Registration

This section is designed solely as a guide. For the official requirements, see the registration procedures in the GSAS and SEAS bulletins.  GSAS and SEAS often change their requirements and do not inform departments, so the information we have available to post may lag behind.

Registration can be done online only through Vergil or SSOL (Student Services Online). Registration instructions can be found on the Registrar’s website. Note any information recorded in mice, e.g., your plans to take certain courses, does not automatically populate any university databases, you have to do that yourself.

QUESTIONS ABOUT DOCTORAL REGISTRATION? CONTACT:

MS/PhD, PhD and DES students contact the Doctoral Program Administrator at phd-advising@cs.columbia.edu.

GSAS VS. SEAS REGISTRATION

The PhD is awarded by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). PhD students who have already completed a Master’s degree should register as GSAS students, and should normally register following GSAS registration policies (listed below).  However, it is important to understand that SEAS rules override GSAS rules for PhD students whose home department is in SEAS, which includes the CS department.

Students who have not yet completed their MS degree are categorized as MS/PhD students and should register as as SEAS (School of Engineering & Applied Sciences) students. MS/PhD students should register following SEAS registration policies (listed below) until they have completed the requirements of the MS degree. At that point, they will ‘graduate’ to GSAS.

DES students remain in SEAS throughout the program.

Both GSAS and SEAS require “continuous registration” every fall and spring semester unless a formal leave of absence is granted. Doctoral students are not required to register for the summer term.

GSAS ADVANCED STANDING

GSAS requires all PhD students to complete 60 total points of graduate coursework and 6 Residence Units for the degree. Upon completing the MS degree in SEAS (or at another institution prior to enrolling at Columbia), GSAS will award students with 30 points and 2 Residence Units of advanced standing toward the PhD. Therefore, students only need to complete 30 additional points of graduate coursework and 4 Residence Units upon entering GSAS.

SEAS REGISTRATION FOR MS/PHD STUDENTS

MS/PhD students should register for exactly 15 points every fall and spring semester. This maintains full-time status and will enable you to complete the 30-point requirement for the MS degree in one academic year. Courses graded P/F or taken for R credit (audit) do not count towards the degree, so please keep this in mind when registering. If you want to register for more than 15 points in a semester, please discuss first with your faculty advisor and then, if your advisor agrees, the Doctoral Program Administrator.

Step 1: Register for the lecture courses that you need to take that semester. MS/PhD students should complete two 3-point graduate lecture courses (6 points) per semester so they can complete the MS degree requirements in three semesters.   Imports from other institutions, courses applied to a previous Columbia degree (BS or BA), comp exams, and research courses (9911) do not count towards the minimum six 3-point graduate lecture courses required for the MS degree.  Note that satisfactory progress requires two (2) courses per semester until the breadth requirement has been completed.

Step 2: Register for your advisor’s section of COMS E9911: Graduate Research II. The number of points of COMS E9911 that you register for depends on how many points of coursework you register for. Your points of coursework + points of COMS E9911 should total 15 points. So if you have registered for 6 points of lecture coursework, you should register for 9 points of COMS E9911.  If you register for 4.5 points in lecture courses , you should register for 10.5 points of COMS E9911.  If you aren’t taking any lecture courses, register for the full (maximum) 15 points of COMS E9911. You must select the letter grade option for COMS E9911, otherwise the points will not count towards your degree.

*The call number for your advisor’s section of COMS E9911 may change each semester, and can be confirmed on our department’s course listing. If you can’t find the correct call number, contact the Doctoral Program Administrator.

Do not register for COMS E9910: Graduate Research I or any of the other project courses, such as W4901, E6900, E6901, E6902; those are only for undergraduates and MS students and cannot be applied to a doctoral degree.

SEAS REGISTRATION FOR DES STUDENTS

DES students need to register for at least three (3) points every fall and spring semester to maintain continuous registration.

Step 1: Register for the lecture courses that you need to take that semester.  Courses graded P/F or taken for R credit (audit) do not count towards the degree, so please keep this in mind when registering.  Note that satisfactory progress requires two (2) courses per semester until the breadth requirement has been completed.

Step 2: After completion of all coursework, or for any other semesters where you will not be taking courses, but have not yet embarked on your thesis research, register for three (3) points of your advisor’s section of COMS E9911: Graduate Research II. You must select the letter grade option for COMS E9911.

You must complete at least thirty (30) points, with letter grades, in a combination of lecture courses and E9911 beyond the MS (or 60 points beyond the bachelor’s degree).

Step 3: When you start working on your thesis, you should instead register each semester for three (3) points your advisor’s section of COMS E9800: Directed Research in Computer Science.  You must complete 12 points in COMS E9800.  These 12 points do not count towards the 30 points residence requirement.

Further information is available from SEAS.

*The call number for your advisor’s section of COMS E9911 and E9800 may change each semester.

Do not register for COMS E9910: Graduate Research I or any of the other project courses, such as W4901, E6900, E6901, E6902; those are only for undergraduates and MS students.

