To cross-register for a non-Law course at Columbia University, you must complete a cross-registration request form. The Cross-Registration Request Form* for Fall 2024 will be active for 24 hours, dates will be announced in July.
Submission of this form does not guarantee admittance to the course or approval that the points can be counted toward your degree. Please note these two exceptions. If you are applying to cross-register for a School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) or Columbia Business School course you should NOT fill out the law school request form, you only need to fill out the home school's form. Refer to the SIPA and Business School accordions below for more information about each school's process.
- Only graduate-level courses are approved for degree credit, except for language courses.
- Degree credit will NOT be awarded for conversational language courses, music performance classes, studio classes, and similar offerings.
- A request form is required even if you are not requesting Law credit for the course.
Registration as an Auditor is not permitted for any course. Each student is responsible for any fees associated with non-Law classes.
There are limitations on the number of non-Law credits that can be applied toward the Law degree.
- 12 credits for J.D. students.
- 6 credits for LL.M. students.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Maximum of 16 credits can count toward the law degree each semester.
- Per the law school tuition structure, students can take up to 19 credits per semester without incurring tuition fees, but only 16 of them will count towards the degree. If students enroll in a cross-registered course with plans for credits to go toward their degree requirements, they must have space within that 16-credit allowance. Enrollment in over 19 credits per semester after the change of program deadline will incur tuition charges.
- According to ABA Standard 310, each academic point earned for non-Law courses must represent at minimum a 50-minute classroom meeting each week throughout the term, as is similarly required of Law offerings.
- Law School credit cannot exceed the number of scheduled class hours per week or the point value assigned by the offering faculty. (For example, a 3-point class that meets for two hours will be worth 2 law points; a 4-point class that meets for 5 hours will be worth 4 law points).
- While law students may not be getting the full amount of credits offered by the home school for a cross-registered course, registration in SSOL will reflect the full credit weight of that course.
Time conflicts: There must be at least 5 minutes between the end time of one course and the start time of the next course in order to register.
- Music courses at Teachers College will not be approved for point credit toward the degree. Students may register for these courses for zero (Ø) law points.
- The Law School does NOT have a cross-registration agreement with Barnard College.
- Law students may not cross-register for online courses.
- All courses taken outside the Law School, whether for law credit or not, must be graded on the A-B-C scale. CR/F or other non-evaluative grades are not permitted.
- Grades earned in other divisions of the University, as part of the NYU Exchange Program, or at other schools, will not be factored into Law School honors calculations.
- Grades earned in other divisions of Columbia University will be reflected in LawNet and on the official Columbia University transcript, but grades earned for courses taken at any school outside Columbia will not.
- Law School students who have an exam conflict in courses taken outside Columbia Law School (i.e. at another Columbia division) must reschedule the non-Law School exam.
- Many Columbia University school's deadlines for add/drop and withdrawals likely differ from those of the Law School. Students need to make registration changes within the school's change of program period to avoid fees. They must consult the following schools for their dates: Medical Center, Business School, School of Journalism, and School of Social Work. Registration dates for all other schools on campus can be found on the University Registrar Academic Calendar. If a student withdraws from a class after the change of program period for that school, but within the Law School's withdrawal period, they must email Registration Services about it so we can reverse the charge.
The Cross-Registration Request Form* for Fall 2024 will be active for 24 hours, dates will be announced in July.
Registration Services will inform you of the enrollment decision on or before TBA.
Cross-registration is not guaranteed, and submission of the request does not guarantee points will count towards your degree.
*Form will be linked once available*
Priority for enrollment in language courses is given to undergraduate students and graduate students (e.g. School of International and Public Affairs and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) who need these courses to fulfill degree requirements.
If seats are available, Law students must complete the following procedures:
- Contact the language department.
- Follow their guidelines for applying and taking the placement test.
- Download the University’s Registration Adjustment Form.
- Bring a copy of the Registration Adjustment Form to the instructor to obtain approval.
- Upload the signed Registration Adjustment form when filling out the Cross-Registration Request Form*.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Some language departments must wait until the end of the University’s add/drop period to make cross-registration enrollment decisions. This timeline typically differs from the Law School’s add/drop period. The Law School Registration Services may not add students to courses after the Law School’s add/drop period. Please keep this in mind when planning to take a language course.
2. LL.M. students cannot take language courses for Law School credit.
*Form will be linked once available*
Instructions for applying for seats may be found on the Business School cross-registration website.
Law students can ONLY participate in the priority round of cross-registration for 24 hours on TBA by filling out the Business School Request Form*. Available courses will be listed in the request form.
*Form will be linked once available*
The SIPA Cross-registration website lists the courses that are never open to non-SIPA students. Please continue to check the site throughout the Add/Drop period.
- Law students can participate in SIPA Cross-registration on TBA by filling out the SIPA registration request form*.
- Students will be notified of registration by email.
Student must have a full time course load registered with the Law School. Please do not count on registering for a course at another school to bring you to full time status.
Students will not be permitted to add or drop courses after the end of the Law School's add/drop period pursuant to Law School rules.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Some courses have pre-requisites.
- SIPA core courses are never available for cross-registration.
- *Form will be linked once available*
While there are no joint degrees at the LL.M. degree level, LL.M. students are permitted to register for up to six points of graduate level courses in other departments of the University when such work is deemed appropriate and relevant to their academic programs, and subject to the following limitations:
- Credits earned in foreign language courses, even if offered by the Law School or listed on the law school’s curriculum schedule, do not count toward the 24 points required to earn the LL.M. degree.
- The LL.M. Writing Project requirement cannot be fulfilled in courses taken outside of the Law School.
- All courses taken outside the Law School must be graded on the A-B-C-F scale. Grades lower than C will not be accepted for credit toward the LL.M.
- The number of academic credits awarded for courses taken at another school or division of Columbia is limited to the actual number of hours a class meets per week, irrespective of the number of credits listed in that school’s catalogue (e.g., a three-credit course which meets for two hours each week yields two credits, not three). An exception to this rule occurs when the other school assigns fewer credits than the number of hours the course meets each week; in that case, the student will earn the number of credits assigned to that course by the school (e.g., a two-credit course which meets for three hours each week yields two credits, not three).
- Grades earned in courses taken outside Columbia Law School,either in another division of Columbia University or as part of the CLS/NYU Law Exchange, will not be factored into honors GPA calculations.
If a student chooses to take a course at a school outside Columbia University in the absence of an agreement between that school and Columbia, the student does so with the understanding that payment for such a course will not be deducted from any tuition owed to Columbia University, nor will any credits earned at the other institution supplant any of the credits required for the Columbia University degree.
Visit the Columbia University website for a listing of other Columbia University schools and for a complete directory of classes.