Course Registration

Registration/ enrollment appointment times will be available on Student Services Online starting February 27, 2024.

Download the 2023 Core Requirements lists below

• Columbia College 2023 Summer Session Course Guidelines (PDF)
• School of General Studies 2023 Summer Session Course Guidelines (PDF)

Registration for summer session will be available in SSOL in February each year. For Barnard students taking classes at SPS, a visiting student application is not needed; simply register for classes in SSOL. Once you are registered, you must fill out the Summer Course Approval form if you want the classes to be transferred back to Barnard. 

For CU or BC students taking Barnard courses in the summer, please see policies and procedures here.

You will register at Teachers College. For information, visit the Teachers College Office of the Registrar website.

If you’ve been admitted to a program in the Fall but would like to begin your studies early, you must contact your academic advising office for approval and registration procedures.

You may not register for more than 8 points in any one six-week session or in overlapping sessions nor for more than 16 points for the entire summer.

You may not register for more than 9 points in any one six-week session or in overlapping sessions nor for more than 15 points during the entire summer period.

General Studies students who wish to take Mathematics S1003 College algebra and analytic geometry or Mathematics S1011 Calculus I, who have not recently taken the College Board mathematics achievement test or the GS Mathematics Placement Examination, must take an informal diagnostic placement test. This test is given during the summer registration periods.

Click here for online registration for the placement exam. Students without an appointment will be accommodated as space permits. Students must present a photo ID before taking the test.

You are allowed to register for a maximum of 6 points in any one six-week session and a maximum of 12 points for the entire summer.

You may not receive credit for more than two courses or more than 8 points in any one six-week session. Barnard does not apply more than 16 points of summer course work toward your degree nor do they confer transfer credits for any class with a grade of D or lower.

Note: Please contact the Barnard registrar or view more information on this page.

A student who offers summer courses in partial fulfillment of the course requirements may not receive more than 9 points of credit for courses completed in any six-week period, 12 points for courses completed in any combination of sessions totaling nine weeks, or 15 points for courses completed in any combination of sessions totaling 12 weeks. No exceptions can be made.

Summer classes are, by nature, concentrated in terms of time and workload. We do not advise you to register for more than one 3-point course in a six-week session if you are working full-time.

The University uses the term withdraw to formally indicate that a student has dropped or will drop all courses for a given term. Withdrawing from the university differs from dropping one or several classes within a given term, because as long as a student retains at least one class, he or she is still considered to be registered for that term.

Students who plan to withdraw from any of the summer sessions should carefully read all of the information below concerning financial considerations, the withdrawal procedure, and tuition refunds.

Financial Considerations

Withdrawal Fee
Students who drop their entire academic program during and after the change of program period will be charged a $75.00 withdrawal fee. The $75 withdrawal fee is not applied to students withdrawing prior to the start of each session.

Tuition Refunds
Tuition for courses dropped during the change-of-program period is refunded in full. After the last day of the change-of-program period, refunds are granted only when students withdraw by dropping all of their courses in a given session. When a student withdraws from all of their courses after the change-of-program period, the University retains a percentage of the remaining tuition (as indicated in the withdrawal schedules below) for each week, or part of a week, that the student remains registered. See the Calendar for the change-of-program periods for each session.

Any adjustment of the tuition that the student has paid or still owes is reckoned from the date on which the Office of Student Affairs, 203 Lewisohn, receives the student's written notification (see How to Withdraw, below). Failure to attend classes or notification submitted only to instructors does not constitute formal withdrawal and may result in the student receiving a grade of F.

Fee Refunds 
Fees such as the student activities fee, University facilities fee, course fees, and late fees are not refundable if the withdrawal takes place after the Change of Program period. The one-time document fee, application fee, and the Columbia Health Fee are not refundable.

Special Note for GSAS Students Taking Summer Sessions Courses 
Students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences who are recipients of Columbia University fellowships are advised that if they drop any Summer course or withdraw from a session, fellowship funds covering the tuition for that course or courses will be canceled, and the student will be responsible for payment of tuition charges incurred, as indicated in the schedules below.

Withdrawal Statement on Transcript

A withdrawal statement is added to the academic transcript for each term a student withdraws from the University.

How to Withdraw

A student in good academic standing who is not subject to disciplinary action may be permitted to withdraw at any time during the session up until the last day of classes (see Calendar), by doing the following:

General Studies 

1. Consult with your academic advisor and review the GS semester withdrawal/leave of absence policy here.
2. Complete the withdrawal/leave of absence request form found on the page linked above.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

1. Complete the withdrawal process with the Office of Student Affairs (107 Low Library).

Special Note for GSAS Students Taking Summer Session Courses: Students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences who are recipients of Columbia University fellowships are advised that if they drop any Summer course or withdraw from a session, fellowship funds covering the tuition for that course or courses will be canceled, and the student will be responsible for payment of tuition charges incurred, as indicated in the schedules below.

Columbia College, SEAS

1. Consult with your advising dean in the Berick Center for Student Advising.
2. Advising Dean signs Approval to Withdraw Form (2024 form will be available in February).
3. Student fills out Summer Non-SPS Withdrawal Request Student Form and uploads signed approval (2024 form will be available in February).
4. Student receives confirmation from sps-summeradvising [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

Barnard College

1. Consult with your Barnard Class Dean
2. Barnard Class Dean signs Approval to Withdraw form (2024 form will be available in February).
3. Student fills out Summer Non-SPS Withdrawal Request Student Form and uploads signed approval (2024 form will be available in February).
4. Student receives confirmation from sps-summeradvising [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

School of the Arts

1. Consult with your SOA Office of Student Affairs.
2. Student Affairs signs Approval to Withdraw form (2024 form will be available in February).
3. Student fills out Summer Non-SPS Withdrawal Request Student Form and uploads signed approval (2024 form will be available in February).
4. Student receives confirmation email from sps-summeradvising [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

Tuition Refunds

Students must elect to participate to receive automatic refunds. Default participation status depends on a student's school. To opt into or out of automatic refunds, a student should log in to Student Services Online (SSOL) and select "Refunds" from the menu and follow the instructions. General Studies and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences students are not currently eligible for automatic refunds. These students should refer to the "Automatic Refund Options" page of Student Services Online.

The University's preferred method of refund distribution is through direct deposit. Students can log into SSOL and click on "Direct Deposit" to set up transfer of funds to a U.S. checking or savings account. Click here for more guidance on how to do this. Refund checks for students who have not signed up for direct deposit are sent to the student's local address.

To check their student account balance, students can log into Student Services Online (SSOL) and click on "Account Detail and E-Billing" and then "View Student Account Detail." If there is a valid credit on the account that is not based on anticipated credits, the refund will generally be processed within 48 hours of the credit appearing. If the credit is based on anticipated credits for financial aid, scholarships, or the payment plan, a refund will not be processed until the funds have actually arrived and been posted to the student account.

For additional details regarding refunds please see Policy on Student Account Credit Balances and Refunds.

All Other Students

1. Fill out a Notice of Withdrawal form (2024 form will be available in February).
2. Receive confirmation email from sps-summeradvising [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

Refund schedule for courses that are less than four weeks

In order to receive a full tuition refund, students must notify the Summer Sessions Office of their intention to withdraw by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the second class meeting. Students who withdraw after the second class meeting are not eligible for a refund and will be responsible for full tuition and fees.