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Research Centers and Programs

  1. Faculty and Scholarship
  2. Research Centers and Programs

Columbia Law School’s research centers and programs reflect the breadth of our faculty’s expertise and the exceptional quality of their scholarship. Through their rigorous research, faculty experts explore foundational, emerging, and interdisciplinary areas of the law. In addition to convening academics, policymakers, judges, and business leaders from around the globe, centers and programs offer students valuable opportunities to collaborate with experienced scholars and researchers.

Find a Center or Program

Center for Public Research and Leadership

The Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) aims to revitalize public education while filling substantial gaps in professional education. CPRL’s rigorous coursework, skills training, and research and consulting projects prepare graduate students in law, business, and public policy for careers in the education sector. With an eye toward improving outcomes for all children, CPRL utilizes the latest techniques in education, such as organizational design, democratic accountability, team-based problem-solving skills, and socio-emotional learning. Students can also participate in a semster-long intensive around transformational change in public education by enrolling in the Public Education Policy Lab-Seminar and Skills courses. 

 

Areas of Study

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity

The Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (CAPI) improves the capacity of public offices and practitioners to deter, identify, and combat corruption at the municipal level of government. CAPI supports a vibrant community of leaders in the public integrity field, develops tools and resources to help governments and practitioners fight corruption, and promotes research and scholarship on important public integrity issues.

 

Areas of Study

Center on Corporate Governance

The Center on Corporate Governance brings together judges, academics, regulators, and institutional investors to discuss cutting-edge issues related to securities law and corporate governance. The center also sponsors the CLS Blue Sky Blog, which covers corporate governance, financial regulation, restructuring, antitrust, and related topics. 

 

Areas of Study

Center on Global Legal Transformation

The Center on Global Legal Transformation sheds light on the ways in which law shapes global relations and how they in turn transform law. The center develops major research projects, organizes workshops and conferences,  sponsors doctoral students, and engages researchers and policymakers from different disciplines, backgrounds, and locations.

 

Areas of Study

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

The Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought (CCCCT), a joint project of the Columbia Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Columbia Law School, encourages a critical re-examination of the present and envisions a new critical praxis for the future. CCCCT’s activities include a digital initiative, numerous practical engagements, and a yearly seminar series that challenges the authority of established truths and falsehoods.

 

Areas of Study

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI)—a joint venture from Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute at Columbia University—is the only university-based applied research center and forum dedicated to the study, practice, and discussion of sustainable international investment. CCSI conducts rigorous research; provides policy analysis and advisory services; offers educational programs; develops tools and resources; and furthers knowledge sharing among policymakers, development advocates, scholars, business leaders, and community stakeholders.

 

Areas of Study

Columbia Climate School

The climate crisis is one of the greatest threats facing humanity. In response, Columbia University established the nation's first climate school in 2020 to educate future climate leaders, support groundbreaking research, and foster essential climate solutions from the community to the planetary scale. The Earth Institute was established in 1995 to advance our understanding of Earth science and apply that knowledge to decisions made by governments and businesses around the world. A world leader in the science and knowledge to address climate challenges, the Earth Institute continues its mission today as an integral part of the Columbia Climate School.
 

Areas of Study

Columbia Law School Mindfulness Program

Founded in 2017, the Columbia Law School Mindfulness Program is a community of faculty, staff, and students committed to the practice of mindful awareness and the examination of how it informs our understanding of law and lawyering.

Areas of Study

Constitutional Democracy Initiative

From research to teaching, institutional design to public conversations across political and other boundaries, the Constitutional Democracy Initiative investigates democracy’s crises and what democracy demands of us.

Areas of Study