Transfer Credit

As noted on the Degree Requirements page, GSAS degree requirements consist of a) the academic requirements enumerated by the department or program, and b) the requirement of residence at the University, which students fulfill by completing a stated number of Residence Units.

At GSAS, transfer credit denotes relevant coursework completed before a student’s enrollment in a GSAS degree program that the student submits in partial fulfillment of specific academic requirements for the degree. This determination is made by the student’s department, approved by GSAS, and entered on the student’s transcript as formal acknowledgement of previously completed, approved work. During the first semester in which they register, students requesting transfer credit should submit the Application for Transfer Credit form as well as any relevant materials to their department’s director of graduate studies or program director. Departments and programs use this chart to determine the number of points of transfer credit to award, and forward their recommendation to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Please note that all courses submitted for transfer credit must be at the graduate level (at Columbia, this means courses at the 4000 level and above) and worth three or more points each.

Students should be aware of the following policies:

  • Transfer credit is granted solely by the faculty and the dean of the Graduate School.
  • Requests for transfer credit must be made by the student and endorsed by the director of graduate studies/program director.
  • Under no circumstances will undergraduate courses (for Columbia courses, those at the 3000 level and below) be accepted as transfer credit toward a master's or doctoral degree.
  • Courses taken as an undergraduate, at schools other than Columbia, are not eligible for transfer.
  • Once granted, transfer credit cannot be revoked.
  • Departments and programs reserve the right to determine the number of points of transfer credit awarded to each student.
  • No amount of transfer credit (whether credits or RUs) will affect the number of years of funding guaranteed in the offer of admission.
  • Students who receive two Residence Units of transfer credit for an MA completed at Columbia or elsewhere must complete the MPhil and the prospectus defense within three years from initial registration in the PhD program, and the PhD within eight years from initial registration in the PhD program.
  • Anyone coming in with two RUs of advanced standing will have funding eligibility for six (6) years.
  • Transfer credit courses must be taken for a letter grade, and the grade received must be B or better.
  • Credit must have been earned within seven years of matriculation to be eligible for transfer.
  • Courses applied to fulfill a requirement for a previous degree may not be submitted for transfer credit.

Policies for awarding transfer credit differ depending on the type of degree program (doctoral or master's). Please see the appropriate section below.

Doctoral Students Entering with a Master's Degree

All doctoral students are required to complete a total of six Residence Units. Doctoral students who have completed the requirements for an identical or comparable MA degree, conferred in another division of Columbia or by another regionally accredited institution (or the international equivalent) will be granted, upon entrance to the Graduate School, two Residence Units toward the required total of six. Departments must confirm whether the previously completed MA is comparable: it must meet Columbia departmental standards and contribute directly and substantially to the fulfillment of the requirements for the MPhil and PhD degrees at Columbia.

Students who have been granted two Residence Units toward the total of six Residence Units are not eligible to receive an MA from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Note: Because departments reserve the right to establish degree requirements for all students in their programs, it is important to note that students may not necessarily be exempt from all requirements demanded of MA candidates, even if they are not eligible for the Columbia MA degree.

Graduate students transferring to Columbia as an advisee of a faculty member hired from another institution may be granted a higher number of Residence Units based on special departmental determination.

Doctoral Students Entering without a Master's Degree

PhD students can receive transfer credit for individual courses to satisfy course requirements or for placement purposes.

PhD students who have taken graduate-level courses at Columbia before joining their current doctoral program, but have not completed an appropriate MA degree program or the equivalent (or an appropriate professional degree), may receive up to 30 points of transfer credit. On rare occasions, PhD students who have previously taken graduate-level courses at Columbia for an appropriate certificate may receive up to 30 points of transfer credit.

PhD students who received their bachelor’s degree from Columbia College; the School of General Studies; the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; or Barnard College, and who took graduate course(s) while they were an undergraduate, may ask their department to consider their graduate course(s) for transfer credit. The course(s) must not have been used to fulfill any degree requirements.

PhD students who have taken graduate-level courses outside Columbia, but have not completed an appropriate MA degree program or the equivalent (or an appropriate professional degree), may receive up to 15 points of transfer credit. In this case, MA coursework requirements may be shortened by the amount of transfer credits, subject to approval by the department. For example, if the MA degree requires 30 credits and the student transfers 10 credits, the student may need to fulfill only the remaining 20 credits.

