Credit Policies for the Economics Major and Minor

ECON 1110 or ECON 1120 will count toward the 12 Economics courses required for the major only if the student receives official Cornell credit on their transcript for the course. Official Cornell credit for Econ 1110 and/or Econ 1120 can be obtained in the following ways:

1. Take these courses at Cornell, including Cornell Winter Session or Cornell Summer Session (online versions are acceptable) and receive at least a B-.  If taken in this way, credit will automatically show up on your Cornell transcript. 
2. Receive placement credit by: 
   1. receiving a score of 5 or better on the associated AP Exam (AP Microeconomics for Econ 1110, AP Macroeconomics for Econ 1120) 
   2. receiving a score of A on the GCE "A" Level Examination in Economics (yields credit for both Econ 1110 and Econ 1120)
   3. receiving a score of 6 or 7 on the IB Higher-Level Examination in Economics (yields credit for both Econ 1110 and Econ 1120).  
3. Take equivalent courses at another college or university and transfer the credit to Cornell.  If taken this way, the Director of Undergraduate Studies must approve the course as being equivalent to the respective course at Cornell.  We recommend that you seek approval prior to taking the course. Please see “Economics Credit” below for instructions

If taken any of the ways listed above, credit will show up on your Cornell transcript only after appropriate paperwork is submitted to the Arts & Sciences Academic Advising Office..

Note: The Economics Department does not grant credit for either ECON 1110 or ECON 1120 for a single semester “Principles of Economics” course that covers both introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics. There are no exceptions to this rule.  If you have taken such a course, you will need to take both ECON 1110 and ECON 1120 before you can declare the major. 

Students planning further study in Economics are urged to forego the credits for at least one of the AP courses and take ECON 1110 or ECON 1120 in order to evaluate their prior preparation. 

Please send the following to econdus@cornell.edu: 

• An email that identifies the institution you would like to receive credit from and the course(s) for which you are seeking Economics credit. 
•  A detailed course syllabus including contact hours, credit hours, prerequisites, course description, and basis for evaluation (assignments, tests, etc.). The syllabus must be attached as a PDF or Word file; links or screenshots will not be evaluated. 

If the DUS preapproves your course for Economics credit, then you will receive an email approval that you must save for future reference.

Upon completion of the course, you will need to fill out a PDF version of the A&S Transfer Credit form; please make sure you complete all student portions of the form, then it will be signed and sent back to you.  You may then send it to A&S Student Services at as-studentserv@cornell.edu. 

It is the expectation of the DUS that these instructions are followed carefully; any request that deviates from this format will not be considered until the request is submitted properly.

When you are admitted to the College, students who have taken courses at other institutions are given preliminary transfer credit equivalencies (usually designated by 1000E or 2000E on College of Arts and Sciences student transcripts).  This preliminary evaluation displays how your transfer credit fulfills any College requirements. For questions and information relating to satisfying general College of Arts & Sciences requirements, we suggest that students also meet with an Arts & Sciences advisor.  All economics and math (calculus) transfer credit must be evaluated by the relevant department before applying to the major. 

Please send the following to econdus@cornell.edu: 

(1) An email that identifies the institution you are transferring credits from and the course(s) for which you are seeking Economics credit. Let the DUS know whether you've already sent your official transcript from your previous institution to A&S Student Services. Do not send transcripts through email as this is not a secure method of transfer for grades. You may also request a Zoom meeting with the DUS if you'd like to discuss anything.  

(2) A detailed course syllabus including contact hours, credit hours, prerequisites, course description, and basis for evaluation (assignments, tests, etc.). The syllabus must be attached as a PDF or Word file; links or screenshots will not be evaluated. 

(3) A PDF version of the A&S Transfer Credit form; please make sure you've completed all student portions. If the DUS approves your course for Economics credit, the form will be signed and sent back to you. You may then send it to A&S Student Services at as-studentserv@cornell.edu. It is the expectation of the DUS that these instructions are followed carefully; any request that deviates from this format will not be considered until the request is submitted properly.

For admission to the Economics major, credit for MATH 1110 must appear on your Cornell transcript. There are many ways to get credit for MATH 1110, including placement credit via AP examinations, International Baccalaureate (IB), French Baccalaureate, and GCE A-Level Exams. See the Department of Mathematics' Advanced Placement for Calculus page for more details.

