Office of Student Life and Alumni Relations
How to Register
See SCE's calendar for registration dates.
New Students
M.S. Students
Postbaccalaureate Studies Students
Visiting Students
Auditors/Lifelong Learners
New Students
Summer Sessions Students
Teachers College Students
New Students
Please follow the appropriate procedures for your program below. If you do not have an active Columbia UNI/email account, you must come in person to register in Lewisohn Hall during the regular registration period.
M.S. Students
All Master of Science programs are different, and as such have unique registration procedures and instructions. What follows are general registration instructions. Specific registration instructions will be discussed at your program orientation.
CHOOSING YOUR COURSES
The Directory of Classes is Columbia’s online course bulletin. Use it to locate courses’ 5-digit call numbers (which you’ll need to register), to find out when and where courses meet, who the professors are, to see if courses require departmental or professor permission, to check enrollment numbers and to see if courses are lectures or seminars, among other things.
IDENTIFY AND REGISTER FOR COURSES WHICH NEED APPROVAL
Some courses require the approval of either the professor teaching them or the department offering them. To determine whether or not the course you want to register for requires approval, check the “Approvals Required” line on the course’s webpage on the Directory of Classes. If you see “Department” or “Instructor” listed in the “Approvals Required” line, you will need to secure approval in writing (a print-out of an email from a professor is fine). Also check the “Open To” line. If you do not see “School of Continuing Education” listed you will need to secure written approval even if it says “None” in the “Approvals Required” line. You will not be able to register online for courses that require written approval. You will have to come to in-person registration with either an email print-out of the approval, or a signed Registration and Add/Drop form. You do not need an appointment to register in person.
CROSS-REGISTRATION
If a course is offered through another school, SCE students will have to cross-register for it. In order to determine whether a course is offered through another school, please check the “Division” line on the course’s webpage in the Directory of Classes. If it lists a school other than the School of Continuing Education and doesn’t list the School of Continuing Education in the “Open To” line, you will most likely have to cross-register to take it. For approval to cross-register and instructions about how to do so, please consult your program director.
HOW TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR COURSES IN THE SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
You may register yourself online on Student Services Online (SSOL) using your Columbia email and password. All students are assigned registration appointment times. You can only register online during these appointment times. These appointment times will be available on Student Services Online about two weeks prior to the registration period (see calendar).
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
Please see calendar for dates, times, and location of in-person registration. Please come to in-person registration with a completed Registration and Add/Drop form. Appointments are not required.
Postbaccalaureate Studies Students
CHOOSING YOUR COURSES
The Directory of Classes is Columbia’s online course bulletin. Use it to locate courses’ 5-digit call numbers (which you’ll need to register), to find out when and where courses meet, who the professors are, to see if courses require departmental or professor permission, to check enrollment numbers and to see if courses are lectures or seminars, among other things.
IDENTIFY AND REGISTER FOR COURSES WHICH NEED APPROVAL
Some courses require the approval of either the professor teaching them or the department offering them. To determine whether or not the course you want to register for requires approval, check the “Approvals Required” line on the course’s webpage on the Directory of Classes. If you see “Department” or “Instructor” listed in the “Approvals Required” line, you will need to secure approval in writing (a print-out of an email from a professor is fine). Also check the “Open To” line. If you do not see “School of Continuing Education” listed you will need to secure written approval even if it says “None” in the “Approvals Required” line. You will not be able to register online for courses that require written approval. You will have to come to in-person registration with either an email print-out of the approval, or a signed Registration and Add/Drop form. You do not need an appointment to register in person.
CROSS-REGISTRATION
If a course is offered through another school, SCE students will have to cross-register for it. In order to determine whether a course is offered through another school, please check the “Division” line on the course’s webpage in the Directory of Classes. If it lists a school other than SCE and doesn’t list SCE in the “Open To” line, you will most likely have to cross-register to take it. For approval to cross-register and instructions about how to do so, please contact the Office of Student & Alumni Affairs (sce-studentaffairs@columbia.edu).
