Student Organizations

You’ll have more than 80 clubs to pick from at Barnard, ranging from pre-professional organizations and drama clubs to literary meetups and climate action organizations. You’ll find representatives from each club at the annual Activities Fair.

If you can’t find a club that fits, you can apply to start your own. The student leadership Breakfast Club series takes you from launch to passing the torch and provides the skills you’ll use to make your mark long after you’ve graduated.

“It’s good to just try things. That’s one of the great things about the school — there are so many clubs, and you can always try something and say, ‘This isn’t for me,’ and try again some other time.”

— Alana Koenig ’18

The Columbia Connection

Thanks to the relationship between Barnard College and Columbia University, you also have some 500 Columbia clubs to pick from. Many Barnard students join and lead clubs on both sides of the street.

Nearly 20 clubs and organizations help you explore your identity within Barnard’s diverse and international student body. Popular options include Q for the College’s queer community, and the Mujeres club for Barnard Latinas.

Black students founded the Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters in 1968 and a year later gave College administrators a list of 10 demands. BOSS is still active on campus and, through mentorship and community, empowers its members to become leaders. Watch the video to learn more about the 50-year history.

Pre-professional clubs offer mentoring, support, networking, and resources for students looking at medical, law, and other professional schools post-graduation. Meet future colleagues in clubs like the Barnard Chemical Society and the Peer Health Exchange.

A number of groups are working on climate action on campus and around New York City. For instance, Sprout Up brings environmental science to first and second graders. There’s even a student-run food co-op. 

Barnard’s performing-arts clubs can help get your creative and collaborative juices flowing. Among your options: Sing with the Bacchantae a capella group, perform improv with Control Top or Third Wheel, or join the King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe and get involved in the not-for-profit’s free, roving performances.

Get writing, editing, and production experience through a number of student-run groups and publications. You could contribute to the Surgam, a publication from Columbia’s oldest club, the Philolexian Society.

Make friends and nurture hobbies in clubs like the Barnard Outdoor Adventure Team, the College’s own WBAR radio station, and the recently formed Barnard Bookworms book club.

You can help steer campus life through the Student Leadership Collective. Join the Mcintosh Activities Council, which organizes many of the most fun traditions on campus, or be active in the Student Government Association and work with students, administration, and faculty to push for change. Run for student government. Students have significant ownership at Barnard. Get involved.