Columbia University Student Financial Services

The Tuition Exemption Benefit Program is offered for both Officers and Support Staff, so that you and your family members may take courses at Columbia.  Depending on your eligibility, the Tuition Exemption Benefit Program may pay tuition costs for courses at Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers College. 

Note that this is not a reimbursement or remission program; your tuition is simply exempted. However, you are responsible for any applicable mandatory fees that are assessed at registration, such as student life fees, residence fees, course fees, student health fees, medical insurance, and textbooks.

Columbia University Human Resources determines employees' eligibility for these benefits. Student Financial Services processes tuition exemption benefits as determined by Human Resources. More information about eligibility is available on the Human Resources website.  

Taxation on Graduate Courses
Tuition exemption benefits for graduate courses are taxable under IRS regulations unless these courses are job-related.  If you are an eligible employee taking graduate courses that are job-related and not leading toward a doctoral degree, please submit the Job-Related Graduate Course Certification Application to Student Financial Services for processing. For contact information, visit the Contact Us page.

Eligible employees are entitled to take up to $5,250 worth of graduate coursework per calendar year without being taxed.  Employees are always taxed on the graduate coursework of their eligible family members.  The $5,250 cap does not apply to these family members.

For more information on Taxation for Officers, please refer to this HR website. For more information on Taxation for Support Staff, please refer to this HR website.

Deductions are taken directly from the employee's paycheck and spread out evenly over the following pay periods:

Fall term: October, November, December, and January
Spring term: February, March, April, and May
Summer term: June, July, August, and September

Where to Go for Additional Information

On taxation: Office of the Controller: Payroll

On eligibility: Human Resources

To submit paperwork: Student Service Center, 205 Kent Hall (full address here)

For questions about additional fees and payments: Visit AskUs for answers to frequently asked questions, or email us at tuitionexemption-students@columbia.edu.