Obtaining Transfer Credit

Requests for transfer credit are handled by the Physics Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Erich Mueller, 115 Clark Hall, (607) 255-1568 or physicsdus@cornell.edu. Please contact Professor Mueller with any questions.

To be acceptable for transfer credit, the course must fulfill four basic requirements:

Coverage
The depth and breadth of topics covered must be similar to the Cornell course for which the student is seeking a substitute. This requires that the DUS be presented with a syllabus or detailed course description. Two common “problems” are that the substitute is part of a sequence that has a different number of semesters or that the college or university of the transfer is not on a semester-based schedule.

Laboratory
If the course at Cornell has a laboratory component, so must the substitute course. In rare cases the Department can arrange to have the student take the laboratory portion at Cornell, providing there is space available.

Math Level
It is expected that the level of math sophistication of the substitute be equivalent to that of the Cornell course. This particularly applies to 1112/2213/2214 and 2207/2208, for which the course description must clearly indicate that the substitute course is “calculus-based”.

Grade
The student must obtain a grade of C (not C-) or higher.
There is no list of ‘acceptable’ schools. In general, the department accepts transfer credit from most accredited four-year colleges and universities. (Please note that credit is not as readily granted from courses taken at community colleges.) You should have your course pre-approved by the Physics DUS for transfer credit before taking it, if you have any question about the appropriateness of the course.

Notes from Particular Colleges
College of Engineering has a green multi-part form which must be completed by the student, the student’s advisor, and the DUS before starting the course.

College of Arts and Sciences has a similar yellow form which should be completed before starting the course; it requires the signature of the student’s advisor only if the course is part of the requirements for the major. Beginning with the Class of 2007, transfer credit no longer can be used to satisfy distribution requirements.

The other colleges have no formal forms to complete.

Please review transfer credit information for particular colleges at the links below:

College of Engineering: Transfer Credit

College of Arts and Sciences: Transfer Credit

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Transfer Credit