Barnard's model of shared advising, where faculty and administrators advise pre-major students, is one of the hallmarks of the Barnard experience. Although the responsibility of knowing the degree requirements rests with each student, advisers offer support, guidance, and a sounding board for students, helping them set goals and priorities, select courses, and understand the curriculum. Class Deans in the Dean of the College division also offer support, especially if students encounter issues or have concerns that might extend beyond the classroom. 

Class Deans and Advisers

Prior to matriculation, the First-Year Team communicates academic planning and registration information to new students via email, virtual meetings and also the First-Year Blog. First-year students are encouraged to subscribe to the First-Year Blog and may submit any questions they have to first-year@barnard.edu. Students can enroll in their First-Year Experience courses over the summer, and the formal finalization of courses happens in the fall, during the Orientation and the first two weeks of class. Assistance in planning courses of study is given to first-year students and sophomores by their academic advisers with whom students are expected to schedule appointments for individual advising throughout the year. 

By the second semester of sophomore year, each student chooses a major field in consultation with the Sophomore Class Dean, an adviser, and the academic department. From then on, the major adviser guides advanced study for the major. 

Students are responsible for completing all degree requirements and completing 122 credits in order to graduate. Students who have completed the requisite number of credits and all of their Foundations and major requirements are expected to graduate. 

Transfer Students

Incoming transfer students are assisted by the transfer advisers and the Transfer Advising Dean in planning their courses of study and selecting majors. Advising sessions are scheduled prior to the students' arrival on campus and during Orientation, and individual appointments may be arranged throughout the academic year. Transfer students who enter with junior class standing are guided by both transfer and major advisers during their first Barnard semester.

International Students

The Office of International Student Services (ISS) supports all international students from the moment they have been accepted up through graduation and beyond. In addition to providing advising support, ISS provides programming for international students, as well as all information and support pertaining to visas, I-20s, and other travel matters.

Study Abroad

Students who wish to study abroad for credit toward the Barnard degree are urged to meet with Barnard Global advisers and discuss their plans with their pre/major adviser early on. In order to be eligible, students must submit the Preliminary Barnard application by March 15th of the academic year before they plan to go abroad. 

The Preliminary Barnard application requires students to request an approval by their pre-major or major advisor. The student chooses their current advisor from a drop down menu and the link to the approval questionnaire is sent to their advisor via email from studyabroad@barnard.edu. The questionnaire is brief and does not require a letter of recommendation. Students may follow up with their advisor to confirm the approval questionnaire has been completed on their behalf. While the approval questionnaire can be submitted by the advisor after the March 15th deadline, the student’s application will not be reviewed by Barnard Global until it is complete.

Students may later request an academic letter of recommendation from a professor for the purpose of applying directly to their study abroad program, if one is required. 

If a student requests their pre-major/major advisor to complete a form for their program application which verifies they are in good standing, please check to see if it instructs them to obtain this from their study abroad advisor. If so, please do not complete it and instead have them review the instructions for requesting an approval form or contact studyabroad@barnard.edu

Honor Code

The Honor Code, instituted at Barnard in 1912, governs all aspects of academic life and is enforced by an Honor Board that has a membership of students and faculty members, advised by the Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising. 

Each student who registers at Barnard agrees to maintain the Honor Code:

Approved by the student body in 1912 and updated in 2016, the Code states:

We, the students of Barnard College, resolve to uphold the honor of the College by engaging with integrity in all of our academic pursuits. We affirm that academic integrity is the honorable creation and presentation of our own work. We acknowledge that it is our responsibility to seek clarification of proper forms of collaboration and use of academic resources in all assignments or exams. We consider academic integrity to include the proper use and care for all print, electronic, or other academic resources. We will respect the rights of others to engage in pursuit of learning in order to uphold our commitment to honor. We pledge to do all that is in our power to create a spirit of honesty and honor for its own sake.

