1. Activate Your Columbia Email Address and UNI
Activating your UNI, which consists of initials and a four-digit number, will grant you access to your Columbia email account and other services and resources.
2. Apply for Housing
Deadline: Please refer to the deadline in your admission letter.
To apply for housing, complete the application on the UAH website. For your sign-up code and PID number, please refer to your admissions letter.
For more information on housing, including links to apartment hunting resources, see the Housing section.
3. Fulfill Immunization Requirements
Students taking six or more credits must meet two immunization requirements; students will not be able to register for classes until the requirements are met.
You must:
- Document immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella
- Document that you have either received the meningitis vaccine or that you have declined to receive it
To provide documentation and for more information about how to meet the requirements, please see the Columbia Health website.
4. Submit a Photo for Your Columbia ID Card
Deadline: Monday, August 5
You may submit a photo online to be used on your Columbia ID card. Please see the ID Center website for more information.
If you submit a photo online, you will be able to pick up your ID card from the GSAS Office of Student Affairs in 107 Low during the week of Orientation.
Note: You are not required to submit a photo online. If you do not submit a photo in advance, you may have your photo taken in the ID Center (204 Kent Hall) during Orientation week; the ID Center staff will then generate your ID card while you wait.
5. Enroll in the University's Emergency Text Messaging Service
The University uses a text messaging service to communicate urgent information, such as campus closures or weather emergencies. The number you provide will not be shared or used for any other type of communciation.
You may sign up through Student Services Online (SSOL) following activation of your UNI.
6. Submit Final Transcripts
If you have not yet submitted an official paper copy of your final transcript(s) showing the conferral date(s) of your previous degree(s), please make arrangements to have these documents sent to the following address:
Office of Admissions
Columbia University
108 Low Memorial Library, MC4303
535 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10027
You will not be able to register for classes until GSAS receives the final, official transcript indicating conferral of your undergraduate degree.
7. Familiarize Yourself with GSAS Standards for Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
GSAS students are expected to exhibit the high level of personal and academic integrity and honesty required of all members of an academic community as they engage in scholarly discourse and research. GSAS students will be held to rigorous standards: there will be no acceptable excuse for plagiarism. Please see Academic Integrity and Responsible Conduct of Research for GSAS policies as well as resources for plagiarism education.
Additionally, Indiana University provides an instructive overview of plagiarism. We require that you complete its online plagiarism test; you may wish to print out the certificate of successful completion for your records. Not having completed this test will not constitute a viable defense against an accusation of plagiarism.
Note: It is not necessary to submit your certificate of completion to GSAS, though you may wish to retain it for your records.