Opportunity: Apply OR nominate another senior to be a Senior Marshal! **EXTENDED DEADLINE APRIL 13, 9am**

The Barnard Commencement Committee is seeking applicants to be Senior Marshals

What's a Senior Marshal?
It could be you.

Apply OR nominate a senior to be a Senior Marshal

Deadline EXTENDED: 4/13/2026, 9am

Decisions by May 1

 

WHAT IS A SENIOR MARSHAL?

It is a contribution to the college community and an honor! 

Senior Marshals are graduates honored at Commencement for their leadership at Barnard with a ceremonial role, a special aiguillette on their gown, front row seating, and as the first students called up to the stage. The Senior Marshals' main responsibilities are to facilitate the smooth running of the Commencement procession and related activities, and to attend Baccalaureate. Candidates should be, in one or more ways, student leaders who have made exemplary contributions to the campus community. 

SENIOR MARSHALS’ RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Attend required training session (to be scheduled during the week of May 4th)
• Attend and assist with Commencement info sessions on May 14 and/or 15 (dates and times to be confirmed) 
• Attend Baccalaureate Service on Sunday, May 17, at 9am, in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia
• Attend the Barnard commencement ceremony on Tuesday, May 19 (availability required beginning at approximately 2:30pm, prior to the Commencement ceremonies)
• Arrive early
• Assist with organizing one assigned row in the lineup area, ensuring graduates are in correct alphabetical order at Barnard Commencement
• Lead your assigned row into the ceremony, confirm graduates are seated in their designated seats, and then proceed to the Senior Marshal seating section at Barnard Commencement
• Help organize fellow graduates for class photo on Barnard’s campus prior to Columbia University Commencement on Wednesday, May 20 (afternoon time TBA)

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

To be eligible for consideration and to remain in the role if selected, applicants must:

• Be Barnard seniors participating in May 2026 Commencement and
• Be and remain in good standing (academic and disciplinary) through Commencement

A GOOD SENIOR MARSHAL:

• Has campus leadership experience
• Has the respect of peers
• Is organized and is able to be calm and solution-focused 

HOW CAN I APPLY OR NOMINATE A BARNARD SENIOR:

Submit this google form no later than 9am on April 13, 2026.

