The program fee for CUE is $350.00 which covers housing, food, transportation, supplies, and the cost of night activities during the week of CUE. Financial aid is available for those that qualify.
Students will move directly into their first year housing assignments on move-in day. However, the program takes place in Special Interest Community (SIC) housing throughout the duration of CUE week. Therefore, academic year housing is not accessible during CUE week. Students are instructed to pack a week’s worth of their belongings to take with them to the SIC house.
CUE is a selective program as there is a high interest from incoming first-years and we only accept 60 participants. For this reason, we encourage anyone interested in service and social justice to demonstrate why they would be a good fit for the program and how the program aligns with their goals.
All incoming first-year students from Barnard College, Columbia College, and Columbia Engineering are encouraged to apply. At this time, we are not accepting transfer students.
Each night, CUE participants select their preferred New York City activity from four amazing options. Past activities have included excursions to the Apollo Theater, Hungarian Pastry Shop, Times Square, Magnolia Bakery, Tom's Diner, Upright Citizen's Brigade Improv Theater, the Nuyorican Poets Café, the Brooklyn Bridge, and more.
Columbia Urban Experience (CUE) participants spend the week with a team of five to six other participants and one student leader, working at one of our service sites. They select their preferred non-profit site on the first day of the program, which they have already received descriptions of earlier in the summer. CUE-ers also engage in article-based discussions on critical and ethical perspectives of responsible service. Each evening, participants have the option explore NYC with free night activities led by a team leader!
