Downtown Columbia is the central business, government, and social core of Columbia, Missouri and the Columbia Metropolitan Area. Three colleges — the University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College — all border the area. Downtown Columbia is an area of approximately one square mile surrounded by the University of Missouri on the south, Stephens College to the east, and Columbia College on the north. The area serves as Columbia's financial and business district and is the topic of a large initiative to draw tourism, which includes plans to capitalize on the area's historic architecture and Bohemian characteristics. The downtown skyline is relatively low and is dominated by the 10-story Tiger Hotel, built in 1928, and the 15-story Paquin Tower.

The University of Missouri is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in 1839 as the first public university west of the Mississippi River. It has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1908 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".