Centers & Institutes

A group of scholars gathered around a table with nametags talking at a Loeb Institute event on Mount Vernon

From championing religious freedom to dissecting regulatory policy to investing in the next generation of leaders, Columbian College research centers and institutes enable scholars to explore and advance ideas and issues across an array of disciplines.

Humanities

Gilbert Cisneros, BA ’94, spoke with students from the Caminos al Futuro program on the terrace of the City View Room overlooking the Washington Monument. (Photos: Marcelo Gonzales) — Gilbert Cisneros, BA ’94, spoke with students from the Caminos al Futuro program on the terrace of the City View Room overlooking the Washington Monument. (Photo: Marcelo Gonzales)

Whether their focus is to secure historical legacies or to prepare the next generation of global leaders, the centers and institutes at Columbian College are home to a humanities tradition that emphasizes understanding and interpreting the human world.

Sciences

From developing life-saving treatments to unlocking the mysteries of subatomic structures to delving deep into the human brain, Columbian College science institutes are addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time. Advancing the work of world-class researchers—biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians—our scholarly centers are at the forefront of scientific discovery.

PhD student in the microscopy suite of the CASHP Hard Tissue Research Lab examining slides of chimpanzee femur tissue — In the microscopy suite at the Hard Tissue Research Lab in the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, a PhD student examines slides of chimpanzee femur tissue.

Social Sciences

Technology experts spoke at the Panel on Digital Discourse hosted by the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics.

At Columbian College, social scientists study the origins of humans, how we have evolved, the way we interact and how we move forward. Scholars at our institutes and research centers—encompassing disciplines as far-reaching as anthropology, economics, political science, psychology and sociology—are shedding light on human evolution over millennia and understanding how to improve people’s lives into the 21st century and beyond.

Making an Impact Across Disciplines

Researchers in the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology (CASHP) combed through fur patterns in wild lemurs to cut into evolutionary mysteries of human hair growth.

3 students operate an SMPA studio control room

The Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP), supported by a $5 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is a research hub for tracking the spread of misinformation.

Tara Sinclair and Paul Wahlbeck seated on a stage with Columbian College branding

Professor Tara Sinclair from the Center for Economic Research sat down with Dean Paul Wahlbeck to discuss her economic forecast for the future based on the data she has collected post-pandemic.