Application Requirements

Select Non-Degree & Other Certificate Programs within the online application system to access the application. 

You must submit all materials directly, not through an agent or third-party vendor, with the sole exception of submissions by the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program and its three partner agencies IIE, LASPAU and AMIDEAST, and by the Danish-American Fulbright Commission (DAF), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and Vietnam Education Fund (VEF). If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact the admissions office at apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu. 

In the Academic History section of your online application, you must list and upload unofficial transcripts for all colleges and universities you have attended for at least one term, regardless of the number of credits received. This includes any summer program(s), study abroad program(s), or transfer coursework (regardless of the number of credits received or whether these credits were transferred to your home institution).

Instructions for Submitting Transcripts When Applying

Applicants must upload an unofficial transcript from each institution attended for use in review of their application. Your unofficial transcript must include your full name, the institution name, all courses and grades earned at that institution. Falsification, forgery, and misrepresentation of any type will risk forfeiture of admissions and/or enrollment. Forfeiture may occur whenever an integrity lapse is discovered, and may include admissions revocation, expulsion, or another sanction outlined within the Student Conduct and Community Standards.

International coursework

Before your application can be considered complete and ready for evaluation you must submit official transcripts from your current undergraduate institution. For Indian universities, this includes all semester mark sheets. If your university provides transcripts in a language other than English, both the original language document and English translation are required. 

Admissions staff will carefully review these official translations for accuracy and authenticity, and investigate any credentials that seem suspect if a student is being considered for admission. 

All applicants must submit certified and secure electronic transcripts directly from their current undergraduate institution or via the vendor that provides that service for their institution to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

If a school does not offer electronic delivery, you must write to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu to provide us with the link to your institution’s webpage regarding transcript orders. After verification, we will respond with further instructions.

Instructions for Submitting Official Transcripts (Admitted Students Only)

Domestic coursework

All students who have attended a college or university in the United States must submit certified and secure electronic transcripts directly from their current undergraduate institution or via the vendor that provides that service for their institution to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

If a school does not offer electronic delivery, you must write to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu to provide us with the link to your institution’s webpage regarding transcript orders. After verification, we will respond with further instructions.

International coursework

Applicants must submit an official transcript from their current undergraduate institution for use in review of their application.

Please note: The School of Professional Studies will not accept as official any transcript submitted directly by an applicant, either in person, via email or by mail.

$80.00 nonrefundable application fee (U.S. currency)

Fee payment must accompany the online application.

The statement of academic purpose should address the following:

• The subjects and course topics you intend to study

• Why you feel you are prepared for rigorous academic study at Columbia – for this you may highlight prior coursework completed, work projects and/or your employment history

• How the program fits into your overall academic and/or professional goals

• An explanation for any weaknesses that may appear on your academic transcript or a highlight of any strengths that may not be evident elsewhere (as appropriate)

This information is not required. However, if you feel it important to provide a letter of recommendation to support your candidacy, you may submit a letter.

Applicants must list recommenders and their contact information within the online application. Please provide your recommender’s professional email address and note that your recommender will receive an email requesting the recommendation upon your completion of the recommendation section of the application. Your recommender will be asked to log into the online application system, answer a few questions, and upload a letter of recommendation typed on professional letterhead. Recommendations must be submitted within the online application system. We strongly suggest notifying your recommender of these requirements prior to entering their information into the application system. You have the ability within the application system to re-notify your recommender of the request, and change your recommender if necessary. Apart from the initial notification sent through the application system, applicants are responsible for notifying and reminding the recommender about the request.

This information is not required. However, if you feel it important to provide your résumé to support your candidacy, you may submit a résumé.

To be considered for admission, students must be comfortable with rapid and idiomatic spoken English. If the language of instruction of your undergraduate degree conferring institution is English and you completed two or more years at the institution, you need not take further steps to prove fluency. However, if your undergraduate education is not conducted in English, or you completed fewer than two years at your degree conferring institution where English was the language of instruction, you must provide official scores on the TOEFL, IELTS, or DET.

Applicant total scores must meet the Columbia SPS minimum requirement of 100 (TOEFL iBT) 7.0 (IELTS) or 120 (DET Duolingo English Test). You will be required to enter your test scores or your anticipated testing date within the online application, and official test score reports will be required for your application to be considered complete and ready for admission review. TOEFL, IELTS, and DET scores are valid for two years after your test date. Applicants receiving scores below the posted minimums may be advised to apply directly to the American Language Program. (Use school code 2594 to report TOEFL scores.)”