HOW TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR COURSES IN THE SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
You may register yourself online on Student Services Online using your Columbia email and password. All students are assigned registration appointment times. You can only register online during these appointment times. These appointment times will be available on Student Services Online about two weeks prior to the registration period.
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
Please see calendar for dates, times, and location of in-person registration. Please come to in-person registration with a completed Registration and Add/Drop form. Appointments are not required.
Visiting Students
CHOOSING YOUR COURSES
The Directory of Classes is Columbia’s online course bulletin. Use it to locate courses’ 5-digit call numbers (which you’ll need to register), to find out when and where courses meet, who the professors are, to see if courses require departmental or professor permission, to check enrollment numbers and to see if courses are lectures or seminars, among other things.
IDENTIFY AND REGISTER FOR COURSES WHICH NEED APPROVAL
Some courses require the approval of either the professor teaching them or the department offering them. To determine whether or not the course you want to register for requires approval, check the “Approvals Required” line on the course’s webpage on the Directory of Classes. If you see “Department” or “Instructor” listed in the “Approvals Required” line, you will need to secure approval in writing (a print-out of an email from a professor is fine). Also check the “Open To” line. If you do not see “School of Continuing Education” listed you will need to secure written approval even if it says “None” in the “Approvals Required” line. You will not be able to register online for courses that require written approval. You will have to come to in-person registration with either an email print-out of the approval, or a signed Registration and Add/Drop form. You do not need an appointment to register in person.
CROSS-REGISTRATION
If a course is offered through another school, SCE students will have to cross-register for it. In order to determine whether a course is offered through another school, please check the “Division” line on the course’s webpage in the Directory of Classes. If it lists a school other than SCE and doesn’t list SCE in the “Open To” line, you will most likely have to cross-register to take it. For approval to cross-register and instructions about how to do so, please contact the Office of Student & Alumni Affairs (sce-studentaffairs@columbia.edu).
HOW TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR COURSES IN THE SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
You may register yourself online Student Services Online using your Columbia email and password. All students are assigned registration appointment times. You can only register online during these appointment times. These appointment times will be available on Student Services Online about two weeks prior to the registration period.
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
Please see calendar for dates, times, and location of in-person registration. Please come to in-person registration with a completed Registration and Add/Drop form. Appointments are not required.
Auditors/Lifelong Learners
ONLINE REGISTRATION
You may register yourself online on Student Services Online using your Columbia email and password. All students are assigned registration appointment times. You can only register online during these appointment times. These appointment times will be available on Student Services Online about two weeks prior to the registration period.
CHOOSING YOUR COURSES
To view the courses open to Auditors and Lifelong Learners, please go to the Directory of Classes, Columbia’s online course bulletin. Click “A” in the “Course Listings by Subject” box and scroll down to where the auditing courses are listed, or click “A” in the “Course Listings by Department” box and scroll down to the Auditing Department.
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
If you do not have a Columbia email account or otherwise cannot register online, you will need to come in person to register with a completed Registration and Add/Drop form. Please see calendar for dates, times, and location of in-person registration. Appointments are not required.
New Students
New SCE students should refer to their Student Handbook which contains instructions for activating a new Columbia email account and registering for courses, among other things.
Summer Sessions Students
Summer term visiting students as well as students enrolled in Columbia College, the School of General Studies, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Barnard College, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences follow the procedures listed on the Summer Sessions website. For Summer Term visiting students (those enrolled in high school, undergraduate, or graduate programs elsewhere), registration materials are valid only for the summer term. Such students who wish to continue in the fall must apply to the School of Continuing Education (or other schools at Columbia) in the appropriate student category. For undergraduate and high school visiting students, there is a two-term limit.
Teachers College
Teachers College students register at Teachers College for Summer Term courses, during the regular registration periods established by the Teachers College Office of the Registrar.
