<p>In addition to the economics department at Columbia finally being able to compete with the likes of Berkeley, I’d also like to add that Columbia University is just up and coming in general. Columbia is able to attract star faculty in many other disciplines other than economics. A great example of this was the hire of Madeleine Albright for the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Former Secretary of State Albright earned her PhD at Columbia and chose to return to Columbia as faculty.</p>