The official page for Columbia's International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO). We are the interna
02/13/2026
ISSO had the pleasure of experiencing a guided tour of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the largest cathedrals and top five largest church buildings in the world. As a community we learned the cathedral's history, basked in the beautiful architecture climbed more than 124 feet through the Cathedral's spiral staircases!
Be sure to stay tuned to ISSO's socials to learn more events like this! See you at the next one!
Episode 4 of ISSO'S podcast Byte is now available!!
Hosted by ISSO’s Senior Associate Director, ISSO-CUIMC, Gwyneth A. Smith, this episode she breaks down how you can keep track of all the amazing ISSO events taking place this spring!
ALSO, all episodes are now LIVE on ISSO's YT so be sure to treat yourself to a binge of Byte during your morning commute!
Happy listening! 📻✨️
02/05/2026
Show your love to someone special with an ISSO Valentine's Week of gift giving starting Feb. 9th! 🎁 ✨️
👉 Link in bio for more details.
02/02/2026
Don't you just love a new ISSO Monthly Calendar! 💓
We packed February with enough adventures to warm your heart all month long. Explore NYC, build community, win the lottery 👀 and make memories to last you a lifetime!
See an event you want to go to? Access the "Program and Events" tab through the link in our bio to register!
02/02/2026
Don't you just love a new ISSO Monthly Calendar! 💓
We packed February with enough adventures to warm your heart all month long. Explore NYC, build community, win the lottery 👀 and make memories to last you a lifetime!
See an event you want to go to? Access the "Program and Events" tab through the link in our bio to register!
01/23/2026
Join ISSO staff and other international students as the Columbia Lions men's basketball team plays against the Pennsylvania Quakers. Wear your Columbia colors to support our team! Learn more about U.S. college basketball in the context of sports and education in the U.S.
01/17/2026
To kick off the year, the ISSO team is inviting you to come hang out with us to catch up and create vision boards. Vision boards are a collage of images and affirmations of your dreams and goals. They are a fun and creative way to set goals that you want to achieve in any area of your life. You can set goals for the semester or for the year 2026. So join us and let’s kick off the year with some good vibes and goal setting!
We were able to speak to a few more amazing students from the International Dual Degree Programs. Here are their tips for students studying in two different countries!
Say hello to Samia Breir, an Alumna and Associate Professor who graduated from Columbia with a Masters in Enterprise Risk Management. Samia discusses her post-grad life working at Goldman Sachs, shares her tips for building a community while at school, and gives some helpful insight into the F-1 OPT process. She makes it all look easy!