LAST DAY to elect PASS/FAIL or R CREDIT

Decisions to take a particular course Pass/Fail or for R credit are not reversible after this date (GSAS Rule). 

• Courses taken for PASS/FAIL or R Credit DO NOT COUNT TOWARD GRADUATION. 
• A class must have a LETTER GRADE to count toward graduation.
• A course taken for Pass/Fail cannot be taken a second time to receive a better grade.*

COURSES TAKEN FOR R GRADE OR PASS/FAIL

During the semester there are important dates to remember including the LAST DAY to DROP COURSES and the LAST DAY for R Grade & PASS/FAIL.  These deadlines are strictly followed.**

PASS/FAIL — Not all courses are eligible for P/F. 

• Check on SSOL to see if the course is eligible for P/F and select.
• If not available on SSOL, check with your instructor.
• If instructor approves P/F, but it’s NOT eligible on SSOL, have the instructor sign a RAF .  Send the form to gsas-studentaffairs@columbia.edu. 
• Click HEREfor further details on the “Pass/Fail” grade.

R CREDIT

• R grades must be approved by the course instructor.  You must make an arrangement with the instructor.
• Click HERE for further details on the “R” grade. 

Courses taken for R or Pass/Fail do not count towards the MA Statistics degree.

• Core classes may not be taken for R or P/F.

From the GSAS Website:  

R credit and Pass/Fail (P/F) are two different marks. Unlike R credit, the mark of P/F assesses the quality of a student’s performance. Additionally, students taking a course Pass/Fail are evaluated on all the gradable assignments for the course. 

Students who elect to take a course for R credit are not required to take the final examination; however, they must meet all other course requirements, unless the instructor states otherwise in writing.

Once the Drop Date is past, all the classes on your schedule will remain on your transcript. 

*Students are not allowed to re-register for a course to improve letter grade.  (The only exception would be for a Grade of F which must be approved by the instructor, the Faculty Director of the MA Program, and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.  While the second grade will be used to determine graduation, the original “F” will remain on the transcript and will affect the cumulative GPA that is visible on the transcript.) 

• Review REQUIREMENTS of the MA Degree.
• Review GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING.

**Deadlines for half-semester courses are different from full-semester courses.  Half-semester courses must be dropped within the first two weeks.  The deadline to change the grade of a half-semester course to Pass/Fail is the first day of the fifth week of the course.  Core courses may NOT be taken for Pass/Fail or R Credit.