FAQ

If you have a bachelor’s degree, you are applying to the Postbaccalaureate Studies (as stated on the application); however, your “student category” is referred to as “Adults and Professionals” in the summer.

Yes, but only up until a certain point. Please make sure to review the important deadlines in the summer here.

Prospective students apply to the Postbaccalaureate Studies Program for a variety of reasons. For some, they want to take courses to apply to graduate school, while other wants to take courses to advance their career. Some professionals join the program because they are interested in changing careers and would like to explore a new subject area.

All of the instructors are extremely knowledgeable and reputable in their field. Instructors are either full time faculty at Columbia, seasoned adjuncts, or PhD students that have been nominated to teach by their department.

Yes. You can take classes throughout the academic year as well.

You can defer up to one academic year. Following the academic year, you will need to reapply to the program.

Only the other institution can determine if credits earned through the Postbaccalaureate Program will transfer to the degree. This includes transferring credits into programs at Columbia University or the School of Professional Studies.

No. Upon admittance into a summer sessions program, you must complete necessary Next Steps in order to register. Failure to complete the Next Steps (i.e. activate UNI, submit admissions verification documentation, etc.) will prevent students from adding courses to their schedule.

People admitted to study at Columbia University who are not United States citizens or permanent residents must be a full-time student at Columbia – registered for at least 6 points of credit-bearing courses in a 7-week session or 12 points of credit-bearing courses in the entire 14-week summer period – in order to be eligible for a student (F-1) visa.

If you are on a student visa with another U.S. institution, you should check with that institution’s International Student Services Office to confirm the requirements.

There are a few non-credit courses in the summer; however, the majority of classes are for-credit. Please review the course pages to check the course credits. Students on a Columbia sponsored visa cannot take a non-credit class to forgo the 6-point visa requirement.

Auditing is not available in the summer. Please check the Fall/Spring auditing options here: sps.columbia.edu/auditing.

In order to drop all of your classes, you must submit a Notice of Withdrawal Form. Once you submit this web-based form, it will automatically be routed to the SPS Student Affairs Office.

Transcripts can be sent to:

Office of Enrollment Management
School of Professional Studies
203 Lewisohn Hall
2970 Broadway, Mail Code 4119
New York, NY 10027-6902

You can view your bill on SSOL under “View Most Recent Activity.” The Summer billing schedule dates can be found here. Please contact Student Financial Services with any questions:

Phone: +1-212-854-4400
Email: sfs@columbia.edu

Students can withdraw for a full tuition refund up until the last day of the Change of Program period. Following the Change of Program Period, the University will retain a certain percentage of tuition. Please review the comprehensive tuition refund schedule on the Summer Calendars page.

The breakdown of fees are described under the Tuition and Fees tab found on each Student Category page.