Cross-Registration for TC Students

Cross-Registration for TC Students

 

All TC students have the option of taking courses at Columbia University, Barnard College, Union Theological Seminary, and Jewish Theological Seminary. Also, doctoral students beyond their first year of study may register at participating institutions in the Doctoral Consortium (IUDC). Click on the name of the school below for specific instructions on how to register.

  • Cross-registration with Columbia University begins later than registration in TC courses. At the latest, in any given semester, we would anticipate opening cross-registration one week before the start of that semester. However, the actual opening date for cross-registration varies term by term. A blast e-mail is sent to all TC students to announce specific dates for the start of cross-registration. You may also e-mail registrar@tc.edu for information.
  • Search Columbia's directory of classes. Make sure to take note of the five-digit call number, as you will need it to register.
  • CU courses will minimally require approval of the course instructor, so you should be prepared to obtain written, signed permission from the instructor. You may use TC's
    REGISTRATION ADD/DROP & POINT CHANGE REQUEST

    , or you can ask the instructor to write a short note or e-mail indicating that you have permission to register. Bring the permission note to the Office of the Registrar at Teachers College (528 West 121st St., Room 324), forward the e-mail, or send a fax to (212) 678-3005. We will then enter the approval, and you can proceed to register online in myTC.
  • Once the TC Registrar has received and entered all necessary course approvals, you may register for a Columbia course online through the myTC Portal. Simply enter the five-digit Columbia call number when you are prompted to add classes; enter the call number in the same space where you would enter the CRN of a TC course. Make sure to save your changes and confirm your registration.
  • Note: For all Columbia courses, you must register online through myTC or by contacting the TC Registrar's Office. If you are not properly registered for Columbia courses in the TC system, you will not receive grades or credit for your Columbia course work.
  • Certain Columbia schools have special procedures in place to grant approval for cross-registrants. Even if you have received written permission from a Columbia professor to join a class, you should follow the instructions below for the schools that are listed:
    • School of Architecture: Approval granted in 4th Floor of Avery Hall, Admissions. You will need to obtain written approval from the School of Architecture. You will also have to register in-person with the TC Registrar (528 West 121st St., Room 324) or by e-mailing us your registration request.
    • School of the Arts: Please secure written approval from the Arts department that sponsors the course.
    • Business School: Pursue approval online through the Business School's cross-registration site. The Business School will inform Teachers College of any approvals granted, and a representative from TC will prompt you to complete registration in the myTC Portal. 
    • School of Engineering: Please secure written approval from the Engineering department that sponsors the course. If you seek to register for a course sponsored by the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) department, you will need to apply for approval here. Note that the IEOR application will ask for a PID number; simply enter all 0's.
    • School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA):Each term, Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs opens certain courses to cross-registrants from other schools. Click here to view a list of those courses. In most cases, TC students may register freely for these open courses via myTC. Standard TC registration deadlines apply. Note that a few of the above courses may require instructor's registration approval. To secure this approval, simply e-mail the SIPA professor and present the return e-mail to the TC Registrar's Office. 
    • School of Journalism: Visit the School of Journalism cross-registration site for more information. Journalism will inform Teachers College of any approvals granted, and someone from TC will prompt you to complete registration in the myTC Portal. Note that you must register for Journalism courses through myTC, or you will not receive grades or credits for those courses. For specific questions about approval, contact Melanie Huff, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, at mgh2@columbia.edu.
    • School of Law: Approval granted in the Law School Registrar's Office, 5th Floor of William and June Warren Hall. You will need to obtain written approval from the School of Law. The TC Registrar will need to manually register you for Law School courses. You can send your registration request to us (along with written approval from the Law School) to registrar@tc.edu or fax it to (212) 678-3005. You can also register in person with these documents.
    • School of Social Work: Pursue approval online through this School's cross-registration site. The School of Social Work will inform Teachers College of any approvals granted, and someone from TC will prompt you to complete registration in the myTC Portal. Note that you must register for Social Work courses through myTC, or you will not receive grades or credits for those courses.
    • Any 0-point CU course: Special approval required TC Registrar. Send an e-mail to registrar@tc.edu.