Graduate School Advising, Combined Plan Programs, 4+ 1

Students interested in study beyond the undergraduate level--including medical school, law school, business school, master’s programs, doctoral programs, and more—as well as those interested in pursuing an Advanced 4+ 1 Pathway with Columbia graduate schools (available at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Harriman Institute, School of International and Public Administration, and Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences Program)—should consult with Beyond Barnard and with appropriate faculty advisers.

Note that students interested in medical school or any other training for the health professions (vet, nursing, pharmacy, etc.), should consult the Health Professions Advisor at Beyond Barnard. Applications to medical school require the completion of courses that train students in core competencies necessary for success on the MCAT and in medical school. To that end, students should work with their academic advisers to plan on taking a full year of Biology, a full year of Chemistry and a full year of Organic Chemistry (following Barnard’s entire Chem sequence, OR Columbia’s, but not both), a full year of Physics, requisite Calculus courses, one semester of Biochemistry, as well as one Psychology course, two writing-intensive courses in a humanities field (preferably English), and other coursework as well. For additional advising support, students should contact Beyond Barnard.

Honors

The following awards, administered according to the provisions of their respective donors, were established to honor students who have shown exceptional distinction in their studies.  Students do not apply for these awards; rather, recipients are selected by appropriate Faculty departments and committees.

Fellowships

Alpha Zeta Club Graduate Scholarship (1936)

For graduating seniors who show promise of distinction or to outstanding recent Barnard graduates who are candidates for higher degrees.

Anne Davidson Fellowship (1971)

For graduating seniors who will pursue graduate study in conservation at a university of approved standing.

George Welwood Murray Graduate Fellowship (1930)

For graduating seniors who show promise of distinction in the humanities and/or the social sciences and who will pursue graduate study at a university or college of approved standing.

Josephine Paddock Fellowship (1976)

For graduating seniors who show promise of distinction in such fields of graduate study in art as the faculty shall determine. Holders are to pursue studies, preferably abroad, at a college or university of approved standing.

Grace Potter Rice Fellowship (1935)

For graduating seniors who show promise of distinction in the natural sciences or mathematics and who will pursue graduate study at a university or college of approved standing.

The following awards, administered according to the provisions of their respective donors, were established to honor students who have shown exceptional distinction in their studies.  Students do not apply for these awards; rather, recipients are selected by appropriate Faculty departments and committees.

Fellowships

Alpha Zeta Club Graduate Scholarship (1936)

For a graduating senior who shows promise of distinction in the pursuit of higher degrees.  Particularly for students entering the professions.

Anne Davidson Fellowship (1971)

For graduating seniors who will pursue graduate study in conservation at a university of approved standing.

George Welwood Murray Graduate Fellowship (1930)

For a graduating senior who shows promise of distinction in graduate study in the humanities and/or the social sciences.

Josephine Paddock Fellowship (1976)

For a graduating senior who shows promise of distinction in a field of graduate study in art as the faculty shall determine.

Grace Potter Rice Fellowship (1935)

For a graduating senior who shows promise of distinction in graduate school in the natural sciences or mathematics.

Prizes

General

Mary E. Allison Prize (1937)

For general excellence in scholarship.

Annette Kar Baxter Memorial Fund Prize (1984)

For juniors who have distinguished themselves in the study of some aspect of women’s experience.

Frank Gilbert Bryson Prize (1931)

For a senior who, in the opinion of the class, has given conspicuous evidence of unselfishness and who has made the greatest contribution to Barnard during the college years.

Eleanor Thomas Elliott Prizes (1973)

Two prizes to juniors chosen by the Honors Committee from among the five most academically outstanding students in the class based upon overall academic record, integrity, and good citizenship in the College.

Katherine Reeve Girard Prize (1964)

For a student (traditionally a senior) whose interests are in the international aspects of a major.

Ann Barrow Hamilton Memorial Prize in Journalism (1978)

For a graduating senior who will pursue a career in journalism.

The Alena Wels Hirschorn Prize 

For a graduating senior majoring in Economics with a preference for a student who has a strong interest in English literature and/or pursuing a career in journalism. 

Jo Green Iwabe Prize (1986)

To a student for active participation in the academic and extracurricular life of the College.

Ethel Stone LeFrak Prize (1986)

For excellence in a field of the arts.

