Current Retiree - Officers Tuition Benefits

Tuition Exemption for Retired Officers

Upon retirement, Officers are eligible to receive tuition exemption to complete a degree program that was started before retirement. The Officer must maintain matriculation in the degree program in order to qualify for the benefit. To retire with this benefit, an Officer must be 55 years or older and have completed 10 years of continuous benefits-eligible service on or after age 45, and must have retired immediately after terminating employment with Columbia. See the Tuition Exemption Policy for eligibility details, how the benefit works and application procedures. 

Special Eligibility for Retirees: As a retiree of Columbia University, Officers are eligible to apply to audit certain courses at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies. Audit tuition and all fees will be exempted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit completed applications online at least one month prior to the start of the term at the School of Professional Studies.

The Officer should indicate that they are a Columbia University retiree and scan and attach both sides of their Columbia retiree ID to the application.

Only academic-year courses may be audited. Auditing is not allowed for the Summer Term courses.

A limited number of courses are available to auditors. To view the courses open to auditors, please go to the Directory of Classes, Columbia’s online course bulletin. Officers can search for auditing courses by clicking “A” in the “Course Listings by Subject” box and scrolling down to where the auditing courses are listed or by clicking “A” in the “Course Listings by Department” box and scrolling down to where the Auditing department is listed. All courses eligible for auditing begin with the word “Auditing.”

Officers may contact the Office of Admissions at the School of Professional Studies at 212-854-9666 or email [email protected].

Tuition Exemption for Retired Officers' Spouse or Same-Sex Domestic Partner

Upon an Officer’s retirement, the spouse or same-sex domestic partner is eligible to receive tuition exemption only to complete a degree program for which they were eligible, and started before the Officer’s retirement. The spouse or same-sex domestic partner must remain continuously matriculated in the degree program. To retire with this benefit, an Officer must be 55 years or older and must have completed 10 years of continuous benefits-eligible service on or after age 45 and retire immediately after terminating employment with Columbia.

Eligibility for graduate tuition depends on the Officer's hire date as a full-time, regular Officer of the University.

Tuition Exemption for Retired Officers' Children

Upon the Officer’s retirement, children remain eligible for the Tuition Exemption benefit for which they were eligible under the terms in effect (at the time the application is submitted) for active Officers. To retire with this benefit, an Officer must be 55 years or older and must have completed 10 years of continuous benefits-eligible service on or after age 45 and must have retired immediately after terminating employment with Columbia.

Eligibility for graduate tuition depends on the Officers hire date as a full-time, regular Officer of the University.

To apply for this benefit, see the Retired Officers Hired Pre-1993 Form or Retired Officers Hired Post-1993 Form.

Phased Retirement

Once an Officer begins phased retirement, they will be treated as an active full-time Officer for purposes of the Tuition Exemption benefit, until the retirement date. After retirement, they will be treated as described above.