Good Standing

Students in a master’s program in the Graduate School must maintain good academic standing in the degree program, good administrative standing in the Graduate School, and continued good progress toward the degree each semester.

Academic Standing

Good academic standing for MA students includes but is not limited to:

  • Maintaining a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0*
  • Holding no more than one mark of Incomplete at any given time
  • Registering continuously
  • Making consistent academic progress as designated by the department and GSAS
  • Completing degree requirements while maintaining superior quality of work as determined by the department
  • Fulfilling any pedagogical responsibilities as designated by the department and GSAS
  • Maintaining consistent contact with the MA Program Director and GSAS
  • Meeting other criteria specified by the department

Departments or programs should communicate explicitly to their students their additional criteria for good academic standing to their students; candidates should be familiar with them. Any questions should be directed to the DGS or program director.  

* The cumulative grade point average used to determine good standing is calculated beginning with the first semester of enrollment in that degree program, including the summer term, if applicable. No coursework previous to that date — including previous work done for another degree at Columbia — will be factored into the student’s current GPA. The cumulative GPA is derived from all courses in which a student has registered and received a grade, except when the student takes a course again after receiving an F. In such cases, the F received for the original iteration does not count toward the GPA.

Administrative Standing

Students are expected to remain in compliance with all applicable administrative policies and procedures of the Graduate School and the university, including those of the Columbia LibrariesColumbia Residential, and the Center for Student Success and Intervention (CSSI), as well as the regulations described in Essential Policies for the Columbia Community.

Progress and Time to the MA Degree

University Standards

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences adheres to federal regulations requiring that students receiving federal assistance make satisfactory academic progress in accordance with the standards set by the university.

Graduate School Standards

The Graduate School considers progress toward the MA degree to be minimally satisfactory when progress is made at a rate that will allow a student to complete the degree within four semesters of full-time study, or eight semesters of part time study, with the exception of the MA program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology; full-time students in that program must complete the degree within eight consecutive terms of study.  Students in all other MA programs should consult their departments with any questions about what constitutes full-time study. 

Students in a PhD program in the Graduate School must maintain good academic standing in the degree program, good administrative standing in the Graduate School, and continued good progress toward the degree each semester.

Academic Standing

Good academic standing for PhD students includes but is not limited to:

  • Maintaining a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0*
  • Holding no more than one mark of Incomplete at any given time
  • Registering continuously
  • Making consistent academic progress as designated by the department and GSAS
  • Completing degree requirements while maintaining superior quality of work as determined by the department
  • Acquiring an advisor
  • Maintaining consistent contact with the departmental director of graduate studies, advisor, and GSAS  
  • Fulfilling pedagogical requirements and responsibilities as designated by the department and GSAS
  • Fulfilling the dissertation prospectus requirement (in the cases in which it applies)
  • Holding Dissertation Progress Meetings regularly with the dissertation advisor and at least one other member of the dissertation committee (beginning in the semester after the prospectus defense)
  • Meeting other criteria specified by the department 

Departments should communicate explicitly to their students their additional criteria for good academic standing; candidates should be familiar with them. Any questions should be directed to the DGS.

* The cumulative grade point average used to determine good standing is calculated beginning with the first semester of enrollment in that degree program, including the summer term, if applicable. No coursework previous to that date — including previous work done for another degree at Columbia — will be factored into the student’s current GPA. The cumulative GPA is derived from all courses in which a student has registered and received a grade, except when the student takes a course again after receiving an F. In such cases, the F received for the original iteration does not count toward the GPA.

Administrative Standing

Students are expected to remain in compliance with all applicable administrative policies and procedures of the Graduate School and the university, including those of the Columbia LibrariesColumbia Residential, and the Center for Student Success and Intervention (CSSI), as well as the regulations described in Essential Policies for the Columbia Community.

Progress and Time to the PhD Degree

University Standards

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences adheres to federal regulations requiring that students receiving federal assistance make satisfactory academic progress in accordance with the standards set by the university.

Graduate School Standards
MA

The Graduate School considers progress to be minimally satisfactory when progress is such that a student completes all requirements for the MA degree en route to the PhD within two academic years (four semesters) of registration, not including official leaves of absence or periods of parental accommodation.Students who do not meet this deadline will lose good academic standing and be placed on probation.  