Schwimmer Prize (1986)

For an outstanding graduating senior in the humanities.

Marian Churchill White Prize (1975)

For an outstanding sophomore who has participated actively in student affairs.

Premedical

Helen R. Downes Prize (1964)

For graduating seniors who show promise of distinction in medicine or the medical sciences.

Lucy Moses Award (1975)

For a premedical student likely to provide service to the medically underserved.

Gertrude Bunger Zufall Award (1987)

For a premedical student entering her senior year

By Academic Area

Africana Studies

Quandra Prettyman Prize (2019)

The Barnard College Quandra Prettymen Prize is awarded to a senior Africana Studies Major or Minor who has been nominated by the Africana Studies Department Faculty. The prize is awarded to a student who exemplifies a scholarly commitment to the study of the field. It honors Professor Quandra Prettyman who embodies what Africana faculty strive to cultivate in our students—intellectual curiosity, generosity of spirit, constant growth, and a belief in the generative power of community

American Studies

John Demos Prize in American Studies (1995)

Awarded to a senior major for excellence in American Studies.

Architecture

Marcia Mead Design Award (1983)

For excellence in architectural design.

B+C | A The Portfolio Design Award (2013)

For an outstanding senior architectural design portfolio. 

Art History

Nancy Hoffman Prize (1983)

For students who plan to enter museum or gallery work or art conservatorship.

Virginia B. Wright Art History Prize (1969)

For promising seniors majoring in art history.

Asian-Middle Eastern Cultures 

Taraknath Das Foundation Prize (Columbia University)

To a student of Barnard College, Columbia College, or the School of General Studies, for excellence in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Biological Sciences

Edna Henry Bennett Memorial Grants (1927)

For summer study at a biological research station.

Hermann Botanical Prize (1892)

For an undergraduate student proficient in biology.

Herbert Maule Richards Grants (1933)

For botanical or general biological research.

Donald and Nancy Ritchie Grants (1979)

For biological study or research.

Spiera Family Prize (1986)

For promise of excellence by a student majoring in biological sciences.

Constance Von Wahl Prize (1915)

For advanced work in biology.

Chemistry

American Chemical Society’s Division of Analytical Chemistry Award

For outstanding work in analytical chemistry.

American Chemical Society’s Division of Polymer Chemistry Award

For outstanding work in organic chemistry.

American Institute of Chemists, New York Chapter Prize

For an outstanding student of chemistry.

CRC Press First-Year Chemistry Achievement Award

For outstanding achievement in first-year chemistry.

Ida and John Kauderer Prize (1973)

For premedical students majoring in chemistry.

Marie Reimer Scholarship Fund Prize (1953)

Awarded at the end of the junior year to an outstanding major in chemistry.

Computer Science

Theodore R. Bashkow Award (Columbia University)

Presented to a computer science senior who has excelled in independent projects. This is awarded in honor of Professor Theodore R. Bashkow, whose contributions as a researcher, teacher, and consultant have significantly advanced the state of the art of computer science.

Computer Science Scholarship Award (Columbia University)

A prize awarded to two B.A. and two B.S. degree candidates for outstanding academic achievement in computer science.

Jonathan L. Gross Award for Academic Excellence (Columbia University)

This award was established in 2017 in honor of the much loved Professor Emeritus Jonathan Gross. It is awarded each year to one graduating masters student and to one graduating senior from each of the four undergraduate schools served by the Columbia Department of Computer Science, including Barnard.

Andrew P. Kosoresow Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service (Columbia University)

Awarded for outstanding contributions to teaching in the Department of Computer Science and exemplary service to the Department and its mission.

Russell C. Mills Award (Columbia University)

This annual award, established by the computer science department in 1992 in memory of Russell C. Mills, is a prize given to a computer science major who has exhibited excellence in the area of computer science.

Prize for Excellence in Computer Science (2020)

For outstanding academic performance in computer science.

Economics

Alena Wels Hirschorn Award (1986)

For a graduating senior majoring in Economics with a preference for a student who has a strong interest in English literature and/or pursuing a career in journalism.

