Non-Degree Programs | How to Apply | Admission & Aid | Teachers College, Columbia University

Non-Degree Application Instructions

Teachers College is a graduate institution. In order to be considered for admission:

Applicants from the U.S. are required to hold a 120-credit baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
International applicants must hold the equivalent of a 120-credit U.S. baccalaureate degree.

All applicants must have a conferred baccalaureate degree before applying to Teachers College.

When an application account is created, applicants will have the option to select one of the following application options: Degree, Advanced Certificate, Non-Degree, or Non-Credit. The Non-Degree Application can be used to apply to one of the following programs:

Klingenstein Heads of School (Spring)
Klingenstein Summer Institute (Summer)
School Law Institute (Next offered in Summer 2020)
General Non-Degree Status (Spring, Summer, Fall)

Applicants to any of the options listed above should select the "Non-Degree" application and appropriate term of entry (e.g. 2020 Fall Non-Degree).

Please note:

Not all programs or courses are available to students with non-degree status. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the availability of their desired courses prior to applying for non-degree status. Visit the schedule of classes for more information.
Non-degree students may take up to 16 credits. Only 8 of these credits may be credited toward the minimum requirements in the major field if admitted to a degree-program.
There are no final deadlines for admission to non-degree status, but it is recommended to apply well before the start of classes for your desired term of entry. Same-day processing of a non-degree application to enroll in a course starting the same day is not possible.
Non-degree admission does not guarantee future admission as a degree student.
You cannot submit both a degree application and non-degree application for the same entry term.
Financial aid, housing, academic advisement, and student visa sponsorship are not available to Non-Degree students.
It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure the Office of Admission receives all required materials. An application status page is provided after an application is submitted to monitor pending application materials. Under no circumstances can any application materials submitted to the Office of Admission be returned to the applicant or forwarded to another college, university or place of business.

STEP 1 - Complete Online Application Form

When completing the application, use a single email address that will not expire before your desired term of entry, as it will be used for all correspondence from the Office of Admission.

Special instructions and requirements for some programs will be provided once the non-degree application is started.

STEP 2 - Submit Baccalaureate Transcript

As part of the application for admission, applicants are required to submit official transcripts reflecting a conferred baccalaureate (undergraduate) degree. Expand the titles below to read more about how to submit documents that meet our requirements.

Because we are operating remotely, we are experiencing delays in processing transcripts that have been mailed to our office. If you have attended an institution that offers official e-transcript delivery, please utilize that option.

Baccalaureate degrees from academic institutions in the United States

If you received your baccalaureate degree from an institution in the United States, you are required to have your undergraduate institution send us an official copy of your transcript reflecting the date of conferral.

If your institution provides official electronic transcripts, you may have your transcript issued to transcripts@tc.columbia.edu. Please note that transcripts that are emailed—whether by the institution or the student—are unofficial and will not satisfy your application requirements.

If your institution does not provide official electronic transcripts, please have the institution mail your official paper transcript to the following address:

Office of Admission
Teachers College, Columbia University, BOX 302
525 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027

Baccalaureate degrees from academic institutions located outside the United States

Applicants who have completed, or are completing, undergraduate and/or graduate degrees at institutions outside of the United States are required to submit a course-by-course translation and evaluation. The evaluations must be prepared and sent by one of the two providers listed below.

Teachers College will accept evaluations from the following organizations:

World Education Services (WES)
Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)

These organizations provide several types of evaluations. Please select the course-by-course evaluation option to ensure your evaluation meets our requirements for admission review. To have your evaluation sent to Teachers College, select "Teachers College - Columbia University" (for WES) and "Teachers College, Columbia University" (for ECE). Evaluations sent to Columbia University will not be received by Teachers College.

Applications are not considered complete without a course-by-course evaluation. The determination of degree equivalency to a U.S. degree is at the discretion of the College. Once submitted to Teachers College, the evaluation becomes an official academic record and sole property of Teachers College upon its receipt.

STEP 3 - Submit Proof of English Proficiency (If Required)

If you received your baccalaureate degree from an institution where English is not the sole official language of instruction, you must submit official scores from one of the below accepted English proficiency exams. Please note that an English proficiency test is required, regardless of where you received a graduate degree (if any).

In order to be considered official, scores must be sent directly from the testing administrator and have been taken within the past 2 years.

The accepted tests and minimum scores are:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Minimum score requirement: 100 internet-based test (IBT) or 600 paper-based test (PBT)
Teachers College institution code: 2905

IELTS English Language Test - Minimum score requirement: 7.0

Note: Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Applied Linguistics have different English proficiency requirements and policies. Refer to the program's website for details.

STEP 4 - Submit Application and Pay Application Fee

In order to officially submit the application you must click "Submit," pay the application fee ($65), and electronically sign the application. Only after these three steps are completed will your application be submitted to the Office of Admission.