To have math credit evaluated, please submit a request on the Math Department's transfer credit website.  Wait until your MATH 1110 credit appears on your transcript, before applying to the major. Students who have taken another calculus course such as MATH 1910 Calculus for Engineers will still need to receive credit for MATH 1110 in order to be admitted to the Economics major. As an alternative to taking MATH 1110, students may opt to take the Mathematics Department Placement Exam for MATH 1110. The exam is offered twice each academic year, during fall and spring orientation with no make-up exams. For details, see https://math.cornell.edu/ap#cornell-placement-exams.

Economics courses taken at your prior institution previous to your enrollment at Cornell and approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies to count toward the Cornell Economics Major will count as being taken at Cornell.

At least 4 of your 3000-level or 4000-level Economics Major courses must be taken during Cornell regular sessions, Cornell Winter Session, Cornell Summer Session, or Cornell in Washington.  Please note that Economics courses taken at your prior institution do not count toward this requirement.

Upon arriving at Cornell, transfer students should immediately set up a meeting with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to discuss which classes taken at your previous institution(s) can count toward your Economics Major at Cornell. Please make sure you bring copies of your transcript(s) and course syllabi to this meeting to facilitate a determination of how courses you have taken translate to economics courses at Cornell.

All Econ majors should take ECON 3110 or ECON 3130, and not one of the other statistics courses on campus.  ECON 3110 and ECON 3130 directly prepare you for our econometrics courses and are focused on economics examples.  

Unless listed in the policies below, alternative statistics course cannot count toward the economics major.

Alternative statistics courses can serve as a prerequisite for an econometrics course (ECON 3120 or ECON 3140) depending on the level of mathematical rigor and if those courses will prepare you for economics econometrics courses. In order for an alternative statistics course to be used as an econometrics prerequisite, you must get permission from the Director of Undergraduate Studies (econdus@cornell.edu).

• MATH 4710 & MATH 4720: If a student takes both MATH 4710 and MATH 4720, this combination of courses can count fully in place of ECON 3130 and as a prerequisite for either ECON 3120 or ECON 3140.This combination can be counted as one course toward the Economics major.
• MATH 4710: If a student takes MATH 4710 (and not MATH 4720), this course can serve as a prerequisite for either ECON 3120 or ECON 3140, but it cannot be counted toward the Economics major.
• STSCI 3080/BTRY 3080/ILRST 3080: This course can serve as a prerequisite for either ECON 3120 or ECON 3140, but it cannot be counted toward the Economics major.
• ORIE 3500: This course can serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3120.  It might also serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3140, but only with excellent performance and explicit special permission from the instructor of ECON 3140.  This course cannot be counted toward the Economics major.
• PAM 2101: This course can serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3120 if you receive a grade of B or better.  This course cannot serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3140, and it cannot be counted toward the Economics major.
• ENGRD 2700: This course can serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3120. This course cannot serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3140, and it cannot be counted toward the Economics major.
• BRTY 3010/NTRES 3130/STSCI 2200: This course can serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3120. This course cannot serve as a prerequisite for ECON 3140, and it cannot be counted toward the Economics major.
• Other courses: None of the courses in the group below can serve as a prerequisite for either ECON 3120 or ECON 3140, and none of these courses can be counted toward the Economics major: PAM 2100, SOC 3010, AEM 2100, STSCI 2100/ILRST 2100

Courses taught by other departments can be counted toward the Economics major only if they are cross-listed with Economics (meaning they have an Econ course number).   You do not need to register under the Economics course number for it to count towards the Economics major.

 Please note that business courses—accounting, marketing, and so forth—cannot be counted toward the Economics major.

Undergraduate Economics majors can take graduate-level Economics courses with the permission of the instructor and your advisor. Graduate courses generally require a very strong math background—at least through multivariable calculus and in some cases real analysis—and a lot more work than a 3000-level or 4000-level Economics course. 

Graduate courses will not count towards the Economics major or minor.

Independent Study courses (ECON 4999) and Curricular Practical Training courses (ECON 4997/4998) can never be counted toward the Economics major.