Academic Requirements

 

Academic Credit

A point of academic credit is awarded to a student for coursework based on the successful completion of a certain number of contact hours with an instructor in class and a certain number of hours of coursework done outside of class. Generally speaking, one point of academic credit denotes 14 hours of in-class work and approximately 28 hours of out-of-class work. Most undergraduate courses carry between 3 and 5 points of academic credit. 

Every Columbia College student must complete 124 points of academic credit  to earn the B.A. degree from Columbia College. To complete this number of credits over 8 semesters, students will need to complete an average of 15.5 credits per semester, which typically represents 4 to 5 academic courses per term (of courses that are worth between 3 and 5 points of credit each). According to the expectations of workload per credit hour noted above, a 15.5-credit academic course load will require a minimum of 46.5 hours of work per week, spent attending class and doing homework. 

All courses listed in this Bulletin are open to Columbia College students and carry credit that can be earned toward the B.A. degree. If students are interested in courses that are not listed in this Bulletin, it is important that they consult their advising dean in the Berick Center for Student Advising to confirm that the course will carry credit toward the B.A. degree. 

It is expected that every course that a student takes is adding to the student’s education, increasing the student’s knowledge, and improving the student’s skills. Therefore, students may not earn credit for a course more than once, except in the case of a course that has been approved to be taken more than once (e.g., certain music performance courses, certain research courses).  

• Retaking a course: If a student receives a failing grade in a course and therefore does not receive credit for it, the student may take the class again and earn credit for the second instance of the course. In the very rare circumstance in which a student has earned credit for a course and feels it necessary to retake the course to show a stronger performance, the grades for both instances of the course will appear on the transcript, but only the first instance of the course will earn credit and only the final grade earned in the first instance of the course will count towards the overall GPA as measured by the degree audit report that students can access through Vergil/SSOL.
   

• Duplicative coursework: Students may not earn credit multiple times for course content that is essentially duplicative, as in the following cases:
   

  • Students cannot take two courses that have essentially the same function within the structure of the undergraduate curriculum. ​For example, credit cannot be earned for two first-term calculus courses, even if one is more theoretical in approach than the other. Similarly, credit cannot be earned for two comparable terms of a science or foreign language even if one has a Barnard course number and the other a Columbia course number.
     

  • If students have been granted academic credit through advanced standing credit (AP, IB, GCE, etc.), they may not take the equivalent course(s) at Columbia for credit. If students do take the equivalent course(s) at Columbia, they will need to forfeit the advanced standing credit previously granted. For more information, see Academic Regulations—Placement and Advanced Standing.
     

  • If students have been granted academic credit through transfer credit for coursework at another college or university, they may not take the equivalent course(s) at Columbia for credit. If students do take the equivalent course(s) at Columbia, they will need to forfeit the transfer credit previously granted. 

The Core Curriculum

The Core Curriculum represents the College's approach to general education requirements:

• Six shared courses, in which all students study the same content and learn foundational academic habits of mind and habits of work;
• Discipline-specific courses chosen by students from lists of approved courses, in which students learn specific content that conveys ways of knowing and understanding; and
• The Physical Education requirement.

Course List

Code	Title	Points
Literature Humanities
HUMA CC1001  - HUMA CC1002	EURPN LIT-PHILOS MASTERPIECS I and EURPN LIT-PHILOS MASTRPIECS II
Frontiers of Science
SCNC CC1000	FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE
University Writing
ENGL CC1010	UNIVERSITY WRITING
Contemporary Civilization
COCI CC1101  - COCI CC1102	CONTEMP WESTERN CIVILIZATION I and CONTEMP WESTRN CIVILIZATION II
Art Humanities
HUMA UN1121	MASTERPIECES OF WESTERN ART
Music Humanities
HUMA UN1123	MASTERPIECES OF WESTERN MUSIC
Science Requirement
In addition to Frontiers of Science (listed in the shared courses above), two courses from the list of approved courses that meet the guidelines of the Science Requirement
Global Core Requirement
Two courses from the list of approved courses that have met the guidelines of the Global Core Requirement
Foreign Language Requirement
The successful completion of the "Intermediate ll" (or equivalent) level in a single language or the exemption from the requirement through approved exam scores (i.e., advanced placement exams or departmental placement exams).
Physical Education
Two courses and a swimming test

All of the courses in the full Core Curriculum must be taken for a letter grade (i.e., the Pass/D/Fail option may not be applied) – with the exception of courses for the Physical Education requirement, which are offered only on a "pass/withdrawal" basis.

Students are required to complete Frontiers of Science, both semesters of Literature Humanities, and University Writing in the first year. Students who do not successfully complete all of these requirements by the end of the first year will be placed on academic probation.

All students are required to take Contemporary Civilization in their sophomore year. For pedagogical reasons, the College considers Literature Humanities a prerequisite for Contemporary Civilization; therefore, all Columbia College students must complete Literature Humanities prior to taking Contemporary Civilization. (Columbia Engineering students, who may also enroll in Contemporary Civilization, have been given an exception to this sequence because of the structure of their curriculum.)

