Application Policies

• Submitting Application Materials: 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.
• Multiple Applications: You may not apply to more than one program offered by the School of Professional Studies in any one semester. If an applicant submits applications to more than one program offered by SPS in the same semester, both applications may be denied automatically on that basis alone.
• Re-Applying: If you apply to a program and are denied admission to that program, you may not submit another application for admission to that same program or another SPS degree program for one year. For example, if you were denied admission to a program for Fall 2021, you are not eligible to apply again to that same program or another SPS degree program until Fall 2022.
• Application Limits: If you have been denied admission to the same program three times, you are no longer eligible for admission to that program and any further application will not be considered.
• Application Decisions: All admissions decisions are final. There is no appeal process. The Admissions Committee reviews each application thoroughly and with great care.
• Dual-Program Enrollment: Enrollment in another degree program at Columbia or elsewhere while enrolled in an SPS master’s or certificate program is strictly prohibited by Columbia University. Violations of this policy will lead to the revocation of an offer of admission, or termination for a current student.
• Pre-Registration Requirements: Before being permitted to register, you must provide written consent to participate in a verification process of all academic, professional, and reference information provided during your application process. For us to proceed with this verification, you must sign and date an Authorization and Release form, and upload this into your application portal. We will provide the link to do so once you have submitted your application.
• Application Material Rights: Application materials become property of Columbia University upon submission and cannot be returned.
• False Information: Failure to submit complete, accurate, and authentic application documents consistent with these instructions may result in denial or revocation of admission, cancellation of academic credit, suspension, expulsion, or eventual revocation of degree. Applicants may be required to assist admissions staff and faculty involved in admission reviews in the verification of all documents submitted as part of their application.

• Undergraduate Study: To be eligible for admission, applicants must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution by the date on which they enroll at the School of Professional Studies.
• Educational History: All post-secondary schools attended full-time for at least one term must be disclosed with the exception of coursework where no credits are earned, or institutions where you completed a total of 11 credits or less (on a traditional U.S. credit system) outside of your degree granting institution and those credits appear on your degree granting institution transcript. Transcripts from each institution must be provided. This includes professional schools, summer study and study abroad programs. If requested, applicants may be required to provide transcripts from any and all post-secondary institutions.
• Official Transcripts: Official transcripts are required to enroll at the School of Professional Studies, and you are therefore strongly encouraged to arrange for the submission of official transcripts at the earliest possible stage. While you must upload unofficial transcripts at the time of application, any decision granting admission on the basis of an unofficial transcript will be provisional only and subject to the receipt of official transcripts directly from the issuing institution, or WES, if international education.
• Official Transcript Requirements: Transcripts must show the conferral of your bachelor’s and the completion of any in-progress study reflected on transcripts provided for degree admissions consideration. Transcripts must include course names and grades for all work completed. Any documents to which a student has had access, including any transcripts uploaded as part of the application, are automatically considered unofficial.
• Submitting Official Transcripts - Domestic Institutions: For each institution reported on your application, you must provide an electronic transcript directly from the institution to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu. If your prior institution does not offer electronic transcript transmission, you must write to transcripts [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu with the link to your prior U.S. institution’s web page concerning transcript orders to confirm that paper is the only option and obtain permission to submit a paper transcript.
• If a paper transcript is the only option, it must be sent directly from the institution to Columbia, and not delivered or forwarded by you. Please have the institution send the approved paper transcript to:
  • Office of Admissions
  • School of Professional Studies
  • 203 Lewisohn Hall
  • 2970 Broadway, Mail Code 4119
  • New York, NY 10027-6902
• Submitting Official Transcripts - International Institutions: Official transcripts from prior academic institutions outside the United States must be submitted through World Education Services, Inc. (WES) as a course-by-course evaluation. If a WES transcript was provided reflecting in-progress study, a follow-up WES course-by-course evaluation showing the complete academic record and degree conferral is required prior to enrollment. Please note that applicants who have completed 18 credits or less abroad may submit an unofficial transcript for admissions consideration. If admitted, the applicant must submit an official transcript directly from the prior institution. WES is not required.

• Academic Recommendation Requirement: All applicants are required to submit at least one academic reference unless you have received a bachelor’s degree more than 5 years prior to the date of the application. If you received a bachelor’s degree more than 5 years prior to the date of the application you are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit an academic reference.
• Submitting Recommendation Letters: Under no circumstance should you upload a letter on behalf of a recommender. Any person who writes a letter of recommendation must submit that letter themselves. Letters of recommendation may not be sent via email, nor via postal mail. All letters must be uploaded by the recommender directly to the application system.
• Professional Email Addresses: When entering contact information for recommenders, you must use their institutional or professional email address. References submitted from personal or anonymous email accounts (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo, 123.com, 163.com, qq.com, info@, support@, email@, etc.) will be subject to additional review and may result in your application being considered ineligible for admission. If your recommender can only use a personal email, please reach out to our team at apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu for further instruction.
• Family Member Recommendations: If the current supervisor, former supervisor, or faculty member writing a letter of recommendation for you is a family member, this MUST be disclosed in the letter of recommendation as well as in the recommendation request section of the application. Your second letter of recommendation must be from a non-family member. If the affiliation is not disclosed OR you lack a second non-familial letter of recommendation, you will be considered ineligible for admission. Please email apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu to inquire about your specific situation.  
• Recommendation Verification Process: The School of Professional Studies has contracted with Re Vera Services to assist with the verification of letters of recommendation. If you are admitted to a program at the School of Professional Studies, your recommenders will be contacted by a Re Vera representative to confirm the authorship of the submitted letters. Admissions decisions will only be released to applicants who have uploaded their consent form within the online application system. Follow the process below:
  • Step 1: Consent to participate in the verification process by completing the Authorization and Release Form, which is administered by our contracted vendor, Re Vera Services. A link to this form will appear within the application system upon submission of the application. 
  • Step 2: Upload the PDF of the signed consent form within the online application portal. This must be completed before an admissions decision will be released. 
  • Step 3: Encourage recommenders to respond promptly to Re Vera’s email outreach. If Re Vera reaches out to you directly, respond promptly to ensure the process can move forward.
  • Step 4: Receive confirmation via email that the Re Vera process has been completed.

Under the guidelines of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), all letters of recommendation are confidential during the admissions process, even if you have not waived your right to view them. This policy applies to both domestic and international applicants. If you did not waive your right to see one or more of the letters, you may view them only after you are enrolled in Columbia SPS. Students who do not receive an offer of admission, or those admitted who do not enroll, are not permitted access to the letters at any time. A complete explanation of the FERPA policy can be found here.