Senior Life Hack: How to check your remaining credits and see if you're on track for graduation

Your Unofficial Transcript in Student Planning is the best place to check how many credits you have left before graduation.
 

Do NOT use Vergil or the Degree Audit to check credits! Only the unofficial transcript includes all your test-based credit, study abroad credit, and transfer credit. It also confirms if any summer Columbia credit has been transferred to your Barnard record, and correctly accounts for courses that may be repeated for credit (e.g. Dance Technique, Advanced Language Through Content, Supervised Research, etc.) or are registered for a yearlong thesis that only gives you grades in spring.

How to check how many credits you still need to complete your degree:

Senior year is approaching -- now is a good time to check your degree audit

Planning to graduate this year?  Now's a good time to double-check that you're on track to complete all of your requirements on time. 

Step 1: Open up both your Degree Audit and your Unofficial Transcript -- both in Student Planning

See related blog post for how to check remaining credits on your Transcript.

Step 2: Check for some important stuff

T

On your Unofficial Transcript

1. Are all the classes you took listed, are all the grades on your transcript, and do you have credit for all PE and dance classes you need?
2. Are all external credits you expect -- previous college credit, summer credit, AP/IB credit, study abroad credit, etc. -- listed? 
3. If you're planning to graduate this May:
1. Have you completed at least 86 credits, thereby attaining senior status? 
2. Are you registered -- or will you soon register -- for a schedule that puts you on track to finish everything that remains by the end of the spring?

On your Degree Audit

1. Is your expected graduation date correct?
2. Are all courses showing up as counting for the requirements you expect them to count for? Or are things listed in "Other" that you expected to see under General Education Requirements (GERs) or in your major?  
3. If you're planning to graduate this February, everything should be completed or in progress.

Step 3: Address any issues you identified in Step 2

 

How to get your unofficial transcript

Looking to access your college transcript, but don't know how to find it? Here are the steps to find your unofficial transcript:

1) Go to Student Planning, a.k.a. "self service," and click on 'Unofficial Transcript'

2) Once you click on 'Unofficial Transcript', you will see the following image. All you have to do it click on the 'Student COPY Transcript' document and your transcript will download! Then you can access it. Mission accomplished! :)

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to registrar@barnard.edu.

**DEADLINE ALERT** Graduating? You must apply to graduate! -- DEADLINE = FRIDAY of the first week of your final term (9/11/2026 for Feb 2027 grads)

 

 

If you are planning to complete your degree requirements this semester, it’s time for you to apply to graduate.

 

NOTE: While we call this an application, it is just a brief form to get you on all the right lists to be considered for graduation and get your cap and gown.  As long as you know your name, major, expected grad date, and mailing address, you can submit this form today!

 

Deadline for February grads: Sept 11, 2026 = the Friday of the first week of your final semester.

To have your degree awarded, you must apply to graduate (even if you do not plan to attend commencement ceremonies).  

You can log in directly to student planning and access the Graduation Application from the main menu.

OR

portal.barnard.edu --> Graduation tab

If you expect to finish requirements this spring, apply for Spring 2026 graduation.

After submitting the form successfully, you will see an on-screen confirmation page -- there is no confirmation email. Take a screenshot for your records.

If you are not planning to graduate this year, please complete this form so that we can update your record.

 

FAQ: I think I submitted the GradApp. How can I tell if it went through?!?! 

A: Log back into Student Planning and return to the Graduation Application page. If you have successfully submitted the GradApp, you will see this confirmed here!

 

The English Conference - Art and Artifact with Jennifer Egan (ENGL BC3098) available for Fall 2026!

The English Department is offering The English Conference this fall, featuring Jennifer Egan—an acclaimed American novelist and journalist! Please see the flyer and information down below!

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This is a 1-point course that will meet on Tuesdays from 2:10 to 4PM on October 6, October 13, October 20, and October 27.

In this course, you will explore the following: What is fiction, exactly, and why does it matter? In our screen-dominated era, these questions are worth asking and answering afresh. 

The course will examine the ways in which works of literature—likely to include short novels or novellas by Nella Larsen, Jean Rhys, Chester Himes and Philip Roth—offer portals into both the public mores and private experience of their eras. Each work will be examined through four lenses: 1. Technology; 2. Bodies and sexuality 3. Identity and exclusion, and 4. Notions of consciousness. The craft choices that enable their authors to achieve specific effects, with an eye toward physical description, point of view, and characterization will also be studied. The conference will include creative in-class handwritten exercises aimed at accessing the unconscious and generating fruitful material. No previous literary training is necessary, and students of every age and discipline are welcome.

If you're interested in taking this course, please find more information here.

Apply to Fall 2026's Creative Writing Workshops, featuring Jhumpa Lahiri, Paul Muldoon, Maria Hinojosa, Zaina Arafat and more!

