2009-2010 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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averaging 16 points per term. Students
may not register for point loads greater
than 21 points per term without approval
from the Committee on Academic
Standing.
To be eligible to receive the Bachelor
of Science degree, a student must
complete the courses prescribed in a
faculty-approved major/program (or
faculty-authorized substitutions) and
achieve a minimum cumulative gradepoint
average (GPA) of 2.0. While the
minimum number of academic credits is
128 for the B.S. degree, some programs
of the School require a greater number
of credits in order to complete all the
requirements. Undergraduate engineering
degrees are awarded only to students
who have completed at least 60
points of course work at Columbia.
Undergraduates in the programs
accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission of the ABET (chemical
engineering, civil engineering, Earth and
environmental engineering, electrical
engineering, and mechanical engineering)
satisfy ABET requirements by taking
the courses in prescribed programs,
which have been designed by the
departments so as to meet the ABET
criteria.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend
their classes and laboratory periods.
Instructors may consider attendance in
assessing a student’s performance and
may require a certain level of attendance
for passing a course.
Graduate
A graduate student who has matriculated
in an M.S. program or is a special student
is considered to be making normal
progress if at the completion of 9 credits,
he or she has earned a cumulative GPA
of 2.5. Candidates in the Doctor of
Engineering Science (Eng.Sc.D.) and
professional programs are expected to
achieve a 3.0 grade point average at the
completion of 9 points of course work.
Thereafter, graduate students are
considered to be making minimum satisfactory
progress if they successfully
complete at least 75 percent of all courses
they have registered for as candidates
for the degree with grades of C- or
better. Students placed on academic
probation because of their grades are
nonetheless considered to be making
minimum satisfactory progress for their
first term on probation (see chapter
‘‘Academic Standing,’’ following).
Degree requirements for master’s and
professional degrees must be completed
within five years; those for the doctoral
degrees must be completed within
seven years. A minimum cumulative
grade-point average of 2.5 (in all courses
taken as a degree candidate) is required
for the M.S. degree; a minimum GPA
of 3.0 is required for the professional
degree and the Doctor of Engineering
Science (Eng.Sc.D.) degree. The minimum
residence requirement for each
Columbia degree is 30 points of course
work completed at Columbia.
Changes in Registration
A student who wishes to drop or add
courses or to make other changes in his
or her program of study after the add/drop
period must obtain the signature of his
or her adviser. A student who wishes to
drop or add a course in his or her major
must obtain department approval. The
deadline for making program changes in
each term is shown in the Academic
Calendar. After this date, undergraduate
students must petition their Committee
on Academic Standing; graduate
students must petition the Office of
Graduate Student Services. For courses
dropped after these dates, no adjustment
of fees will be made. Failure to
attend a class without officially dropping
the class will result in a grade indicating
permanent unofficial withdrawal (UW).
Transfer Credits
Undergraduate students may obtain
academic credit toward the B.S. degree
by completing course work at other
accredited institutions. Normally, this
credit is earned during the summer. To
count as credit toward the degree, a
course taken elsewhere must have an
equivalent at Columbia and the student
must achieve a grade of at least C. The
institution must be an accredited fouryear
college. To transfer credit, a student
must obtain prior approval from his or
her adviser and the department before
taking such courses. A course description
and syllabus should be furnished as
a part of the approval process. Courses
taken before the receipt of the high
school diploma may not be credited
SEAS 2009–2010