Alena Wels Hirschorn Paper Prize (1986)

For a junior for the best essay on a subject of domestic or international economics.

Beth Niemi Memorial Prize (1981)

For an outstanding senior majoring in economics.

Katharine E. Provost Memorial Prize (1949)

For superior work by an undergraduate major in economics.

Sylvia Kopald Selekman Prize (1960)

For the first-year student who is doing the best work in introductory economics.

Education

Susan Riemer Sacks Prize

For the Barnard student teacher who has made the most noteworthy contribution to secondary school classrooms.

Stephanie Kossoff Prize (1972)

For the student who has made the most noteworthy contribution or meaningful endeavor in childhood education.

English

Academy of American Poets Prize (Columbia University)

For the best poem or group of poems by a student.

Estelle M. Allison Prize (1937)

For excellence in literature.

Saint Agatha-Muriel Bowden Memorial Prize (1971)

For superior proficiency in the study of Chaucer and medieval literature.

Bunner Award (Columbia University)

To the candidate for a Columbia degree who shall present the best essay on any topic dealing with American literature.

The ES Carrigan Prize

For graduate work in English.

Doris E. Fleischman Prize (1992)

For the Barnard student judged to have written the best short piece, fiction or nonfiction.

W. Cabell Greet Prize (1974)

For excellence in English.

William Haller Prize (1987)

For excellence in the study of English literature.

Amy Loveman Memorial Prize (1956)

For the best original poem by an undergraduate.

Sidney Miner Poetry Prize (1962)

For the senior major who has shown distinction in the reading, writing, and study of poetry.

Helen Prince Memorial Prize (1921)

For excellence in dramatic composition.

Helene Searcy Puls Prize (1984)

For the best poem in an annual student competition.

Stains-Berle Memorial Prize in Anglo-Saxon (1968)

For excellence in Anglo-Saxon language and literature.

Howard M. Teichmann Writing Prize (1986)

To a graduating senior for a written work or body of work that is distinguished in its originality and excellent in its execution.

Van Rensselaer Prize (Columbia University)

To the candidate for a Columbia degree who is the author of the best example of English lyric verse.

George Edward Woodberry Prize (Columbia University)

To an undergraduate student of the University for the best original poem.

Environmental Science

Lillian Berle Dare Prize (1974)

For the most proficient Barnard senior who will continue to study in geography or a related field.

Henry Sharp Prize (1970)

For an outstanding student majoring in environmental science.

French

Helen Marie Carlson French Prize (1965)

For the best composition in fourth-term French.

Isabelle de Wyzewa Prize (1972)

For the best composition in the French course Major French Texts.

Frederic G. Hoffherr French Prize (1961)

To a student in intermediate French for excellence in oral French.

Eleanor Keller Prizes (1968)

For juniors in French literature and seniors in French culture.

Rosemary Thomas Prize in French (1966)

For evidence of a special sensitivity and awareness in the study of French poetic literature.

German

Dean Prize in German (1952)

For the senior who has throughout college done the best work in German language and literature.

German Scholarship Fund Prize (1950)

Awarded at the end of the junior year to an outstanding major in German.

Louise Stabenau Prize in German (1988)

Awarded to a junior or senior major for excellence in oral German.

Greek and Latin

John Day Memorial Prize (1986)

For a high-ranking sophomore in the field of Greek and Latin.

Earle Prize in Classics (Columbia University)

For excellence in sight translation of passages of Greek and Latin.

Benjamin F. Romaine Prize (Columbia University)

For proficiency in Greek language and literature.

Jean Willard Tatlock Memorial Prize (1917)

For the undergraduate student most proficient in Latin.

History

Eugene H. Byrne History Prize (1960)

For superior work by a history major.

Ellen Davis Goldwater History Prize (1982)

For superior work by a history major.

Italian 

Bettina Buonocore Salvo Prize (1966)

For a student of Italian.

Speranza Italian Prize (1911)

For excellence in Italian.

Mathematics

Margaret Kenney Jensen Prize (1973)

To first-year students, sophomores, and juniors for excellence in mathematics.

