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Registration & Course Info

The Registration Process

  1. Set up your Columbia email account by activating your UNI (University Network ID). E-mail accounts and UNIs are crucial to gaining access to the Columbia University community. Your UNI (created following your enrollment confirmation) is your Columbia virtual ID, equivalent to a username or log-on on other systems. It is pre-assigned, usually based on your initials and an arbitrary number (i.e. Sam Doe's UNI might be sd2036).

    Activate your UNI on the University’s myUNI page, where you will find instructions on the activation process. Attention newly admitted international students: You will need a temporary access number in order to activate your UNI. After you have paid your deposit, please contact the Office of Student Affairs by email or phone at 212-305-3927 in order to obtain this access number.

  2. Consult with your academic department, through which students receive academic advising (e.g., course sequencing, etc). See Frequently Used Numbers to find contact information for your department as well as for other important offices and resources. New students will meet with their departments during orientation, at which time you will learn the courses for which you should register.
  3. Visit the online Course Offerings and Descriptions to learn specific course information relevant to the semester in which you are registering. Use our registration form (PDF) to plan your program and to obtain necessary signatures (see Permissions). Keep a copy for your files and give a copy to your department.
  4. Visit Student Services On-Line (SSOL) to obtain your registration appointments (specific times on particular days when you are able to register). Return to SSOL during one of your registration appointments (see "Academic Calendar" for basic information on dates).

Adding/Dropping Courses

Students may add or drop courses during the "Change of Program" period (for details please refer to the Academic Calendar. Students adding a course during the "change of program" period must have attended at least one session of the course in order for registration to be valid.

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Academic Calendar

Please pay close attention to the dates listed on the academic calendar. The change of program (add/drop) period, holidays and dates by which to submit applications to graduate are just some of the essential information included there.

Financial implications are tied to registration and changing your program of study after certain dates. It is important to be aware of how these modifications to your registration are connected to the calendar. Students are responsible for all the information contained within this document. For example, late fees are charged to students registering after the "registration dates" described above.