Fall 2026 registration in Vergil starts on Monday

Dear Students,   Registration for Fall classes starts next week, in Vergil. Rising Seniors begin registration on Monday; rising Juniors on Tuesday; rising Sophomores on Wednesday.     Please note that the following registration-related information has been relocated from the public-facing web pages of Barnard academic departments: •    Barnard faculty are now making course-specific information, such as application requirements or placement exams, visible in Vergil. To see this information, search for a class in Vergil and click on the Syllabus tab. •    Information about department courses specific to Fall 2026 is available at this link.    THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOUR REGISTRATION TIME   •    Add Classes to your Planner in Vergil:    •    Search for courses in the Vergil Course Search and click the “Add to Plan” button •    You can search by subject, by department, by GER, by classes with open seats, etc. See screenshots here. •    Make sure the Term in the upper-right corner is Fall 2026.  •    We highly recommend adding classes to your Planner before your registration window opens.   •    Complete the Terms and Conditions for Fall 2026 in Vergil:  •    Log in to Vergil  •    Click on the orange tile at the top in order to read and acknowledge the Terms and Conditions, which includes a Financial Responsibility Statement. •    You can do this step before your registration appointment. You will not be able to register until it is completed.   •    Complete the College’s BEAR survey: •    This is a pre-registration requirement and must be completed to avoid a registration hold in Vergil. The deadline was Friday, April 3. If you did not complete the survey, you now have a registration hold.   •    To complete the survey and have your hold lifted, check your email to find your unique survey link. •    Please note that holds are only lifted Monday through Friday, and it can take up to 48 hours for a hold to be released. We urge you to complete the survey immediately so that you can register for classes during your allocated time. •    For questions, contact oie@barnard.edu or call 212-853-6304.  All holds related to this survey will be managed by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. (Please do not contact the Registrar’s Office, as we will not be able to assist you with this hold.)   •    Check for Holds that will prevent registration.   •    If you have a hold, you will see a message at the top of the Vergil pages that says “There is a Hold on your record that is blocking registration.” Click on the “resolve your Holds” link to view the specific hold and how to resolve it.     •    Contact your adviser:   •    You are expected to have an advising meeting with your adviser before you register, to discuss class selections and areas of academic interest.   •    Your adviser will review and approve your course registration at the end of next week.   •    Find your registration appointment times:   •    Look up your upcoming registration times for Fall 2026 in Vergil. Be sure the term in the upper-right is set to Fall 2026.   •    Contact registrar@barnard.edu immediately with any questions.   THINGS TO KNOW DURING REGISTRATION   •    REGISTER IN VERGIL: Again this semester, Barnard students will be using Columbia’s Vergil registration system to register for classes. •    Registration will be open in Vergil from Monday, April 13 through Friday, April 17.   •    You can register from “My Planner”, or directly from the Course Search (using the “Register” button) •    You can see real-time seat availability and class status •    Open = there are seats available •    Full = the class is full •    Waitlist = All interested students must join the waitlist (even if the class has open seats) •    Restricted = the class is not open to Barnard students, or there is another reason you cannot add the class (e.g. you have already exceeded the 19-credit limit, the class conflicts in time with another class you are registered for, you have a registration hold, etc.). Look for the hint message that will explain the reason for the restriction. Email registrar@barnard.edu with any questions. •    19 credit maximum: Vergil will allow you to register for a maximum of 19 credits.  Permission to register for more than 19 credits can be requested in September.   •    To drop a class, click the “Manage” button on a registered class, then choose “Drop Registration.” •    Use the “Swap” feature to switch from one section of a class to a different open section. Click the “Manage” button on a registered class to see the Swap option.  (Vergil will not allow you to register for two sections of the same class.)  •    Co-requisites: For classes that have co-requisites (such as a lecture with a required discussion section or lab), you will be reminded to add both components of the class. The system will allow you to register for just the lecture and add the other components later if needed. •    Info on registering for “special” courses (e.g. voice lessons, P.E., graduate courses at Columbia, etc.) is here. •    P/D/F Elections: You can elect the p/d/f grading option for one Fall 2026 class in Vergil, either at the time of registration or anytime before the deadline.     •    WAITLISTS: You can join a max of 3 waitlists at a time.   •    Some Barnard classes will not have a waitlist option during this registration period.  They will appear as Full with no option to “Join Waitlist.” You will have another opportunity to register for these classes in August, when there may be additional seats available and/or a waitlist option. •    Some waitlists will have special instructions, such as a request to explain why you want to join a class, or an application to complete/upload.   •    After joining an auto-fill waitlist, you will be able to see your position on the waitlist in Vergil, on the right-hand panel.   •    WHAT’S STILL IN STUDENT PLANNING? •    Your online degree audit •    Newly registered courses will be added to your degree audit on a nightly basis.  (It is not real-time from Vergil.) Planned and waitlisted classes will not display in the audit. •    Your Barnard transcript, which is the official record of your classes, grades and GPA  •    Although some academic record information displays in Vergil, it is limited to only Barnard/Columbia classes. (Vergil does not reflect transfer credit, study abroad credit, AP/IB credit, etc.) Because of this, you may find that your total credits and GPA in Vergil do not match your Barnard transcript. This is ok as long as your Barnard transcript is correct.   •    WHAT’S STILL IN SLATE? •    List of classes that satisfy Foundations (General Education) requirements •    Forms to update your contact information •    Academic forms (e.g. major declaration, request to withdraw from a class, summer course approval form, etc.)   •    NEED HELP?:   •    Email Us with any questions •    Drop in to our office at 105 Milbank   Best wishes,   Jennifer Simmons Registrar

Office of the Registrar, Barnard College 3009 Broadway, New York, NY View in browser

Graduating this year and plagued by the nagging feeling that you must be forgeting something? SENIOR CHECKLIST to the rescue!

 

Keep track of deadlines and tasks to make sure you're graduating on schedule, using this Senior Checklist.  Spring dates will be further specified when more information is available.

Senior Class Dean 2025-2026 -- Walk-ins will be canceled next week from March 31st - April 2nd

Got a quick question?

Need to talk to a dean ASAP?

If you have something complicated or want to be sure you can talk at length, please make an appointment via Dean Grabiner's online scheduler.

Otherwise, during the semester, you may walk in virtually or in person beginning at any of the times below.  

Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time -- Walk-ins will be canceled on 3/31

• Enter waiting room via this Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank,
  
• We will see students on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

Wednesdays: Degree Audit Drop-Ins 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time -- Walk-ins will be canceled on 4/1

• Enter waiting room via this Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank
• We will prioritize students seeking degree audit advice but will see other students if time permits 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

Thursdays 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time -- Walk-ins will be canceled on 4/2

• Enter waiting room via this Thursday Afternoon Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank.
  
