Disability Services

Disability Services is part of the Student Health Service at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and facilitates equal access for students with disabilities by coordinating reasonable accommodations and support services. This group also provides assistance to students with temporary injuries and illnesses.

Reasonable accommodations are adjustments to policy, practices, and procedures that "level the playing field" for students with disabilities. These adjustments, however, do not lessen academic or programmatic requirements. Examples are administration of exams, services such as note-taking, sign language interpreters, assistive technology, and the coordination of accessible housing needs. Accommodations and services are designed to match the disability-related needs of each student and are determined according to the documented needs and the student’s program requirements.

All faculty and academic program staff are important partners in our efforts to reasonably accommodate students with disabilities. With this in mind, Columbia has a network of Disability Services liaisons to facilitate equal access to all university programs for students with disabilities. The liaison for our medical school is Dr. Lisa Mellman, senior associate dean for student affairs, 104 Haven Ave. Suite 1103, 212-305-3806.

To register with Disability Services, submit a registration form and disability documentation provided by a licensed clinician at the time of matriculating at Columbia. Access the online registration form and guidelines for disability documentation or request this information in person at offices located on the Morningside and CUIMC campuses. Review of requests for accommodations and disability documentation generally takes three weeks to complete. Please note that students are not eligible to receive reasonable accommodations until the registration process is complete.

For more information, visit the Disability Services website or call:

  • CUIMC campus: 212-304-7029
  • Morningside campus: 212-854-2388