
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a private Ivy League research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1754 as King's College by royal charter under George II of Great Britain on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States. The university was renamed Columbia College in 1784 following the American Revolution, and in 1787 was placed under a private board of trustees headed by former students Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In 1896, the campus was moved to its current location and renamed Columbia University. Columbia is organized into 17 schools, two affiliated colleges—Barnard College and Teachers College—and two affiliated seminaries—Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and Union Theological Seminary (UTS). The university's research efforts include the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and accelerator laboratories with Big Tech firms such as Amazon and IBM. Columbia is a founding member of the Association of American Universities and was the first school in the United States to grant the MD degree. The university also administers and annually awards the Pulitzer Prize. Columbia scientists and scholars have played a pivotal role in scientific breakthroughs including brain–computer interface; the laser and maser; nuclear magnetic resonance; the first nuclear