Kohn Mathematical Prize (1892)

To a senior for excellence in mathematics.

Music

Robert Emmett Dolan Prize (Columbia University)

To a student in any division of the University for instruction on a chosen musical instrument.

Ethel Stone LeFrak Prize (1986)

For a graduating senior whose creative writing in music shows promise of distinction.

Philosophy

William Pepperell Montague Prize (1949)

For promise of distinction in the field of philosophy.

Gertrude Braun Rich Prize (1986)

For promise of excellence by a student majoring in philosophy.

Physical Education

Margaret Holland Bowl (1974)

For excellence in leadership and participation in Barnard intramurals and recreation.

Marion R. Philips Scholar-Athlete Award (1981)

To the senior female winner of a varsity letter who has achieved the highest cumulative academic average and who has participated on a Columbia University team for at least two years.

Tina Steck Award (1980)

For the most outstanding member of the Swimming and Diving Team.

Physics

Henry A. Boorse Prize (1974)

To a graduating Barnard senior, preferably a major in the department, whose record in physics shows promise of distinction in a scientific career.

Political Science

James Gordon Bennett Prize (Columbia University)

For the best essay on some subject of contemporary interest in the domestic or foreign policy of the United States.

Phoebe Morrison Memorial Prize (1969)

For a political science major planning to attend law school.

Political Science Quarterly Prize (2000)

To a Barnard political science major for excellence in analytical writing on public or international affairs in a paper that has been presented in a colloquium.

Caroline Phelps Stokes Prize (Columbia University)

For the best essay on any topic approved by the Stokes Prize Committee, which has been presented in course or seminar work.

Psychology

Hollingworth Prize (2000)

For an outstanding research project in psychology.

Ida Markewich Lawrence Prize (1982)

For the best paper in psychology, preferably child psychology, by a major.

Millennial Psychology Prize (2000)

For a student who plans to continue her scientific or professional training in psychology or a related discipline.

Religion

Samuel Dornfield Prize (1979)

To a Barnard student whose work in Old Testament or Ancient Near Eastern Studies reflects special sensitivity and academic excellence.

Caroline Gallup Reed Prize (1916)

For outstanding work either in the field of theorigin of Christianity and early church history or in the general field of the history and theory of religion.

Spanish

John Bornemann Prize in Spanish (1976)

For superior performance in the first- or second-year language courses.

Carolina Marcial-Dorado Fund (1953)

For a student from Spain, or to a Spanish major continuing graduate studies in the United States or abroad, or to a student who is majoring in Spanish.

Eugene Raskin Prize

For the best essay in fourth-term Spanish.

Clara Schifrin Memorial Spanish Prize (1998)

For an outstanding student of Spanish and Latin American Cultures in courses above the level of Spanish 1204.

Spanish Prize (1959)

For a Spanish major who has done the most distinguished work in Spanish language and literature.

Ucelay Recitation Prize

For the best recitation of a poem or dramatic passage in Spanish.

Susan Huntington Vernon Prize (Seven Colleges)

For the best original essay written in Spanish by a senior whose native language is not Spanish.

Theatre

The Dasha Amsterdam Epstein Awards in Honor of Patricia Denison (2019)

Separate prizes may be given to Barnard and Columbia students for achievement in the fields of acting, design and production, directing, dramaturgy, theory/criticism/research, playwriting. 

The Joseph Milton Fee, Jr. Award in Playwriting (2018)

For an original play written in English "on any aspect of the American experience."

Kenneth Janes Prize in Theatre (1987)

For a Barnard junior or senior theatre major who has contributed notably to the theatre program of the Minor Latham Playhouse.

Austin E. Quigley Prize (2010)

For a Columbia College senior majoring in Drama and Theatre Arts demonstrating outstanding artistic
and intellectual achievement.

Women's Studies

Bessie Ehrlich Memorial Prize (1980)

For an oral history project concerning a female relative of a preceding generation, in conjunction with the Women’s Studies Department.

Jane S. Gould Prize (1982)

For an outstanding senior essay by a Women’s Studies major.