Academic Policies

Dual Degree Program students work with their Columbia University academic advisors and major departments to determine how their coursework at Tel Aviv University will be credited toward their studies at Columbia, and will have their transcripts from TAU evaluated for eligible transfer credit each year. Courses with grades of 73% or higher (equivalent to a grade of "C" at Columbia) are typically considered eligible for transfer toward fulfillment of the Columbia Core Curriculum. General policies regarding the transfer of academic credit can be found on the GS website. In general, three types of credit are assigned at Columbia: credit toward the major, credit toward the Core Curriculum, and elective credit toward the BA degree.

Dual BA Program students must successfully pass their first two years at Tel Aviv University before they can begin their studies at Columbia University. In rare cases, students may be required to retake exam(s) at TAU in advance of the third year; if a student does not successfully pass the class(es) in question upon retaking the exam(s), they will be withdrawn from their third-year Columbia courses and will be required return to TAU to retake the necessary classes. 

Credit toward the Columbia BA degree

Before the start of their third year, Dual Degree students will receive the maximum 60 allowable transfer credits toward the 124 credit minimum required for the Columbia undergraduate degree for coursework completed at TAU. Students can earn credit for fall, spring, and summer term courses. A course that students wish to be counted for transfer credit must be documented by an official transcript and cannot be a “mini” or intersession course.

Credit toward the TAU BA degree

Credits from Columbia University serve to fulfill major requirements at TAU, and the School of General Studies administrative team will share transcripts with TAU at the end of each semester for transfer evaluation. During their time in New York, Dual Degree Program students are advised to consult regularly with their TAU academic advisors to confirm that courses taken at Columbia University will fulfill their TAU degree requirements.

Credit toward the major at the point of the commencement of Columbia coursework is determined in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the academic department where the student plans to declare a major. Students should consult the academic requirements enumerated on the major page for details; majors at Columbia range in required point count from 29 to 88.

Students should expect to complete the majority of the requirements for their Columbia major at Columbia; however, in some cases, students may receive credit toward the major for coursework completed at Tel Aviv University. It is important to note, however, that credits earned at TAU do not automatically transfer toward the Columbia major. Transfer credits toward the major are accepted at the discretion of the individual academic department and are not guaranteed by the block transfer credit process.

Common majors and course credit guidelines for the Dual Degree Program may be found on the Majors and Concentrations page. Please note that this list is subject to change and expansion.

The GS core requirements provide the foundation for a traditional liberal arts education, assuring that students develop critical skills in writing and quantitative reasoning while exposing them to a range of knowledge and disciplines. For TAU courses to count for the Columbia Core, a score of 73% or higher must be achieved. 

  • University Writing: All Dual Degree Program students must complete this course at Columbia.
     
  • Literature/Humanities (six points of coursework—the literature component must be taken at Columbia): Most students will complete the Humanities coursework at TAU but must take a Literature course at Columbia.
     
  • Language (four terms or the equivalent): Students are strongly encouraged to complete this requirement at TAU if they do not have prior language exemption.
     
  • Art Humanities: Dual Degree Program students complete this course at Columbia.
     
  • Music Humanities: Dual Degree Program students complete this course at Columbia.
     
  • Global Core (six points of coursework): Most students will complete at least one global core course at TAU.
     
  • Contemporary Civilization/Social Sciences (six points of coursework): Most students will complete this coursework through TAU courses.
     
  • Quantitative Reasoning (one term or the equivalent): This requirement may be satisfied through the SAT, ACT, or relevant coursework. For more information, visit the GS website.
     
  • Science (three terms or the equivalent): Students majoring in Life Sciences will complete this requirement at TAU. Most other students will need to complete this coursework at Columbia.