This page applies for Cornell students who wish to transfer economics credit from another institution (i.e., for students who take courses elsewhere after matriculating at Cornell).
External Transfer Students: If you are looking to transfer economics credit from your prior institution towards an Economics Major at Cornell, please schedule a meeting with the Economics DUS. For more information, see Requirements for Transfer Students and Enrollment Advice for Incoming Transfer Students
Transfer Credit for Intro Econ (ECON 1110 or ECON 1120)
Transfer credit for ECON 1110 or ECON 1120 is managed by the Associate DUS (George Orlov). Please note the following general rules:
Transfer credit for ECON 1110 will be granted only for full-semester (or full-semester equivalent) courses that have roughly the same coverage of Introductory Microeconomics as in ECON 1110 at Cornell.
Transfer credit for ECON 1120 will be granted only for full-semester (or full-semester equivalent) courses that have roughly the same coverage of Introductory Macroeconomics as in ECON 1120 at Cornell.
Some universities offer a single semester “Principles of Economics” course that covers both introductory microeconomics and introductory macroeconomics. Such courses will NOT be approved to count as ECON 1110 or ECON 1120.
Some universities are on a quarter system under which there are fewer contact hours than there are in a semester at Cornell (often roughly 70% of the contact hours). Introductory Microeconomics and Introductory Macroeconomics courses from such universities will NOT be approved to count as ECON 1110 or ECON 1120.
Procedure to obtain transfer credit:
Step 1—Preapproval: Prior to enrolling in a course at another institution, you should obtain preapproval that the course will transfer to Cornell. To obtain preapproval for a course to transfer as ECON 1110 or ECON 1120, send an email inquiry to econdus@cornell.edu with the subject line “Transfer Credit for Intro Econ—Attn: Orlov”. In that email, please include the following information:
the institution from which you propose to take a course
the course number and title at that institution
a detailed syllabus for that course that must include information on contact hours, credit hours, prerequisites, course description, list of topics covered, and basis for evaluation (assignments, tests, etc.)—the syllabus should be attached as a PDF or Word file; links or screenshots will not be evaluated
Please allow five business days for a response. If the Associate DUS preapproves your course to count for ECON 1110 or ECON 1120, you will receive an email approval that you should save for future reference.
Step 2—Processing: Upon completion of the course, you will need to submit an Application for Credit from Other Institutions (https://cornell.box.com/s/vi223dfu490ek8oaoyeupox3nvliew9n). After you complete all student portions of the form, send the form to econdus@cornell.edu with the subject line “Transfer Credit for Intro Econ—Attn: Orlov” (ideally, just reply to the email that confirmed your preapproval). The Associate DUS will then sign the form and send it back to you, after which you can send it to A&S Student Services (as-studentserv@cornell.edu).
Please note: You also must have the offering institution send an official transcript to Arts & Sciences Student Services.
Transfer Credit for Upper-Level Econ Courses
Transfer credit for upper-level economics courses is managed by the DUS (Ted O’Donoghue). Please note the following general rules:
Economics Majors: You must take all core economics courses at Cornell (ECON 3030, ECON 3040, ECON 3110 or ECON 3130, and ECON 3120 or ECON 3140). Hence, you cannot receive transfer credit for these courses.
Non-Economics Majors: Because Economics Majors must take all core courses at Cornell, we do NOT certify courses taken elsewhere as equivalent to any of these courses. If, however, you are merely interested in elective credit, we can review similar courses elsewhere to possibly transfer as a generic ECON course (without a specific Cornell ECON number attached to it).
For economics electives courses, all courses taken elsewhere will transfer as 3000-level economics electives.
Economics Majors: There are limits on how many of your economics electives can be taken away from Cornell (including study abroad). For most students, a maximum of two economics electives can be taken away from Cornell. For students who go on a two-semester Cornell-sanctioned study abroad program, a maximum of three economics electives can be taken away from Cornell.
Some universities are on a quarter system under which there are fewer contact hours than there are in a semester at Cornell (often roughly 70% of the contact hours). Courses from such universities will NOT be approved to count towards the Economics Major at Cornell.
Procedure to obtain transfer credit:
Step 1—Preapproval: Prior to enrolling in a course at another institution, you should obtain preapproval that the course will transfer to Cornell. To obtain preapproval for a course to transfer as an upper-level Econ course, send an email inquiry to econdus@cornell.edu with the subject line “Transfer Credit for Upper-Level Econ—Attn: O’Donoghue”. In that email, please include the following information:
the institution from which you propose to take a course
the course number and title at that institution
a detailed syllabus for that course that must include information on contact hours, credit hours, prerequisites, course description, list of topics covered, and basis for evaluation (assignments, tests, etc.)—the syllabus should be attached as a PDF or Word file; links or screenshots will not be evaluated
Please allow five business days for a response. If the DUS preapproves your course to count as an upper-level Econ course, you will receive an email approval that you should save for future reference.
Step 2—Processing: Upon completion of the course, you will need to submit an Application for Credit from Other Institutions (https://cornell.box.com/s/vi223dfu490ek8oaoyeupox3nvliew9n). After you complete all student portions of the form, send the form to econdus@cornell.edu with the subject line “Transfer Credit for Upper-Level Econ—Attn: O’Donoghue” (ideally, just reply to the email that confirmed your preapproval). The DUS will then sign the form and send it back to you, after which you can send it to A&S Student Services (as-studentserv@cornell.edu).
Please note: You also must have the offering institution send an official transcript to Arts & Sciences Student Services.