  • Occasionally, Columbia courses do not load properly in TC's system, and you will not be able to register online. If you enter a Columbia call number and your request is rejected, simply e-mail registrar@tc.edu. We will process the registration for you. You can confirm your registration through the myTC Portal one or two business days after sending your registration request.
  • Be aware that you will be billed according to Columbia's tuition rates based on the school in which you register. However, please remit any balance due to TC's Bursar, even if the tuition due is for a Columbia course.
  • Grades: Course instructors will submit grades to the Columbia Registrar. The TC Registrar will obtain your course grades from Columbia near the end of each semester as instructors submit grades. You can view your Columbia grades through the myTC Portal along with your TC grades.
  • Cross-registration with Barnard will begin at the same time as cross-registration with Columbia. Please check in with us as the start of a semester approaches to find out the exact registration date.
  • Search for Barnard courses through Columbia's directory of classes. Classes at Barnard will be listed according to subject area, but Columbia's timetable will clearly indicate that they are Barnard courses. Make sure to take note of the five-digit call number, as you will need it to register.
  • For a course requiring instructor or departmental approval, be prepared to obtain written permission from the instructor or departmental representative. You may use TC's Special Permission/Override form, or you can ask the instructor/departmental to write registrar@tc.edu.
  • Barnard courses are all undergraduate courses, and you will therefore need to complete the appropriate undergraduate Permission Form and present it to the TC Registrar for processing. You can e-mail a scanned copy of the form to registrar@tc.edu. We will process the registration on your behalf; you will not be able to add a Barnard course online in myTC.
  • Please note that you will pay Barnard's current per-credit tuition rate.
  • Grades: Course instructors will submit grades to the Barnard Registrar. The TC Registrar will obtain your course grades from Barnard near the end of each semester as instructors submit grades. You can view your Barnard grades through the myTC Portal.
  • Review the UTS course schedule or the JTS course schedule. Take note of all relevant identifying information for the course or courses in which you would like to register. This information should include course subject, number, section, and credits.
  • Complete TC's registration form with the course information you found on either the UTS or JTS schedule. Take the completed registration form to the Registrar's Office at either UTS or JTS and obtain the professor's signature for approval. Then, bring the form to the TC Registrar's Office for processing (528 West 121st St., Room 324). You e-mail a copy to registrar@tc.edu or fax it to (212) 678-3005, but note that we will send it back to you if it is incomplete.
  • Please note that if you register for courses with UTS, you will pay the current per-credit tuition rate at UTS. If you register at JTS, you will pay TC's current tuition rate.
  • Interuniversity Doctoral Consortium registration is open to TC doctoral students only. In addition, doctoral students must be beyond their first year of study to qualify for IUDC registration.
  • Complete the ‌IUDC registration form.
    • Complete the Personal Information section of the form.
    • Have the form signed by the appropriate parties at TC. Your advisor must sign the form, as well as TC's IUDC contact, Christopher Nieves, the college's Registrar.
    • Take the form to the host institution. There you must obtain the signature of the course instructor and the host school's IUDC Coordinator. A list of valid IUDC signators are listed for each school on the second page of the form.
    • Bring the completed form back to the TC Registrar for processing or e-mail a copy to registrar@tc.edu. Note that we will return it to you if it is incomplete.
    • Once we have processed your registration for a consortium course, you will see that course on your schedule in myTC.  Registration for consortium courses takes one or two business days after you submit the completed consortium form.
  • Besides TC, IUDC’s member schools include Fordham University, CUNY Graduate Center, New York University, New School for Social Research, Princeton University, Rutgers University, and Stony Brook University. Generally, only courses offered in Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences or Graduate Schools of Education are open to consortium registration.
  • Please note that TC students cannot register at Columbia through the IUDC registration process. If you are interested in taking a Columbia course, please review the procedures on this site for how to register at Columbia.
  • When registering through IUDC, you will pay TC's current tuition rate. Remit tuition payment to TC as you would for a TC course. Note, however, that you may be responsible for special course fees; you must remit payment for any fees to the host institution.

Before considering any course outside of TC, we recommend that you consult with your faculty advisor on how that course will fit in your plan of study. In addition, please review the applicable policies on credit for advanced undergraduate courses and on non-TC credit limits for registration outside of TC. Failure to speak to your advisor or to check into the appropriate policies before registering might delay your graduation and have unintended financial consequences. Finally, our affiliate institutions may have academic calendars that differ slightly from TC's. Please review these calendars online (at affiliates' web sites) before you decide to cross-register.

Contact Us

Office of the Registrar

Phone: (212) 678-4050 Fax: (212) 678-4050 Email: registrar@tc.columbia.edu

Hours of Operation

Staff available via phone and email:

Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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