alumni who were still living and those whom the Federation was notified that they had passed away. If the last name can be found in two boxes (one from each sequence), request both. You can request materials directly from Alumni Federation Cards Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
   
• Central Files
  If the alum you are researching received an honorary degree from the University or was a significant donor, you will likely find related correspondence in this collection of administrative files emanating from the Office of the President. If you do not find a folder under the name of the individual, you will need to look for relevant correspondence in a box containing the appropriate letter(s) and the date range you need to look at. For example, if an honorary degree was received in June 1939, you will want to look in a folder dated 1938-1939 for the name you are seeking.  Keep in mind, each letter of the alphabet is divided into chronological groups.  For example, files labeled A-Az for 1930-1931 are followed by the A-Az files for 1931-1932 and so on. You can request materials directly from Central Files Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
   
• Class Photograph Albums Collection, 1856-1902
  A collection of photo albums representing the faculty and graduating classes of Columbia College (now known as Columbia University in the City of New York), and more specifically, the School of Arts (the undergraduate college now known as Columbia College). While the majority of the albums represent Columbia College, there are a few from other Schools including: the School of Law, the School of Mines, and the School of Music. You can request materials directly from Class Photograph Albums Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
   
• Columbia College Today records, 1954-2022
  This collections contains the photographs and some research files kept by the Columbia College Today staff and used for the production of the alumni magazine. There are photographs of former students (not from their student days), class reunions, faculty and administrators, and Columbia campus views and events. This collection includes a series of alumni files, which may include photographs, articles, newspaper clippings, press releases, memorial invitations, obituaries, and correspondence.
   
• Commencement Collection, 1758-
  The Commencement Collection contains primarily printed material, such as programs, tickets, and pamphlets concerning the Columbia University graduation ceremonies. You can request materials directly from Commencement Collection Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
   

• School of Engineering biographical records, 1926-1927
  In 1926 a questionnaire was mailed to all graduates and former students of the engineering schools: School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry. The questionnaire asked for biographical information and a professional record. The biographical section asked about education (high school, college and professional courses and degrees) and their college record (athletics, publications, societies, class offices). For the professional record, respondents were asked to complete a work history to their current position, including years, character of work, field of work, organization and notable achievements for each entry. About 3,500 questionnaires were sent to graduate and former students and yielded 1,203 replies. The forms are organized alphabetically by the last name of the former engineering student and are bound into 9 volumes. You can request materials directly from the School of Engineering biographical records finding aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form. The surveys were compiled into the Schools of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry, Columbia University : alumni catalogue (1928) also available at the University Archives.

• Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education records, 1890-2015
  This collection includes the Athletic Information Cards, which are sets of index cards with student-athlete information, from the 1940s to the 1990s. Organized roughly by date, each set contains cards with the students' biographical details (hometown, school and class year) and a record of their participation in Columbia Athletics. There are also game rosters and statistics from the 1910s to the 1980s.

• Columbia Oral History Archives
  The Columbia Center for Oral History (CCOH) was founded by History professor and journalist Allan Nevins in 1948 and is credited with launching the establishment of oral history archives internationally. At over 15,000 interviews, the Oral History Archives is one of the largest oral history collections in the United States. You can find interviews with individuals who are or were Columbia alumni, faculty and staff in their research guide or use the library catalogue CLIO to search their collections.

To learn more about how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website. If you have any questions about how to find materials, please contact uarchives@columbia.edu.

For Employment Verification

Columbia University has authorized the National Student Clearinghouse (703-742-4200) to respond to requests for degree and non-degree verifications for students from 1910 to the present. Clearinghouse is Columbia's contractual third-party vendor for this type of service.

Dates of Attendance and Degree Information

The University Registrar's Office can confirm attendance dates and graduation information via e-mail at registrar@columbia.edu but are unable to provide information about what classes students took or what grades they received while enrolled at Columbia. Please note that the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C.  1232g; CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. For living students, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's educational record. For deceased students one usually has to show legal proof of a familial relationship, be the executor of the estate or possess power of attorney on behalf of the student in question.

Release of Academic Information for Deceased Students

The following requirements protect the confidentiality of academic information upon the death of a former student or alumnus of the university. The Office of the University Registrar will evaluate each request for the release of a transcript or other academic records of a deceased student on the individual merits of that request and reserves the right to deny the request in whole or to release only part of the academic records that are requested. The Office of the University Registrar does not release academic records of deceased students to the news media or for research purposes.

The closest living next-of-kin may submit a written request along with the following notarized documents in English:

1. Birth certificate of requestor
2. Death certificate of former student or alumnus

If there is no living next-of-kin, academic records may be requested by the executor of the estate or holder of power of attorney for the deceased. A written request along with a notarized copy of the executor statement or power of attorney in English is required. Documents must be mailed to:

Columbia University
Office of the University Registrar
205 Kent Hall, Mail Code 9202
1140 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10027 

Teachers College
If you are looking a former Teachers College student, please contact Sandra Afflick, Assistant Registrar for Operations and Records at  Teachers College (sa2623@columbia.edu) and request that the office confirm attendance dates, graduation date, degree earned and the subject area of the degree for the individual.