Registration and Academics for Transfer Students

After you are admitted to Columbia Law School, you will receive an email summarizing:

• The total number of credits that will transfer to the Law School (out of a maximum of 32).
• The Foundation courses you will be required to take (if any).

Once you know how many credits are transferring to the Law School, a member of the Student Service team can assist with your course selection, explain degree requirements, help you manage your academic work, conduct graduation audits, and help you navigate your way through law school.

Email Student Services to make an advising appointment.

You can find more comprehensive information about degree requirements, the change of program period, pre-registration, and registration processes in the Academic Rules section.

We look forward to meeting with you, and we hope you will take full advantage of the diverse course offerings taught by our outstanding faculty.

Contact Us

Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Associate Dean of Students and Registration Services
[email protected]

Jessica Valdes Jimenez, Executive Director of Student Services, Community Engagement, & Equity
[email protected]

Jordan Carr, Associate Director of Academic Counseling 
[email protected]

Lauren Levy, Associate Director of Academic Counseling and Student Support
[email protected]

Joel Kosman, Academic Advising and Wellness Coach
[email protected]

Pre-registration is an online process where students can select courses and prioritize them for the course lottery. 

Incoming transfer students must pre-register for classes along with all other Columbia Law School upper-year students. (Incoming transfer students have the same priority as all other rising 2L students.) Once upper-year students have entered their selections, Registration Services runs a computerized scheduling lottery and distributes the results before each term.

Instructions

• You cannot list any course twice. If you list a course as a primary course, it cannot be listed as an alternative choice for any other primary course choice, nor can it be listed again as a lower priority primary course.
• You can identify eight primary courses and their alternatives.
• Your alternative choice will be assigned to you if your primary choice is full, but you will be placed on the waitlist for your primary choice.
• The course lottery cannot assign you to—or place you on a waitlist for—a class that has a time conflict with a higher-ranked course to which you were admitted.
• Take note of co- and prerequisites. The lottery cannot assign courses if you do not have the necessary requisites.

• After your schedule has been released, you will know which courses you have been registered for and on which waitlists you have been placed. When course schedules are released, you will be asked to confirm in LawNet on which waitlists you wish to remain, thus allowing other students to move more quickly through the queue. 
• You are limited to a maximum of eight waitlists. This applies to the Add/Drop period, during which you can add your name to additional waitlists. You can also add your name to the roster of any classes that have space and do not require an application or instructor permission.

Registering for courses requiring instructor permission:

• You will not be able to include permission courses during the pre-registration process.
• Permission courses: information on applying for these courses is usually listed in the “Limitations” field of a course’s online description and frequently in the body of the course description.
• First-Year Foundation courses: to be considered for a seat in these, you must petition the Office of Registration Services.

Negotiation Workshop:

• Only Negotiation Workshop section 1 is available to list among your pre-registration selections. Once you have added section 1, another window listing all the sections will appear, and you can rank each section according to your preference. You must rank the sections in order to be placed in any Negotiation Workshop section. Learn more about Negotiation Workshop registration in the course description in the Curriculum Guide.

Supervised Research:

• Submit your registration form via LawNet for any of the following to the Office of Registration Services by the end of the Add/Drop period:
  • Supervised Research Paper (L6683)
  • Supervised Research Paper: Course Related (L6689)
  • Service as Unpaid Faculty Research Assistant (L6685)
  • Service as a Teaching Fellow (L6822)

Please verify with your home school that offerings graded by credit/fail will be accepted toward your J.D. degree.

Courses in other divisions of Columbia University:

• Different schools have their own cross-registration rules. Please review the fall 2023 Add/Drop Handbook, which will be available when schedules are released.

The Law School’s Office of Registration Services manages student academic records in order to help students complete their academic requirements and attain bar application certification. The office also handles the curriculum schedule; administration of all Law School exams; the academic calendar; and the implementation of academic policies, procedures, and regulations.

You can view detailed requirements for the J.D. degree on the Rules for the J.D. Degree page. 

If you have any further questions, please call, email, or visit us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 212-854-2668

We look forward to welcoming you to Columbia, and working with you throughout your studies. 

UNI

Your UNI, which includes initials and arbitrary numbers, is key to accessing restricted library information online, student grades, billing, and registration information.

All students will receive UNI activation instructions from the Office of Admissions five to seven business days after submitting their seat deposit. UNIs are managed and supported by Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT).

To find and activate your UNI, visit the Manage My UNI page. UNIs must be activated after enrolling. 

When you log in, please remember to type your UNI in lowercase.

PID/C Number or Student ID Number

The C Number/PID, or Student ID, is a nine-digit identification number that is assigned to students upon admission to Columbia. The number, which is always preceded by the letter “c,” is used by the university's Office of the Registrar and other departments to keep track of enrollment and academic records. The PID is emailed to you by admissions, along with housing application information. 

If you would like to find your C Number, log in to Student Services Online (SSOL) with your UNI and password, click on the “Academic Profile” link, then select “Show my name and personal data.” C Numbers are managed and supported by Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT).

CUID

The CUID, or Columbia University ID, is the official ID card for Columbia students, faculty, and staff. CUID is a card, not a number. 

CUID cards are distributed to students upon check-in at orientation. 

UPN (Unique Person Number) and UCN (Unique Card Number)

UPN (Unique Person Number) and UCN (Unique Card Number) are for people who have a current affiliation with the University and are therefore eligible for a Columbia ID card.

People who are no longer affiliated or ineligible for an ID card would not have a UCN. They could, however, have a UPN. UPNs and UCNs are managed and supported by Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT).