Columbia Climate School Course Registration & Enrollment

Registration

Climate School students register for courses via Vergil during time-specific registration periods, typically during the beginning of each semester. Students are eligible to enroll in courses unless they have financial or other holds (e.g., tuition, immunizations).

Add/Drop Period or “Shopping Period”
During this period students are able to register and drop courses without penalty.

Waitlists
Waitlists allow students to join a virtual line to potentially be added to the class in chronological order or by choice by  the instructor. Students must remove themselves from waitlists for courses they are no longer interested in taking prior to the deadline to make sure they are not inadvertently enrolled in the class.

After Add/Drop Period 
Students are able to drop some courses (e.g., courses taken in excess of requirements) after the Add/Drop Period ends. Students must consult the Academic Calendar for the established deadlines.

Cross-Registration

Cross-Registration for Climate School Students

Climate School students in the M.A. in Climate & Society and M.S. in Climate are permitted to take courses across the University. Courses taught at the 4000 level or above can be counted towards elective requirements for these degrees. Interested students should review cross-registration guidelines for the school through which the course(s) are offered.

Climate School students in the M.S. in Climate Finance are not permitted to register for courses outside of the Climate School and Columbia Business School.

Cross-Registration for Non-Climate School Students

Courses Available for Cross-Registration

Select Climate School courses will open each semester to students outside of the Climate School in partner programs and across the University. Students will be able to register directly in Vergil for any course available for cross-registration. 

Certain courses, listed below, will not open for registration to students outside of the Climate School, including students in Climate School partner programs and undergraduate students.

Core Courses

• CLMT 5001: Dynamics of Climate Variability and Change
• CLMT 5002: Quantitative Methods for Climate Applications
• CLMT 5008: Climate Change Mitigation
• CLMT 5015: Climate Change Adaptation
• CLMT 5023: Climate Justice: Theory, Practice, and Policy
• CLMT 5050: Applied Climate I & II
• CLMT 5052: International Climate Finance
• CLMT 5007: Capstone Workshop in Climate and Society
• CLMT 9005: Elective Practicum
• CLMT 9010: MS Climate Finance Summer Internship
• CLMT 9015: MS Climate Finance Summer Capstone
• CLMT 9030: MSC Summer Practicum

Advanced Certificate Courses

Depending on availability, MSC courses designated as Advanced Certificate requirements may open to students in partner programs or other CU students. Reach out to [email protected] to confirm cross-registration availability for a certain course.

• CLMT 5037: Climate Risk Assessment
• CLMT 5053: Computing & Research Methods for Climate Data Science
• CLMT NEW: Introduction to Climate Modeling
• CLMT NEW: Advanced Quantitative Methods for Climate

Travel Courses and Select Electives

• CLMT 5022: Earth Studio: Toward Climate Justice and Resilience
• CLMT 5056: Global Institutions and the Architecture of Global Climate Finance

With questions, please reach out to the Climate School Academic Affairs team at [email protected].

Cross-Registration Guidelines by Degree Program

Partner Programs

Students in partner programs (SPS: SUMA, SUSCI; SIPA; MPA-ESP, MPA-DP; GSAS: EESC, SDEV) have priority for cross-registration to Climate School courses, excluding the courses listed above. Available courses will open to students in partner programs during the last week of registration prior to add/drop.

Undergraduate Climate School Students

Undergraduate students at Columbia College majoring or minoring in Sustainable Development or Climate and Sustainability may register for 4000-level Climate School courses directly on Vergil. Students interested in registering for 5000-level courses for elective credit may do so with instructor permission.

Other Graduate Students

Climate School courses, excluding those listed above, will open for cross-registration broadly across the University during the add/drop period. At this time, students are able to register for the course or add to the waitlist in Vergil. For fall and spring semesters, the add/drop period runs through the first two weeks of the semester. For summer semesters, registration dates can be found on the Climate School academic calendar. Reach out to Academic Affairs at [email protected] for more information.

Residence Units & Cost of Attendance

All students must register for a Residence Unit (RU) to establish their student status. RUs are zero-credit signifiers in the form of a course that you must add to your schedule each semester. An RU is tied to the tuition cost that is associated with a set cost for the semester; the Climate School does not bill per credit.

Students add RUs to their schedule each semester during registration, which will trigger billing for their student account. RUs are important because they determine how many credits a student can complete in a given term. Exceeding that credit amount will result in additional tuition fees; dropping below the minimum credit threshold for a student’s required RU category could have implications for their student status and maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students should contact Academic Affairs before dropping below 12 credits. RUs are also essential to complete degree requirements.

The cost of attendance for the academic year includes tuition and fees as well as living expenses. Visit Tuition & Financial Aid for more information.

Course Platforms: Registration & Tracking

VERGIL
Columbia’s student information platform used to manage course registration, academic records, personal data, planners/schedules, rosters, and waitlists. Students use Vergil to SEARCH FOR/REGISTER/DROP/WAITLIST classes.

SSOL
Columbia’s web‑based portal used to access student data, including billing and financial account management, transcripts and grades, registration holds, grade change requests, and more.

STELLIC
Climate School’s academic planning/tracking platform that enables students to plan courses, track degree progress in real time, and streamline academic advising. Students’ courses feed directly into this platform.

COURSEWORKS (Canvas)
Columbia’s online learning management system for students and instructors. Students use Courseworks to access all course materials, assignments, class announcements, online discussions, and more. Once you are registered for a course, you will be added to a Courseworks page associated with the class.