Non-Degree Programs

Non-Degree Application Instructions

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

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. The Non-Degree Application can be used to apply to one of the following programs:

Applicants to any of the options listed above should select the "Non-Degree" application and appropriate term of entry (e.g. 2025 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.
  • Visiting Doctoral Students must be invited by a current Teachers College faculty member and submit a non-degree application. 
  • 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.
  • You may apply for admission as a non-degree student while the application remains open (until June 1 for Summer courses and July 1 for Fall courses). 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. After an application is submitted monitor pending application materials via the TC Pathway Portal. 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 Official Transcripts

Applicants are required to submit official transcripts reflecting a conferred baccalaureate (undergraduate) degree in order for their application to be reviewed for admission.  Academic transcript and evaluation requirements vary based on the program/status you are applying for as well as the location of the institution(s) you have attended. Expand the titles below to read more about how to submit documents that meet our requirements.

To expedite the processing of your application, please utilize the official e-transcript delivery. Transcripts received by postal mail will take longer to process.

If you received your baccalaureate degree from an institution in the United States, you are required to have your undergraduate institution send us a final and official copy of your transcript reflecting the date of conferral. Transcripts uploaded by the applicant are considered unofficial. 

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.


The transcripts should include the following information:

  • Full course titles
  • Number of credits
  • Final grades
  • Key or Legend of grades - usually the reverse side of a paper transcript
  • Degree conferral date


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

Applicants who have completed, or are completing, undergraduate and/or graduate degrees at institutions outside of the United States are required to submit a full course-by-course evaluation including verified transcripts for U.S. degree equivalency. The evaluations must be prepared and sent by one of the two providers listed below. To ensure application review, full course-by-course evaluations must be received by the Office of Admission.

 

Teachers College will accept evaluations from the following organizations:

 

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.

Applicants who attended institutions outside of the United States but did not complete degrees must submit these transcripts in order to be considered for admission review. Please note that if these transcripts are not in English, they must be accompanied by certified English translations. As with U.S.-based institutions, copies should be uploaded to your online application to ensure timely processing. If you are admitted to Teachers College and choose to enroll, you will be required to have final, official transcripts submitted by all academic institutions listed on your application. It is recommended that you also request official transcripts from the issuing institution as early as possible, as international transcript requests may be delayed. 

Please note: Course-by-course evaluations must clearly state that you have earned or will be earning the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree upon completion of your program. If you are admitted to Teachers College and your in-progress WES or ECE course-by-course evaluation does not indicate that you will earn the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree, you will be expected upon conferral to submit a second course-by-course evaluation from WES or ECE confirming you have earned the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree. You will not be able to register for classes at Teachers College without fulfilling this requirement.

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

If your native language is not English and you have not received a baccalaureate (undergraduate) degree from an institution where English was the sole official language of instruction, you must submit official scores from an accepted English proficiency exam. We accept the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

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)
    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 website for details.

If you have taken the TOEFL exam multiple times and your MyBest Score meets our minimum score requirement, please order an official score report that reflects your MyBest Score to be sent to Teachers College. Then, please contact the Office of Admission at admission@tc.columbia.edu to ensure that your MyBest Score is reflected in your application. We do not require individual score reports if a MyBest Score is submitted.

If you have not earned an undergraduate degree at an institution where English was the sole official language of instruction, but you have successfully completed a graduate degree at a school that meets this criteria, you are not required to submit official results from an accepted English proficiency exam. If you meet these conditions, in order to qualify for a TOEFL/IELTS exam waiver, evidence of your conferred graduate degree must be displayed on the relevant academic transcript or course-by-course evaluation.

STEP 4 - Submit Application and Pay Application Fee

In order to officially submit the application you must click "Submit," pay the application fee ($75), and electronically sign the application. Only after these three steps are completed will your application be submitted to the Office of Admission. Applicants may only apply to one program per admission cycle.

Check Your Application Status Page (and Your Email)

Please note, it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the Office of Admission receives all required materials. Our TC Pathway Portal allows you to see a live checklist reflecting your required documents so that you can track what has been received. If you submitted something, but it looks like we haven’t received it, please reach out to our office at admission@tc.columbia.edu for guidance. 

Be sure to check your email regularly to avoid delays in application processing. The official notification of your decision will come directly from the Office of Admission.

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