• We will see students on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

NOTE: If you need to schedule an appointment with Dean Grabiner, please note that she typically works remotely on Fridays, so all meetings will be conducted virtually over Zoom or via phone call ONLY on that day

Barnard Jewish Studies Senior Thesis Prize: Deadline for submission April 26 External

SENIOR THESIS PRIZE

A graduating Barnard student whose senior project displays the highest standards of scholarship in Jewish Studies in any discipline (History, English, Comp Lit, WGSS, Urban Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Religion, Political Science, Art History, Theatre, Classics, etc.) will be awarded a prize of $1,000. 

 

Please send submissions to Professor Beth Berkowitz at bberkowi@barnard.edu. The recipient (or recipients, if more than one is chosen, in which case the prize will be divided) will be selected by Beth Berkowitz and the Jewish Studies Program Faculty Advisory Board. If your thesis is not finished by the deadline, it can still be considered if you submit it with an explanation of the work that remains to be completed.

 

Deadline for submissions: APRIL 26, 2026

Senior FAQ: I might need to take an incomplete or a class or two this summer to finish my degree; can I "walk" in Commencement this May?

 

Short answer: in some cases, with permission

Longer answer (also explained on the Deans Office website):

 

For students within 2 classes (no more than 8 credits) of graduating:

Students expected to complete degree requirements in the summer of that calendar year and who will be within 2 courses (totaling no more than 8 credits) of completing their degree requirements at the culmination of the Spring semester. While such students may participate in Commencement exercises, the degree will not be conferred until October. Approval for anticipated October graduates to participate in the May ceremony in the same calendar year must be obtained from the Senior Class Dean, and students must have a detailed plan for completion of their remaining credits.

Great! How do I get this approval?

1. Submit this Slate form: https://slate.barnard.edu/register/commencement
2. Be prepared to confirm the total number of credits you still need and when/where/how you plan to complete them.
3. Please do this as soon as you are sure of your plans, so we can add you to the list! The deadline to make this request has been extended to March 30

 

For students who will need more than 2 courses/8 credits or need to take classes beyond the summer:

In extremely rare circumstances, a student with more than 2 courses (or more than 8 credits) remaining for degree completion at the end of the Spring semester may be approved by the Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising to participate in the May Commencement ceremonies. Please note that requests from students who need more than a semester's worth of credit after this May -- or who plan to be enrolled next fall -- are unlikely to be approved.

OK! I get that this may not be approved, but how would I request this special approval?

1. Submit this Slate form: https://slate.barnard.edu/register/commencement
2. Be prepared to explain any extenuating circumstances and to confirm the total number of credits you still need and when/where/how you plan to complete them.
3. Please do this as soon as you are sure of your plans, so we can add you to the list! The deadline to make this request is March 23.

What if I want or need to participate in next year's Commencement ceremony?

Students whose degrees are conferred in October but who did not participate in the Commencement ceremony of that calendar year may request to the Dean of the College to participate during the ceremony the following May.

DEADLINE REMINDER: March 26 to withdraw from a class and receive a W

 

The deadline to withdraw from a spring 2026 class is March 26. Withdrawn classes will not affect your GPA and you will not earn credit for them, but they will remain on your transcript, and a W will be entered in place of the final grade. 

Note: You may not withdraw from a class if doing so would leave you with fewer than 12 credits.

 

To withdraw from a class, use this online form , following these steps:


1. Consult with your adviser.

2. Get an email from your adviser confirming they approve you to withdraw from this specific class.

3. Download that email as a PDF or save a screenshot of it.

4. Complete and submit the online W form on or before the W deadline, uploading your adviser’s confirmation email when prompted to do so.

5. You will receive an email confirmation once your W request is processed, ordinarily within two business days. 

6. Within a week or so, you will see a W next to the class on your transcript.

Senior Financial Well-Being Series & Tax Cafe!

Sharing the next upcoming events in the Senior Financial Well-Being Series + Tax Cafe!

1) Moving & Housing Costs (March 25th at 6:30PM in the LeFrak 107 featuring alumna Peyton Yen '21)

2) Setting Up for Success: Debt Management, Retirement, Investment and More (April 1st at 6:30PM)

3) Tax Cafe: Get help filing taxes (April 3rd from 9:30AM-12:30PM)

You can find further information from our previous blog post about these events!