Students are encouraged to complete Art Humanities and Music Humanities by the end of the junior year.

Courses taken to fulfill the Core Curriculum must be taken in Columbia College – with the exception of the Foreign Language Requirement, which, in some instances and as determined by the relevant academic department at Columbia, may be satisfied at Barnard College.

If students plan to take courses at an approved study abroad program that seem to fulfill the stated goals of the Global Core or Science requirements, students may petition the Committee on the Global Core or the Committee on Science Instruction – through their advising dean in the Berick Center for Student Advising –to ask if the course might be approved for the relevant requirement. Also, if a student has fallen behind on the required number of credits and requirements to be in good academic standing, the student may be able to petition the Committee on Academic Standing to take approved courses at another institution during the summer in order to regain good academic standing.

The Major

All Columbia College students must complete a major. By requiring both breadth and depth of study in one particular discipline or field, the major ensures intensive study in a single academic program, typically through a combination of introductory courses, methods courses, advanced seminars, and possibly a senior capstone experience such as a thesis. Majors are designed and offered by a variety of Columbia departments, institutes, centers, and programs, and are described in the departmental sections of this Bulletin (see Departments, Programs, and Courses).

Students select individual majors based on their own particular aims and needs. A major is not designed to produce professionally trained specialists for one profession or another; in fact, students often pursue careers that are not dependent on the specific content of their majors. Rather, the major provides a particular way of understanding and of working that students can translate into any number of professional contexts. 

In the first and sophomore years, students can consult a network of advisers as they consider their choice of a major; this network includes faculty members in academic departments and programs, advising deans in the Berick Center for Student Advising, and advisers in the Center for Career Education. Students declare a major through an online declaration process in their fourth semester (i.e., spring semester of sophomore year). Students are not permitted to declare a major before this time. Some majors will also require departmental review at the time of declaration, and students should consult with the DUS of their department to confirm that they can complete their major by the end of their 8th semester. Information about the process for declaring a major is sent to students in the spring of the sophomore year by the Berick Center for Student Advising.

Every student is responsible for completing the requirements for a major within eight full-time semesters. Students should complete the requirements for a major that are in effect as of the time that they declare the major in their sophomore year. Students are expected to be active in consulting advisers in the major, especially the relevant director of undergraduate studies for each major.

The requirements for a major are determined by the faculty of the relevant academic department or program, and each department or program has one or more faculty members designated as a director of undergraduate studies. A director of undergraduate studies (DUS) for a department or program provides advising on the individual courses and the programs of study for undergraduates in that department or program, and DUS can offer guidance to students who are prospective majors, who are declared majors, or who are simply taking a course in the department or program.

Students can find information about all majors available to them in the pages of this Bulletin and on the websites of individual departments, institutes, and centers. Students should familiarize themselves with the requirements of any academic programs by reading through the requirements for their proposed major and by directing questions to the relevant director of undergraduate studies. 

All courses taken to complete a major, whether they are designated as required or elective within the major, must be taken for a letter grade and must be passed with a grade of C- or higher. Some academic departments permit an exception to this policy, allowing the first one-term course taken by the student in his or her eventual major to be taken for a mark of "Pass." Students should consult the director of undergraduate studies (DUS) for any permissions or restrictions on grading options for the major.

The size and structure of a major can vary from one department/program to the next, and students may need to understand these details and distinctions as early as possible. For example:

• Some majors require that certain introductory courses be completed before the start of the junior year.

• Some majors have different minimum and maximum points allowed for a concentration or a major.

• Majors may have different policies on whether students can fulfill one requirement with a grade of D or a mark of "Pass."

A student can change majors at any time as long as the requisite departmental approval is received, the requirements have been or can be fulfilled, and students can still graduate by the end of their eighth semester. If a student decides to change a major, the student must file a new declaration form online or in hard copy with the advising dean in the Berick Center for Student Advising.

Independent majors (i.e., programs of study designed by a student) are not permitted for Columbia College students.

Minors

Most students graduate from Columbia College with one program of study – i.e., with one major. Majors vary in the number and type of required courses, and students may find that they have very full programs of study each semester with the mix of courses to fulfill a major and courses to fulfill the Core Curriculum. To the extent that students have additional space in their programs of study for elective coursework, they might choose to take a mix of liberal arts courses in a variety of departments, or they might give their elective coursework shape by declaring another program of study. While students can declare a second major, more often students who wish to pursue another program of study will opt to a secondary course of study in the form of an academic minor.