   

Fall 2026's instructors, L-R: Zaina Arafat, Farnoosh Fathi, Nellie Hermann, Maria Hinojosa, Brionne Janae, Patricia Spears Jones, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ellen McLaughlin, Paul Muldoon, Idra Novey, Nina Sharma, Weike Wang, and Kate Zambreno

Applications are now open for Fall 2026's creative writing courses, and all Barnard students are invited to apply! Our offerings include workshops in prose, poetry, and playwriting, taught by acclaimed writers including Pulitzer Prize winners Jhumpa Lahiri*, Maria Hinojosa, and Paul Muldoon, Lambda Literary Award winner Zaina Arafat, former New York State Poet Laureate Patricia Spears Jones, and more! All experience levels are welcome, with introductory workshops geared towards beginners and advanced workshops intended for more experienced writers. You can see all of our course offerings here and apply to up to three workshops via the application form. The more workshops you apply to, the higher your chances of being placed in one of your choices. The form will close at 11:59PM on Sunday, August 2nd, and all applicants will be informed of their status on Friday, September 4th. Waitlisting is only required once workshop assignments have been made and applicants notified. If you have any questions, please contact mkumarad@barnard.edu or see our FAQs for First-Year students (login required to view) here.

*Please note that only 30 applications will be accepted to Professor Jhumpa Lahiri's Fall 2026 creative writing workshop, "Fiction and Personal Narrative-For Man is a Centaur: Reading Primo Levi". Please click here to see more information on the workshop and to submit your application. There are still a few application spots remaining!

ENGL BC1349 (Children's Literature) course available for Fall 2026!

Hello!

Please see the flyer down below for information on an upcoming English course available for the Fall 2026 term if you are interested!

Professor Monica Cohen is teaching a lecture called Children's Literature. It satisfies an Arts and Humanities Requirement, and it can satisfy a "Thinking About Social Difference," "Thinking Through Global Inquiry," or a "Thinking with Historical Perspective" Requirement!

Children's Literature

ENGL BC1349

T/R 2:40-3:55

M. Cohen

Much of who we are as adults --what makes us cry and what makes us laugh--

began in the first stories that absorbed us and gave us so much pleasure. Return

to that pleasure from an analytical perspective, exploring fairytales and

folktales, coming-of-age stories, domestic fiction designed to educate girls,

adventure romance marketed to boys, and fantasy. Readings may include

The Adventures of Pinocchio; Little Women; The Lion, the Witch, and the

Wardrobe; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; Treasure Island; Harry Potter;

and selections from the Arabian Nights and European fairytales.

Summer at Barnard? Summer at Columbia? Summer elsewhere? How? When?

 

If you're a rising senior or a senior who may need an additional class or two to finish up, you may be interested in -- and possibly confused by! -- summer course offerings at Barnard, Columbia, or elsewhere during summer 2025.

There are several options for Barnard students who want or need to take classes this summer:

Note that financial aid does not tend to cover summer study, although students who receive financial aid during the academic year may be eligible for limited financial assistance for Barnard summer classes (option 1, below). It is often the case that taking classes at another institution (option 3) is more affordable. Your class dean is happy to consult!

1. Barnard will offer a limited number of courses, in two summer sessions. Courses are now posted on the Barnard website and on Vergil.

When can I register for them?

Registration is now open! Registration will be first-come, first-served, so register as soon as possible if it is important for you to take something specific.

How can I register for them?

On Vergil -- yes, you read that right. Register for Barnard summer courses on Vergil

Here's a guide with screenshots for how to register using Vergil: https://sishelp.sis.columbia.edu/vergil_student_registration

How will I be billed?

Costs will be listed on the Summer website, and you will be billed by Barnard on a per-credit basis.

 

How will these courses be counted?

Summer courses will automatically appear on your Barnard transcript, just like classes taken during the year. Courses taken for a grade will factor into your Barnard GPA. 

 

What if I need CARDS accommodations in summer?

Learn more here: https://barnard.edu/disabilityservices/resources-and-opportunities-current-students

2. As in past years, Columbia will be offering summer courses, which Barnard students may take.

When can I register for them?

Registration is now open for Columbia Summer courses.

 

How can I register for them?

Also in Vergil!  Be sure to adhere to rules about summer transfer course registration, listed on the registrar's website

How will I be billed?

Columbia will bill you directly.

 

How will these courses get onto my transcript?

Note that Columbia summer courses are considered transfer credit, so in addition to registering, be sure to submit the Summer Course Approval Form. Once you complete the course(s), Columbia will automatically send transcripts to the Barnard Registrar.  Columbia Summer courses will appear as transfer credits on your Barnard transcript and will not be factored into your Barnard GPA.

 

What if I need CARDS accommodations in summer?

Learn more here: https://barnard.edu/disabilityservices/resources-and-opportunities-current-students 

 

3. You may also take courses at another accredited college or university and transfer them back to Barnard.

How do I get those approved?

Look for courses that adhere to the rules about summer transfer course registration. Register for them directly through the host university, and be sure to submit the Summer Course Approval Form and to request that a final, official transcript be sent directly to the Barnard Registrar when your courses are finished. External summer courses will appear as transfer credits on your Barnard transcript and will not be factored into your Barnard GPA.