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. The department will determine your academic standing based on the number of credits that you would bring into the College.
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.
Cornell will not accept credits that were awarded by your current institution that you received through placement tests. Additionally, we will use the University's criteria for awarding credit based on our required results—if you received credit at your current institution from exam results that are lower than Cornell's we will not give you credit. For example if an applicant scored a 4 on the AP Calculus BC exam and was given credit at their current institution, we would not give credit for that class because Cornell University requires a 5 on this exam.
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.
Basic Coursework Requirements for All Transfer Applicants
In their first two years, all College of Engineering students take core courses, called the Common Curriculum, designed to provide a firm academic foundation regardless of intended major. This distinctive approach creates specific course prerequisites for those wishing to apply as transfer students.
If you are interested in transferring into Cornell Engineering, the first thing you must do is to determine whether you have the four (4) basic components of our Common Curriculum. Without any one of these courses, you would be missing a vital part of our required coursework and your application would not be reviewed.
When reviewing the information below, consider past, present, and future coursework – courses that you have completed, are currently enrolled in, or will be taking when applying to Cornell Engineering. Keep in mind our transfer application deadline is March 15, so you will apply during the spring semester.
Please note that each major has additional coursework requirements; completing this first step will help determine if you meet the initial eligibility for applying as a transfer student.
MATH ESSENTIALS
Have you taken two courses in calculus that are equivalent in content to these Cornell classes?
- Cornell Course: MATH 1910 (Calculus for engineers)
- Essentially a second course in calculus. Topics include techniques of integration, finding areas and volumes by integration, exponential growth, partial fractions, infinite sequences and series, tests of convergence, and power series. Note: if you received a score of 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam you have met this requirement. If you received a score of 4 you are still eligible to apply but may need to take a placement exam if you are admitted.
- Cornell Course: MATH 1920 (Multivariable calculus for engineers)
- Introduction to multivariable calculus. Topics include partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, line and surface integrals, vector fields, Green’s theorem, Stokes’ theorem, and the divergence theorem.
SCIENCE ESSENTIALS
Have you taken both a physics class and a chemistry class equivalent in content to these Cornell classes?
- Cornell Course: PHYS 1112, Physics I: Mechanics and Heat with PHYS 1110
PHYS 1112 w/PHYS 1110, Physics I: Mechanics & Heat
3 credits. First course in a three-semester introductory physics sequence. Covers the mechanics of particles with focus on kinematics, dynamics, conservation laws, central force fields, periodic motion. Mechanics of many-particle systems: center of mass, rotational mechanics of a rigid body, rotational equilibrium, and fluid mechanics. Temperature, heat, the laws of thermodynamics. At the level of University Physics, Vol. 1, by Young and Freedman.PHYS 1110, Introduction to Experimental Physics
1 credit. This laboratory course is an introduction to the nature and skills of experimentation in physics. Students will engage in multi-week investigations, creatively design their own experiments, and explore questions of how we develop models in physics through experiments. Students will learn how to design experiments, analyze data, develop interesting research questions, and consider issues of ethics in physics experiments. Students will also develop communication and collaboration skills. The course aims to provide an opportunity for students to consider the nature of measurement and experimentation and evaluate the relationship between physical theories and experimental data.Note: if you received a score of 5 on the AP Physics C: Mechanics exam you have met this requirement. If you received a score of 4 you are still eligible to apply but may need to take a placement exam if you are admitted. If you took the equivalent of PHYS 1112 and it included a lab component, you will receive credit for both PHYS 1112 and PHYS 1110. If the equivalent course taken did not include a lab component, then you will have to PHYS 1110 at Cornell. If you use exam credit to satisfy this requirement, you will need to take PHYS 1110 at Cornell.
- Cornell Course: CHEM 2090, Engineering General Chemistry
- Covers basic chemical concepts, such as reactivity and bonding of molecules, introductory quantum mechanics, and intermolecular forces in liquids and solids and gases. Attention will be focused on aspects and applications of chemistry most pertinent to engineering. (Course includes a laboratory component.) Note: if you received a score of 5 on the AP Chemistry exam you have met this requirement.
Unfortunately, if you have not taken all four of these classes, you are not eligible to apply as a transfer student to Cornell Engineering. These are the four components that we require all transfer applicants to have completed (or have in progress) at the time of application. Without any one of these courses, you would be missing a vital part of our required coursework and your application would not be reviewed.
Do You Have the Basics and Want to Learn More?
Explore the engineering majors and coursework in the expandable sections below. You will find the first and second year Cornell Engineering coursework required for each major, which corresponds to sophomore and junior standing respectively. Missing major-required coursework is handled on a case-by-case basis.
The required form for your major is found on the Course Description Forms page. You will need access to the course catalogue for your current and any past institution. For each course, we will ask you:
- where and when you took it;
- how many credits you earned;
- whether there was a lab component;
- the grade you received (or if the class is in progress or planned);
- and, if you know it, textbook information.