Smaller than a major program of study, an academic minor typically requires between 5 and 9 courses to complete, and it offers students the opportunity to increase their exposure to the breadth of the liberal arts curriculum in ways that are curated by the faculty’s expertise and interests. The goals and structures of a minor can vary, and may have one of the following purposes:

• an introduction to a discipline, stopping short of the advanced work of a major;

• a cluster of courses that introduce students to a topic through multiple approaches;

• an advanced offering for students who have previous preparation in order to pursue a particular focus of study that builds on departmental strengths and specializations;

• a complement to an existing major, such as a subfield in a cognate department; or

• an interdisciplinary program including courses in one or more departments/programs.

Students can find information about all minors available to them in the pages of this Bulletin and on the websites of individual departments, institutes, and centers. Students should familiarize themselves with the requirements of any academic programs by reading through the requirements for minors and by directing questions to the relevant director of undergraduate studies. 

Students can declare a minor at the same time that they declare a major, in the Spring semester of their sophomore year, or they can declare a minor at a later point if they determine that they have the interest and space in their program of study to complete one.  Information about the process for declaring a major is sent to students in the spring of the sophomore year by the Berick Center for Student Advising.

Special Programs

In certain cases, the College has partnered with Columbia’s professional schools or affiliated programs to offer a special program of study that goes beyond the liberal arts curriculum offered to College students. If a student completes one of these programs, it will appear on the student’s transcript as a “special program.” Therefore, a special program can only be pursued as a second program of study; a student pursuing a special program must also complete a major in order to earn the B.A. degree. 

Maximum Number of Programs of Study

Most students graduate from Columbia College with one program of study – i.e., with one major. Majors vary in the number and type of required courses, and students may find that they have very full programs of study each semester with the mix of courses to fulfill a major and courses to fulfill the Core Curriculum. 

To the extent that students have additional space in their programs of study for elective coursework, they might choose to take a mix of liberal arts courses in a variety of departments, or they might give their elective coursework shape by declaring another program of study. While students can declare a second major, more often students who wish to pursue another program of study will opt to a secondary course of study in the form of an academic minor or a special program (described above).

Students must complete their degree requirements within eight semesters (including the terms that transfer students have spent at other institutions), and students will not be awarded additional semesters for the purposes of completing an additional program of study.

The maximum number of programs that a student can declare is three, subject to the following conditions:

1. Students may declare a maximum of three programs of study (a program of study defined as a major, a minor, or a special program).

2. A student may not declare more than two majors.

3. A student may not declare more than two minors.

4. If a student wishes to declare more than one program of study, the coursework for the additional program(s) of study should fit comfortably within the expected course load of 4-5 courses per semester. Students will not be permitted to petition regularly to exceed the 18-credit point limit in order to pursue additional programs of study.

If a student decides to pursue multiple programs of study, they may not both be governed by the same offering unit (department, institute, or center). For example, a student may not declare two majors, or a major and a minor, in Russian Language and Culture and in Slavic Studies, both of which are housed in the Department of Slavic Languages. Similarly, a student may not declare programs in Mathematics and in Applied Mathematics, both of which are governed by the Department of Mathematics. All joint majors are considered as governed by both offering units: for example, the Economics-Political Science major is governed by both the Economics department and the Political Science department, so that a student may not declare programs in both Political Science and Economics-Political Science.

Policy on Double-Counting Courses toward Requirements

If a student chooses to declare more than one program of study (some combination of major, minor, or special program, subject to the conditions noted above), the student can, in certain situations, apply one course to two programs of study (“double-counting”). There are three conditions under which students may apply one course to two programs of study, and depending on the declared programs of study, some or all of these conditions may apply:

1. If two programs of study require the same fundamental skills as prerequisite for all further study in those programs, students may double-count those fundamental courses to both programs of study. The Committee on Instruction has defined this fundamental coursework as any of the following courses:

   1. elementary and intermediate foreign language courses;

   2. the calculus sequence (I through IV, Accelerated Multivariable Calculus, or Honors A and B);

   3. introductory courses in Statistics (STAT UN1101 or UN1201); and

   4. the introductory course in computer programming (COMS W1004).

   5. If faculty members feel that other courses should be included in this category, those courses would need to be explicitly approved by the Committee on Instruction for double-counting.
       

2. In addition to double-counting any of the courses described in #1 above, students may double-count courses toward programs of study (major or minor) that are taken to fulfill three parts of the Core Curriculum: (1) the Global Core requirement and/or (2) the Science requirement and/or (3) the Language requirement. Note: The shared courses of the Core Curriculum – specifically, Art Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Frontiers of Science, Literature Humanities, Music Humanities, and University Writing – may not be double-counted with any major or minor.
    

3. In addition to double-counting any courses described in #1 and #2 above, students pursuing two programs of study may double-count a maximum of two classes of any type, if the classes are already approved to fulfill a requirement for each program of study. Students should not petition Directors of Undergraduate Studies for substitutions to major or minor requirements in order to create opportunities for double-counting. Offering departments, institutes, or centers may choose to restrict the double-counting of particular courses, and such restrictions cannot be appealed.

If any of the conditions above happens to apply to three declared programs, the “double-counting” will apply across the three programs of study.