Transferring Credit from Another Institution

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Course Eligibility

The Mathematics Department will approve courses under the following conditions:

  • The course is offered by a mathematics or statistics department.1
  • The course is highly comparable (in both content and level) to a course offered by the Cornell Mathematics Department2 for academic credit towards graduation, or the course is taken through Cornell Abroad and is of comparable or greater depth and degree of difficulty to courses offered at Cornell.

Courses are not eligible if any of the following are true:

  • The course is taught in a high school to high school students (even if the college provides a transcript).
  • The course is used to satisfy high school graduation requirements.
  • The course is labeled “college algebra” or “pre-calculus.”

Procedure for Requesting Transfer Credit

  1. The student submits information3 about the course using the form below.
  2. A member of the faculty reviews the information provided, evaluates the suitability of the course for transfer credit, and contacts the student with a decision.
  3. If the course is approved, the student must obtain the faculty member’s signature on a transfer credit form and return the signed form to the appropriate college office.  (See the table below.)
  4. Upon completion of the course, the student must arrange for a sealed transcript to be sent to his/her college registrar.
Transfer Credit Forms, Procedures, and Policies
Student’s College Forms Available at Procedures and Policies
Arts & Sciences Academic Advising Center
55 Goldwin Smith Hall		 www.arts.cornell.edu/stu-adv/ProcedforTransf.php
Agriculture &
Life Sciences		 Student Services
140 Roberts Hall		 www.cals.cornell.edu/cals/current/registrar/current-students/
transfer/non-cornell-credit-policy.cfm
Engineering Advising Center
167 Olin Hall		 www.engineering.cornell.edu/student-services/academic-advising/
academic-information/transfer-credit/index.cfm

Good Advice

  • Have courses evaluated in advance to avoid wasting time/money on an unsuitable course.
  • Read your college’s transfer credit policy (see table above) before taking the course or applying for transfer credit.  Some colleges place restrictions on the use of transfer credit.
  • MATH 2930 is almost impossible to replace because very few universities have a course that matches it.  Try replacing MATH 2940 instead.  The two courses can be taken in either order.

Submit Your Request

Please do not submit multiple courses for the same requirement. Instead, submit your first choice and wait for a response. Submit your second choice only if your first choice is denied.

Personal Information

  • Name:
  • Email:
  • What college are you in?
  • When do you expected to graduate?
  • What is your (anticipated) major?

Course Information

  • When did/will you take the course?
  • At what university?
  • What do you want to use the course for? (For example: prerequisite for another course, or for a major's requirements)
  • What is the course number and title?
  • How many credits?
  • Please paste here the official description of the course from the university's course catalog or from a course webpage.
  • What textbook was or will be used?
  • If additional information about this course is available on the web, please provide the address:

Do you have anything to add?

1 Statistics courses taken from social science departments (like psychology or sociology) must be approved by the corresponding social science department at Cornell.

2 The department will approve an introductory statistics course only if it is a satisfactory equivalent to MATH 1710 (Statistical Theory and Application to the Real World).

3 The burden is on the student to provide sufficient information for the course to be evaluated, including a detailed course description or syllabus (i.e., topics covered) and the textbook that will be used for the course.  If this information is not available through the university’s web site, the student is expected to call the school to request it.

Last modified:May 6, 2008