GSAS REGISTRATION PRIOR TO COMPLETION OF SIX (6) RESIDENCE UNITS

PhD students in GSAS should register for one residence unit (RU) every consecutive fall and spring semester until they have accumulated six total RUs (including the two RUs obtained through advanced standing). The Residence Unit will give you full-time status. Make sure to keep track of exactly how many RUs you have completed as over-payment of RU tuition will not be refunded. You can see how many RUs you have completed in Vergil or SSOL. The call number for the RU is 99991.

Step 1: Register for the  RU using call #99991 in SSOL.

Step 2: Register for the lecture courses that you need to take that semester. Courses graded P/F or taken for R credit (audit) do not count towards the degree, so please keep this in mind when registering. Note that satisfactory progress requires two (2) courses per semester until the breadth requirement has been completed.

In addition to the four RUs, you will need to complete 30 points beyond the MS degree.  These can be spread out over multiple semesters, and you may conveniently get all 30 points just from taking courses.  But if you are on your third or fourth RU and it does not look like you will have all 30 points by the time you complete the fourth RU, you should obtain the remaining points from taking COMS E9911: Graduate Research II.

In that case, as Step 3: register for your advisor’s section of COMS E9911: Graduate Research II. The number of points of COMS E9911 that you will register for will be dependent on how many points of coursework you have registered for. Your points of coursework + points of COMS E9911 should come to no more than 15 points total in a given semester.  So if you have registered for 6 points of lecture coursework, you can register for up to 9 points of COMS E9911. You must select the letter grade option for COMS E9911. If you aren’t taking any lecture courses, you can register for the maximum 15 points of COMS E9911.

*The call number for your advisor’s section of COMS E9911 may change each semester, and can be confirmed on our department’s course listing. If you can’t find the correct call number, contact the Doctoral Program Administrator. 

Do not register for COMS E9910: Graduate Research I or any of the other project courses, such as W4901, E6900, E6901, E6902; those are only for undergraduates and MS students. 

GSAS REGISTRATION AFTER COMPLETION OF SIX (6) RESIDENCE UNITS

After you have completed your six residence units in GSAS, you should stop registering for RUs. How you register after that depends on several factors.  There are two options, Extended Residence (ER) and Matriculation and Facilities (M&F).

Extended Residence: Most students should register for ER after completing six (6) RUs. ER (or RU) registration is required for international students on a student visa to maintain full-time status and for any students to take courses, including COMS E9911, or to complete any degree requirements except the dissertation, defense and deposit.  The GSAS rules for registering ER are posted here.   Note those rules imply that students could register for M&F instead under various circumstances, e.g., while working on their thesis proposal, but M&F is disallowed by SEAS in most cases, see below.

Students who are unsure whether they should register for RU or ER should contact the Doctoral Program Administrator.

You should register for any classes you are taking in addition to the ER unit.  If you are done with RUs but have not yet completed 30 points beyond the MS, you should also register for COMS E9911 every semester for 1 to 15 points until you have completed 30 points beyond the MS degree.

Students who are unsure whether they need to register for COMS E9911 or for how many points should contact the Doctoral Program Administrator.

Matriculation and Facilities:  M&F registration maintains the “continuous registration” required by GSAS and is considerably less expensive than ER.  While registered M&F, students may not take any courses, including COMS E9911, and must have already completed all degree requirements other than distribution, defense and deposit of the dissertation. M&F is not available to international students on a student visa, students funded by a TA or RA appointment, and students participating in internally or externally sponsored research.  Students working solely on writing/revising their dissertation and/or preparing for distribution, defense and deposit, may register M&F during their last two semesters.  The SEAS rules for registering M&F are available here.  ( Note SEAS rules contradict and override the GSAS rules posted here. )  It is important to note that the SEAS rules disallow any stipend or compensation of any sort from any university source for students registered M&F.

Faculty advisors of students who want to register for M&F should contact the Doctoral Program Administrator to check their student’s academic eligibility.  However, the Doctoral Program Administrator cannot handle the financial aspects, so the next step for academically eligible students is for the faculty advisor to contact the department’s DFA to make financial arrangements.

GSAS REGISTRATION FOR THE DISSERTATION DISTRIBUTION, DEFENSE, AND DEPOSIT

It is not necessary for US citizens or permanent residents to register during the semester of the thesis defense or deposit.  However, all students must be registered during the semester in which the dissertation is distributed to the defense committee. For example, if you distribute in the fall, but defend in the spring, you only need to be registered for the fall semester.

International students should contact the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) to confirm whether they need to be registered for the defense and deposit, if these activities take place in a later semester than the distribution.

Important note: While in most cases summer registration is optional, the thesis distribution registration rule includes the summer semester: you must be registered for the summer term if your dissertation is distributed during the summer.

SUMMER REGISTRATION

MS/PhD and PhD students funded through Columbia during the summer need to register for a full-time summer research appointment (RSRH).  Request the call number for this registration status from the Doctoral Program Administrator.

If you are externally funded and your funding source requires summer registration, contact the Doctoral Program Administrator to ask if you should register for the full-time summer research appointment or some other status.

If you are not being funded, there is no need to register for the summer unless you plan to distribute your dissertation during the summer term. Never register for any courses during the summer.

Last updated on June 4, 2024.