SEAS Student Handbook 2020-2021

Continuous registration until completion of all requirements is obligatory for each
degree. Students are exempted from the requirement to register continuously only
when granted a leave of absence by the Committee on Academic Standing (for
undergraduate students) or the Office of Graduate Student Affairs (for graduate
students).
Registration Instructions
Registration instructions are announced in advance of each registration period by the
Registrar. Students should consult these instructions for the exact dates and times of
registration activities. Students must be sure to obtain all necessary written course
approvals and advisers’ signatures before registering. Undergraduate students who
have not registered for a full-time course load by the end of the change of program
period will be withdrawn, as will graduate students who have not registered for any
coursework by the end of the change of program period. International students
enrolled in graduate degree programs must maintain full-time status until degree
completion.
Degree Requirements and Satisfactory Progress
Undergraduate
Undergraduate students are required to complete the School’s degree requirements
and graduate in eight academic terms. Full-time undergraduate registration is defined
as at least 12 semester credits per term. However, in order to complete the degree,
students must be 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 grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
Although 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 coursework at Columbia. No credit is earned for
duplicate courses or for courses that are taken pass/fail and the final grade is a P with
the exception of two non-technical electives at the 3000 level or above, as noted
below.
Undergraduates in the programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission of ABET (Biomedical Engineering, 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.
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