Course Schedules & Registration Information

Registration for all courses at Columbia is completed online through the Student Services Online (SSOL) portal during designated periods scheduled by the Office of the University Registrar. Within these periods, you will be assigned specific registration appointment times. Your registration appointment time will be posted on SSOL approximately two weeks before the registration period. You must have registered for at least one course by the first day of classes in order to avoid a registration late fee of up to $100.

Students with a tuition balance of $1,000 or greater will not be allowed to register for the upcoming semester until that balance is paid down to less than $1,000.

It is the student’s responsibility to make sure all courses they are taking are indeed listed on SSOL. Failing to do so will result in a student not receiving a grade for the course.

Credit Minimums and Maximums

A student must be enrolled at least 12 points each semester to be considered a full-time student. Conversely, the maximum points a student can take without incurring additional tuition charges is 18.

Required and Elective Courses

Each semester, the faculty creates a class schedule that consists of several required courses for each concentration. For Theatre courses listed as required, no faculty permission is needed to register. A required course may be waived only with the permission of the student’s concentration head.

For elective courses within the Theatre Program, permission of both the faculty and the Theatre Program Office is required. To obtain permission, please fill out this form. The Theatre Program will be in touch regarding any approvals.

For elective courses outside of the Theatre Program, permission from both the Theatre Program, your Concentration Head, and the home program of the desired course is required. When registering for these courses, you must complete a Registration Adjustment Form and obtain the signatures of:

• either the faculty of the course or a representative from the home program office, and
• the Director of Academic Administration, Theatre

Please note that the list of elective courses distributed by the Program Office is meant to help guide your choices. You are not guaranteed class placement in any of these courses.

Courses that do not count toward the 60-credit minimum are:

1. any course below the 3000-level.*
2. any language course below the 6000-level.
3. an elective not previously approved by the Director of Academic Administration.

* No more than six (6) points of coursework at the 3000-level can be applied to the 60-credit minimum for graduation.

Change of Program Period (aka, Add/Drop Period)

Adding or dropping a course with no penalty is only permitted during the Change of Program period of each semester, which is the first two weeks of class. To do so, students can log into SSOL during their registration appointment times and make any necessary changes.

If a student adds a course once classes have started, the student is responsible for making up all missed work.

Dropping a course is only allowed through the tenth week of the semester. To drop a course after the Change of Program Period but before the tenth week of the semester, students may submit a request  in SSOL during the Post-Change of Program Period. Please note: a request is only that; it does not mean it will be granted. It must be approved by the faculty, the Director of Academic Administration, the Chair, the student’s concentration head, or some combination of the aforementioned. If the request is approved, you will receive an email instructing you to return to SSOL and complete the process. You must log-in again for the drop to be finalized.

Dropping a required course is not allowed without permission of the student’s concentration head and the Director of Academic Administration. 

Be aware: the student is solely responsible for all academic and/or financial penalties that may result from changing their schedule.