King’s College was founded in 1754 by royal grant of George II of England, “for the Instruction of Youth in the Learned Languages, and the Liberal Arts and Sciences.” In 1784 it became Columbia College, and in 1912 the title was changed to Columbia University in the City of New York.

King’s College organized the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1767, the first North American institution to confer the Doctor of Medicine degree. The School of Dental and Oral Surgery traces its origin to 1852, as the New York College of Dentistry, later the New York College of Dental and Oral Surgery. In 1916 Columbia University, recognizing dentistry as an integral part of the health sciences, established its own school of dental education and absorbed both the New York Post-graduate School of Dentistry and the New York School of Dental Hygiene. In 1923, the New York College of Dentistry merged with the New York College of Dental and Oral Surgery to form the present School of Dental and Oral Surgery of Columbia University. In January 2006, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery was renamed the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.