MPhil

To maintain satisfactory academic progress, all work for the MPhil degree—including the dissertation prospectus, if relevant—must be completed within four academic years (eight semesters) of registration, not including official leaves of absence or periods of parental accommodation. In programs in which the defense of the dissertation proposal is not one of the requirements for the MPhil degree, students are expected to defend their dissertation proposal within six months after completion of the MPhil degree, but always within four years from initial registration. Students should consult with their director of graduate studies to determine whether their department or program has an earlier deadline.

If, however, the student holds an appropriate master’s degree from Columbia or another institution and received two Residence Units of advanced standing, all MPhil degree requirements—including the dissertation prospectus, if relevant—must be completed within three academic years (six semesters) of registration.

Students must defend the prospectus successfully by May 31 of their fourth year. Students who do not meet this deadline will lose good academic standing, be placed on probation, and not have their stipend disbursed for the ensuing fall semester.

In exceptional circumstances, with a written rationale from the DGS and sponsor and the approval of GSAS, students may receive a final opportunity to defend their prospectus before September 30 of the fifth year. Students who do so successfully by September 30 of the fifth year will receive the full Dissertation Fellowship retroactively. Students who do not pass their prospectus by September 30 of their fifth year will lose PhD candidacy.

For students who are off-cycle (those whose fifth year of matriculation begins in January), the corresponding deadlines described above will be December 15 and February 28.

PhD

Students who entered a PhD program in the Arts and Sciences in Fall 2011 or later are allowed nine years of continuous registration (not including official leaves of absence) to satisfy all requirements for the doctoral degree, during which time they are required to maintain full-time status. Please note that after their seventh year of registration in a PhD program, GSAS students in the Arts and Sciences are not eligible for housing or for funding from GSAS or the Arts and Sciences.

Appeals to Complete Beyond the Ninth Year

Students who wish to appeal to the dean for time beyond the ninth year should review the policy here.

Consequences for failing to maintain good academic standing, good administrative standing, or good academic progress may include academic or administrative warning, probation, suspension, or dismissal. Departments and programs advise their students who are not in good standing of corrective steps to take, the deadlines for doing so, and the consequences of failing to remedy the matter. A student who fails to take corrective steps within the specified time limit will be terminated from candidacy for his/her degree. In cases of evident and extreme failure to achieve progress, a student may be dismissed from the degree program without a probationary period. 

Additionally, each program maintains its own standards of satisfactory academic progress and corrective procedures, and all students must familiarize themselves with them.

Procedure for Dismissal

If a student's performance continues to be inadequate, the director of graduate studies or faculty member holding a similar position should confer with the GSAS administration, typically the dean of academic affairs, regarding the termination of that student’s candidacy for the degree.

The department or program will communicate to the student the reasons for recommending dismissal to the Graduate School, and GSAS will proceed with the formal termination of candidacy by sending an official letter to the student and copying relevant faculty and administrators.

The effective date of dismissal will be included in the official notification from GSAS. Depending on the urgency of the reason for dismissal, the termination may be made effective immediately, at the end of the then-current semester, or some time between.

Appealing the Recommendation to Dismiss

A student may appeal a departmental recommendation to dismiss within ten calendar days of receiving notification from GSAS by writing to the dean of the Graduate School. The letter should explain the grounds for challenging the program's recommendation to dismiss. The student may appeal the decision on only two grounds:

  1. The student has new and relevant information that was unavailable at the time of dismissal.
  2. The student has concerns with the process that led to the dismissal that could potentially change or affect the outcome of the decision.

The dean will consider the appeal to determine if a modification of the original decision is warranted. The dean will notify the student of the final decision in writing within ten calendar days of the appeal request. There are no further possibilities of appeal beyond the dean of GSAS. A student's university privileges remain in effect until the dismissal is final.

Students who have been dismissed are not eligible for reinstatement. 

Upon conclusion of the appeal process, a permanent transcript notation will be indicated on a student’s record for cases resulting in suspension or expulsion. 

Transcript Notation

A notation will be made on a transcript whenever a student is academically dismissed. A brief explanation of common notations can be found here.