With the rise of the women's movement, a separate college was set up exclusively for women, Barnard College. When Columbia finally broke precedent in 1983 and started accepting women, it was big news at the time.
早期的哥大只有大學部，且只收男生；後來男女平等的風氣漸開，學校另創巴納學院，專收女生。而只收男生的哥倫比亞學院，於一九八三年破例收女生，成為當時一條轟動的新聞。