Transfer Requirements
The two most important components of your transfer application to Cornell Engineering are the content and rigor of your college-level classes and your performance in those classes. These are critical to ensure a smooth transition into our programs at the sophomore or junior level.
External Transfer Credit Guidelines*
To be eligible for Cornell credit, a course must meet degree requirements for the undergraduate engineering program and be substantially equivalent to a comparable Cornell course in content and rigor. This will be determined using criteria such as content hours, assessments and textbooks.
Credit is awarded on the basis of full-time semesters spent elsewhere, up to a maximum of 36 credits per academic year. No more than 72 total transfer credits (combination of those taken both before and after matriculation) may be used to meet graduation requirements.
A “C” or better is required for a course to transfer.
Academic departments will determine how transfer courses may be used toward the major.
Transfer credit will only be awarded for courses offered by regionally accredited, degree-granting, post secondary institutions. MOOCS and other non-degree courses are not eligible for transfer credit.
Transfer credit will not be awarded for cooperative courses taken while in high school, technical skills, or general knowledge acquired through personal experience, employment, or military training.
Transfer credits from institutions on the quarter system or trimester system are not directly comparable to semester credits. In general, the number of trimester credits or quarter credits will be reduced when converted to semester credits, and credit will not be given for more than 10 courses per year.
Determining Your Course Equivalencies
We, unfortunately, are not able to pre-evaluate your coursework for transfer credit but encourage you to use the information on this page, as well as the transfer course description form for your major, the Cornell Course Catalog, and the help of your current college advisor as a guide when considering course selection at your current institution.
Determining Your Entering Standing
We admit transfer students at first- or second-semester sophomore and first-semester junior entering standing. Your application will tell us what we need to know about your coursework and preparation. If we make you an offer of admission, we will determine your entering standing based on this and the amount of time we estimate you will need to complete your degree at Cornell.
* Current Cornell students who wish to transfer internally to the College of Engineering should read through the information available online.
Are you ready to tell us about your coursework?
You can find the required form for your major on the Course Description form page. You will need access to the online course catalogue for your current (and any past) institution. We will also ask you where and when you took each course, how many credits you earned, whether each course had a lab component, the grade you received (or if the class is in progress or planned), and textbook information if you know it.