Transfer Requirements

The 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.
Page Contents
  1. External Transfer Credit Guidelines
  2. Basic Coursework Requirements for All Transfer Applicants
  3. Math Essentials
  4. Science Essentials
  5. Ready to Learn More?
  6. Transfer Course Requirements for 2025-26 Admissions Cycle
  7. See Also

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. Massive Open Online Courses (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

Unfortunately, we 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 Cornell Course Catalog, and the help of your current college advisor as a guide when considering course selection at your current institution.

Determining Your Academic 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.

Basic Coursework Requirements for All Transfer Applicants

In their first two years, all Cornell 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 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 on our coursework requirements, 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 (taught at the level of calculus 2). 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. Scores lower than 5 will not be accepted, even if your current institution has granted you credit.

  • 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, translational & rotational equilibrium. 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 will have earned credit for PHYS 1112 (3 credits), however no advanced placement credit is accepted for PHYS 1110. Students awarded credit for PHYS 1112 must still enroll in PHYS 1110. Scores lower than 5 will not be accepted for PHYS 1112, even if your current institution has granted you credit.

  • 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. Scores lower than 5 will not be accepted, even if your current institution has granted you credit.

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.

Ready to Learn More?

If you have completed the core courses, then you are ready to explore the requirements specific to your preferred major or majors. 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.

Transfer applicants that are offered admission must submit the major-specific course description form upon submission of the Enrollment Response Form. You will need access to the course catalog for your current and any past institution. For each course, we will ask you to provide the following information:

  • What are the course number and title?
  • Where and when did you take the course?
  • How many credits did you earn?
  • Was there a lab component?

Transfer Course Requirements for 2024-25 Admissions

  • Biological Engineering Coursework

    Note: Biology and chemistry sequence can be taken in either order for this major.

    Approximation of courses needed to obtain sophomore standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Biomedical Engineering

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Chemical Engineering Coursework

    Note: Students are encouraged to apply to enter as sophomores because some required sophomore courses are not available at most two-year colleges.

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Civil Engineering Coursework

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Coursework

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Electrical and Computer Engineering Coursework

    Note: Successful transfer applicants to this major will generally have completed introductory coursework in digital logic design, fundamental properties of circuits, or signal processing before applying for admission.

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Engineering Physics Coursework

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Environmental Engineering Coursework

    Note: Biology and Chemistry sequence can be taken in either order for this major.

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

  • Materials Science and Engineering Coursework

    Note: Students unable to complete materials science courses at their current institution are encouraged to demonstrate interest in materials science through other related coursework or independent exploration.

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    • Calculus for Engineers (MATH 1910), 4 credits
    • Multivariable Calculus for Engineers (MATH 1920), 4 credits
    • Physics I: Mechanics & Heat (PHYS 1112), 3 credits with Physics: Introduction to Experimental Physics (PHYS 1110), 1 credit
    • Engineering General Chemistry (CHEM 2090), 4 credits
    • Introduction to Computing: An Engineering and Science Perspective (CS 1112), 4 credits (preferred) or Introduction to Computing: A Design and Development Perspective (CS 1110)
    • Any introduction to engineering course, preferably with some content related to materials science and engineering
    • Two First-Year Writing Seminars, 3 credits each

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

    • Differential Equations for Engineers (MATH 2930), 4 credits
    • Linear Algebra for Engineers (MATH 2940), 4 credits
    • Two courses encompassing 6 comparable credits of the 10 credits taught in the three courses below. Credits from courses with content comparable to junior-level Cornell MSE courses may be substituted for these 6 credits:
    • Physics II: Electromagnetism (PHYS 2213), 4 credits
    • Two Liberal Studies Courses, 3-4 credits each

  • Operations Research and Engineering Coursework

    Approximation of Courses Needed to Obtain Sophomore Standing:

    Approximation of Additional Courses Needed to Obtain Junior Standing:

See also: