Please note: The department can only grant approval to transfer courses that have been granted credit by the student's college, or are in the process of being reviewed. If transfer courses have been previously denied, or are not accepted by the student's college, they cannot be applied to the English major or minors.
Credit requests must be approved through the undergraduate coordinator in order to be recorded with the department; verbal or written approval directly from a faculty member is not valid.
First-Year Writing Seminars
Visit the "AP & Transfer Credit" or "FWS Substitutions" section of the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines website for information and instructions regarding FWS classes and substitutions.
Introductory English composition or non-creative writing courses taken at other institutions (such as courses with a WRIT subject code), are considered equivalent to an FWS and will not be granted English course equivalency or major/minor credit.
Study Abroad
Visit Arts & Sciences Study Abroad for information about study abroad as an Arts & Sciences student.
Major Credit
The online Approval of Study Abroad Credit form is provided by A&S Student Services and automatically sent to the department. If you hope to apply a course to a specific major distribution requirement (i.e., pre-1800 or literature of the global south), you must include this request in the notes on your study abroad application. After you return from abroad and your transcript is received, the process will repeat and the department will be able to give final approval.
Minor Credit
Follow instructions below for transfer credit if you are seeking approval of a study abroad course for minor credit with the department.
Transfer Credit
Visit Arts & Sciences Transferring Credits for more information on transfer credits as an Arts and Sciences student, or visit the Student Services office of your college for non-A&S students.
- Submit the English Transfer Credit Request form.
- Non-ENGL Cornell Courses: Minors can also submit this form to request minor credit for a non-ENGL Cornell course. English majors should visit the "Notes on course credits" section in the English Major Guide for more information about requesting major credit for a non-ENGL Cornell course, and only need to submit this form if seeking approval for one of the distribution requirement categories.
- Send the following documents via email to the Undergraduate Coordinator (Aurora Ricardo, ar2368@cornell.edu), if applicable:
- Application for Credit from Other Institutions form (provided by the A&S Registrar, usually during your initial credit evaluation if you are an external transfer student). You must include your proposed equivalent course if you wish to be granted course equivalency (i.e.; you want an intro to creative writing course to fulfill the prerequisite for enrollment in our intermediate or advanced courses).
*Not applicable to non-A&S students or to A&S students whose course(s) is already accepted by the College (unless course equivalency is needed for a requirement or prerequisite) - Some colleges at Cornell require students to submit a transfer credit form when seeking approval from relevant departments. If your college does not require an additional form you can skip this step.
- Application for Credit from Other Institutions form (provided by the A&S Registrar, usually during your initial credit evaluation if you are an external transfer student). You must include your proposed equivalent course if you wish to be granted course equivalency (i.e.; you want an intro to creative writing course to fulfill the prerequisite for enrollment in our intermediate or advanced courses).
- The undergraduate coordinator will process and submit your credit request to the appropriate faculty member, inform you of the decision or requests for further information, and return the signed form to you for submission to your college, if applicable.