Columbia University Pre-College Programs Creating Original Theater: Playwriting, Directing, and Acting

Class runs Monday to Friday from 10:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and again from 3:10 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which leaves just over two hours in the middle of the day for lunch and campus activities. Workshop sessions are hands-on, and you'll share works-in-progress with the group at regular points for feedback.

Outside class, residential students can join lectures, college-prep workshops and other activities through the day, plus weekly special events on Fridays and Saturdays. Commuters can take part in early evening programming that ends before 6:30 p.m. but should leave campus by 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and they need a parent's permission to attend the Friday evening community events.

Finish the course and you get an official Columbia University Certification of Participation and a written evaluation letter from your instructor, but no grades and no college credit. The letter comments on your effort, participation, assignments, progress and potential in the field, and Columbia says it typically issues both documents by mid-October through your applicant account. Beyond the paperwork, you'll have helped take two new short plays from creation to performance.

Attendance counts. Miss more than two classes and you lose eligibility for the certificate, and because this course meets twice a day, missing one session counts as missing a day. If you want to use the documents in college applications, Columbia suggests asking your school counselor to add them to their recommendation.

Columbia recommends, but doesn't require, prior experience in amateur community or high school theater, and it designed the course for students who've already done some drama. Admission to the summer program is selective, with no minimum GPA and no test scores, so the application has to show the academic background, motivation and maturity to keep up.

You apply with an unofficial transcript, answers to two short response questions, a recommendation from a teacher who has taught you in a field close to your course interests, and a second one from your school counselor, principal or academic advisor, which both New York options require. Columbia doesn't ask for TOEFL or IELTS scores but expects English equal to at least 90 on the internet-based TOEFL or 6.5 on IELTS. To live on campus you must be at least 15 and turn 16 by 31 December 2027, while younger students can still commute from a home with adult supervision.

Living on campus comes to about $13,133 for the three weeks and commuting to about $6,676, adding the $200 theater fee and the $95 application fee to Columbia's estimated 2027 program costs of $12,838 residential and $6,381 commuter. Those estimates still need approval from Columbia's Board of Trustees.

The residential price covers housing, three meals a day, and the activities, health services and technology fees, while the commuter price covers the course and its activities, health services and technology fees but no meals. On top of that, budget about $50 for course materials, your travel to New York, and medical insurance, which every residential and commuter student must have. International students must buy a plan that covers them in the US. Paying by credit card adds 2.85% for domestic cards or 4.25% for international ones. There's no payment plan, and the full balance is due by 11 June 2027.

A non-refundable deposit of $3,500 residential or $2,000 commuter holds your place and counts toward the bill. Withdraw by 24 June 2027 and you get everything back except that deposit, but after that you owe the full amount. Need-based aid worth 25% to 50% of the program cost is open only to commuter students who are US citizens or permanent residents living in the US or its territories. It doesn't cover the activities, health services, technology or theater fees. Columbia awards it on a rolling basis until the money runs out, and the final aid deadline is 10 February 2027.

Residential students have one staff member for every six students, with live-in Resident Assistants who complete two weeks of training and professional Resident Directors on call around the clock. Columbia Public Safety guards the residence hall entrances 24 hours a day, and students can only go onto their own floor or suite.

Staff who work with minors are trained under Columbia's Protection of Minors policy and are New York State mandated reporters, and instructors go through background checks. The rules are strictly enforced, and breaking them normally means dismissal on a first offense with no refund.

• Curfew

  Residential students must be in their building by 9:00 p.m. on weeknights and 10:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and in their rooms by 11:00 p.m., or midnight on Friday and Saturday.

• Boundaries

  Without staff, students stay between 110th and 120th Streets and between Amsterdam Avenue and Riverside Drive, and they can't go into parks, onto the subway or into a rideshare unsupervised.

• Commuters

  Families must document that a commuting student lives with direct adult supervision, and hotels, Airbnb rentals and hostels aren't allowed, even for students who are 18.

You apply through Columbia's summer programs application, the same one used for all its summer courses.

1. 1

   Get your unofficial transcript and line up a teacher and a school counselor to recommend you before applications open in mid-November 2026.

2. 2

   Submit the application with this course among your top two choices, by 1 February 2027 for early registration access and in any case by 1 March 2027 to live on campus or 1 April 2027 to commute.

3. 3

   If you want need-based aid for the commuter option, say so in the application before you submit it and finish the aid application by 10 February 2027.

4. 4

   Expect a decision by email three to five weeks after your file is complete.

5. 5

   Pay the deposit, complete the enrollment forms and immunization records, then register for the course in your window, which opens 3 March 2027 for early applicants and 17 March 2027 for everyone else.