Application Materials

Completed online application form

Please select “Visiting Student & Non-Degree Programs” in the application system to access the application. If you are applying to Arts in the Summer or a structured Certificate or Certification of Professional Achievement program, please be sure to select the appropriate program. Otherwise, please be sure to select the appropriate visiting student category: Visiting Undergraduate, Visiting Graduate, or Visiting Postbaccalaureate.

Note: If you are applying to the Visiting Undergraduate, Visiting Graduate, or Visiting Postbaccalaureate programs, you will be asked in the Additional Information section if you plan to enroll in a Focus Area.

You must submit all materials directly, not through an agent or third-party vendor, with the sole exception of submissions by the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program and its three partner agencies IIE, LASPAU, and AMIDEAST, and by the Danish-American Fulbright Commission (DAF), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and Vietnam Education Fund (VEF). If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact the admissions office at summersession [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu (summersession[at]columbia[dot]edu).

Nonrefundable application fee

The application fee is $80 (U.S. currency). Application fee payment must be made by credit card through the online application.

Applications submitted by January 15, 2025 will have the application fee waived.

Academic Transcripts

In the "Academic History" section of the application, you are required to provide information regarding your academic background, as well as unofficial transcripts.

Applicants must provide an unofficial transcript showing current enrollment in an undergraduate degree program. Unofficial transcripts must be in English and show the applicant’s name, institution name, courses and grades for the most recent term.

If your unofficial transcript does not meet the requirements noted, please reach out to the admissions team who will follow up with additional information.
Applicants may be required to provide transcripts from any and all post-secondary institutions if requested.

Documents required if admitted:

Applicants must submit a certified and secure electronic transcript sent directly from the institution or via the vendor that provides that service for their institution to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (transcripts[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu).
If you are requesting an official transcript via a third-party vendor, such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse, please ensure that Columbia University, School of Professional Studies (SPS) is the recipient.

Applicants must provide an unofficial transcript showing undergraduate degree coursework, grades, and degree conferral. Unofficial transcripts must be in English and show the applicant’s name, institution name, courses and grades for the most recent term.

If your unofficial transcript does not meet the requirements noted, please reach out to the admissions team who will follow up with additional information.
Applicants may be required to provide transcripts from any and all post-secondary institutions if requested.

Documents required if admitted:

Applicants must submit a certified and secure electronic transcript sent directly from the institution or via the vendor that provides that service for their institution to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (transcripts[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu).
If you are requesting an official transcript via a third-party vendor, such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse, please ensure that Columbia University, School of Professional Studies (SPS) is the recipient.

If your unofficial transcript does not meet the requirements noted, please reach out to the admissions team who will follow up with additional information.
Applicants may be required to provide transcripts from any and all post-secondary institutions if requested.

Documents required if admitted:

Applicants must submit a certified and secure electronic transcript sent directly from the institution or via the vendor that provides that service for their institution to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (transcripts[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu).
If you are requesting an official transcript via a third-party vendor, such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse, please ensure that Columbia University, School of Professional Studies (SPS) is the recipient.

Please note: if you are applying to a Certificate of Professional Achievement or Special Foreign Language Program, official transcripts are required for review if you attended an international institution. Applicants currently enrolled in a graduate program must also provide both their undergraduate degree conferral transcript and their graduate school transcripts for review.

Résumé/CV

This is required for all applicants except students applying to the Visiting Undergraduate Program. Students who are enrolled in an undergraduate program and are applying to a CPA or Language Program must submit a resume as part of their application.

Please be sure to include all relevant work experience, professional organizations, or activities that would be relevant to evaluating your candidacy for admission. Also include all academic information for your undergraduate and graduate studies (if applicable).

English Language Proficiency

To be considered for admission, students must be comfortable with rapid and idiomatic spoken English. If your native language is not English, you must provide official test score unless both of the following are true:

The language of instruction of your undergraduate degree conferring institution is English.
You completed two or more years at the institution at the time of your application.

You will be required to enter your test scores or your anticipated testing date within the online application, and official test score reports will be required for your application to be considered complete and ready for admission review. Scores are valid for two years after your test date. Applicants receiving scores below the posted minimums may be advised to apply directly to the American Language Program.

Applicant total scores must meet the Columbia SPS minimum requirement of 100 (TOEFL iBT), 7.0 (IELTS), or 130 (DET - Duolingo English Test). (Use Columbia SPS ETS code 2594 to report TOEFL scores.) Certificate applicants must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.

To submit TOEFL iBT scores: Visit www.ets.org and send your official score to our school code 2594. Please note: we do not accept TOEFL best scores.
To submit IELTS Academic scores: After you have submitted your application, please upload your unofficial IELTS Academic score report. Alternatively, you can also send us your official score through your testing center.
To submit DET scores: Visit englishtest.duolingo.com. Filter by “Graduate” and choose “Columbia University - School of Professional Studies” as the recipient.

If you have questions about your application or documentation required, please email summersession [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu (summersession[at]columbia[dot]edu).