Certificates

A Certificate is an educational offering leading to a credential approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The University requires a certificate to comprise a minimum of 15 credits for students simultaneously enrolled in a degree program at Columbia and/or if they are enrolled in a certificate program as a stand-alone credential. Certificates can be offered both at the undergraduate and graduate levels; those at the graduate level are called advanced certificates.

New Certificate 

The process to launch a new Certificate is outlined below. Please consult with the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Programs (OVPAP) ([email protected]) if there are any questions regarding the necessary approval steps, appropriate forms to complete, or access to APAS (Academic Programs Approval System). Once a proposal has been submitted to APAS, those with APAS access at the hosting school can log in and check the status at any time: http://apas.provost.columbia.edu.

School Approval

  • The University Statutes give the individual schools the responsibility for organizing curricular programs leading to new credentials, defining their requirements and approving the courses that fulfill those requirements. Each school relies upon a Curriculum Committee (CC), Committee on Instruction (COI), or an equivalent faculty body, to ensure that its programs meet its standards of quality and contribute to its educational mission. Therefore, every new certificate proposal must first be reviewed and approved by the CC, COI, or an equivalent body, of the school in which it will be offered. It also needs the approval of the dean of the school. Schools should complete and upload the appropriate internal University proposal form to APAS. Forms can be downloaded from the sidebar on the right of this page. The internal proposal form is uploaded by a school administrator with access to APAS, and both a representative for the COI/CC and a representative for the school dean must give their approval in APAS.

University Administrative Approvals

  • OVPAP coordinates the evaluation of proposals for new certificates on behalf of the Provost and forwards them to other offices for the following reviews:
    • The University Registrar reviews proposals for conformity with University, federal, and state requirements as they relate to registration and student financial aid;
    • The University Librarian certifies that the University has the information resources to support them;
    • The Office of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, which oversees Columbia’s online education, evaluates any proposals involving online courses; and
    • OVPAP also sends proposals for new programs or program name changes to the deans of all other Columbia schools to determine whether there is duplication with any programs they offer or intend to offer. If questions about the new program are raised during the deans' review, further consideration of the proposal is suspended until they are resolved. If the deans are unable to resolve the issue, the Provost determines when and how the proposal will move forward.
  • Once a proposal for a new certificate has all of the approvals listed above, OVPAP forwards it to the University Senate.

University Senate Approval

  • The Senate Education Committee reviews all proposals leading to a new certificate on behalf of the full Senate.
    • It establishes a subcommittee at one of its meetings to review the proposal and report back to the full Committee at a subsequent meeting. As part of its review, the subcommittee may discuss the proposal with the faculty sponsors of the proposed program and may request additional information to complete their review.
    • After receiving the subcommittee’s report, the full Senate Education Committee discusses the proposal and votes on whether to recommend it to the full University Senate.
  • Proposals that receive an affirmative vote in the Senate Education Committee are forwarded to the Executive Committee of the University Senate for consideration at the next Plenary meeting of the full Senate. The Senate Education Committee meets monthly between September and April. It takes a minimum of 2-3 months (2-3 consecutive meetings) for the Senate Education Committee to complete their review. Therefore, it is advisable to submit proposals no later than November of the fall semester if the program is to make its way through the Senate process before the end of the academic year. 

New York State Approval

  • Once a proposal for a new certificate has received all of the necessary University approvals, the OVPAP submits it to the New York State Education Department (NYSED).
  • Within NYSED, proposals for new educational programs are reviewed by one of two offices, depending on the field of study. The Office of the Professions (OP) is responsible for reviewing programs in most fields for which the state issues licenses. Currently, OP approves new programs, with the exception of those leading to the PhD, in the following fields in which the University currently educates students:
    • Accounting
    • Architecture
    • Dental Medicine
    • Engineering
    • Medicine
    • Mental Health
    • Nursing
    • Nutrition
    • Occupational Therapy
    • Physical Therapy
    • Social Work
    • Urban Planning
  • OP also evaluates programming in other fields leading to a license. A complete list of its areas of responsibility is available online at www.op.nysed.gov/prof.
  • Programs in other fields and all PhD programs regardless of field are approved by the Office of College and University Evaluation (OCUE).
  • OP and OCUE each require different forms to establish a new degree or certificate program or to modify an already registered program. Schools should contact OVPAP at [email protected] for guidance on how to complete the appropriate NYSED forms.
  • NYSED generally reviews applications within 12 to 18 months, depending on the volume of programs being reviewed and whether there are any questions about the program proposal that require supplemental information be submitted to NYSED. Therefore, it is wise to start the process early.

Certification of Professional Achievement

A Certification of Professional Achievement (CPA) is a stand-alone curriculum of a minimum of four credit-bearing courses, totaling at least 12 credits and taken for letter grades. CPA is not approved by NYSED, and therefore, students in these programs are generally not eligible for federal financial aid. Students may not receive a CPA for taking courses that count toward a degree or a credentialed certificate. There is no diploma for the completion of a CPA.

Columbia University is currently not approving the creation of new CPAs. If any existing CPA program is interested in proposing changes, please contact OVPAP ([email protected]).

Please note that these guidelines are intended as a helpful supplement to University and New York State policies and regulations; however, changes to process or regulations may occur at any time, and the content here may not always be fully up-to-date. Therefore this information is subject to change.