Students who registered previously in a graduate program at Columbia without receiving a master’s degree must register in six RUs while matriculated in the PhD program. Note: Depending on the number of RUs in which they were registered prior to entering the PhD program, their student records may show more than six total RUs. 

Students may not register for Extended Residence until they have accumulated a total of six RUs as students in the PhD program in which they are currently registered.

Doctoral Students Accompanying Recently Recruited Faculty

In order to assist with the recruitment of new faculty, GSAS will accommodate to the extent possible departmental requests to allow new faculty to relocate to Columbia along with some of their current graduate students. The total number of transferring students must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School and may affect the department’s fellowship allocation for the following year. At a minimum, all transferring students must complete at least two Residence Units at GSAS, earn the MPhil degree, and write and defend the dissertation. In addition, all transferring students must have completed at least one year of graduate work at their current institution. Consequently, trailing students will receive fewer years of guaranteed funding.

Students seeking to transfer must complete the GSAS online application in the same manner as any other GSAS applicant; GSAS will waive the application fee. The departmental faculty and the dean will review the application files. The chair of the departmental admissions committee should certify to the dean both the admissibility of the student to the graduate program and the academic cohort into which the student would be placed.

To facilitate the admissions and budget planning processes, the following information about each transferring student should be provided to the Dean’s Office by the department as soon as possible:

  1. In which institution is the student currently enrolled? 
  2. How many years of PhD study has the student completed?
  3. Has the faculty member already committed to come to Columbia, and if so, what was negotiated in the offer letter with respect to trailing students?
  4. Will the student be funded entirely through faculty grants or is the expectation that the student will be funded through the GSAS allocation to the department (Natural Sciences only)?

Students whose application is recommended for admission by the department and approved by the dean will receive a formal letter of admission. The official letter of admission is accessible to the department in the student’s application account in SLATE.

The academic level (year of study) of the entering student determines the maximum number of Residence Units awarded as advanced standing and the years of guaranteed fellowship support that will be awarded. The following table describes the standard years of funding and advanced standing awarded:

*For students entering in fall 2023 and beyond.

Students who arrive in the spring semester will have their advanced standing and funding years adjusted accordingly. Students who are in their fourth year or later at the time of requesting admission, or who have completed most of their doctoral work at their current institution, are generally ineligible to earn their doctorate at Columbia. Such students may enroll as exchange scholars at Columbia to complete their dissertation research but will receive the doctorate from their current institution.

For graduate courses taken previously at Columbia in their post-baccalaureate years, students registered in courses in MA or certificate programs may request up to 15 points of Columbia transfer credit toward fulfillment of the coursework requirement for an MA degree if the graduate credits have not been used to fulfill requirements for any other degree previously awarded. In this case, MA coursework requirements may be shortened by the amount of transfer credits, subject to approval by the department. For example, if the MA degree requires 30 credits and the student transfers 10 credits, the student may need to fulfill only the remaining 20 credits. Transfer credits for post-baccalaureate coursework may also partially fulfill the Residence Unit requirement for completion of the MA degree (2 RUs), subject to approval by the department. 

Transfer credits for courses carrying 3 or more credits each:

  • 1-2 classes are the equivalent of 0.25 RU
  • 3 classes are the equivalent of 0.5 RU
  • 4 classes are the equivalent of 1 RU

For graduate courses taken previously at Columbia in their post-baccalaureate years, students who have earned a Columbia MA or certificate may use previous Columbia coursework for placement in a program, and to satisfy requirements in the new program, but these previous courses may not count toward the total number of credits or courses required for the degree nor toward the two RUs required for the current master’s degree.

Students who received their bachelor’s degree from Columbia College; the School of General Studies; the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; or Barnard College, and who took graduate course(s) while they were an undergraduate, may ask their department to consider their graduate course(s) for transfer credit. The course(s) must not have been used to fulfill any degree requirements.

No transfer credit is granted toward the Master of Arts (MA) degree at Columbia for courses taken outside Columbia University. Courses from Columbia University affiliates (Jewish Theological Seminary, Teachers College, Union Theological Seminary) are also not eligible for transfer credit for MA students.