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Internal Transfer Applicants

Current Cornell students may apply for internal transfer admission to the applied economics and management (AEM) major in Dyson. Before applying to the Dyson School, all students are advised to confer with their advisor in their current college to determine eligibility and path to applying. Please pay careful attention to the information provided here as you consider applying. Dyson enrolls transfer students in the fall semester only and the application is due by midnight ET at the end of day on May 1st. 

Cornell internal transfer applicants should have a very strong academic record in their current program and should be prepared to communicate thoughtfully and in some detail about their interests and reasons for preferring to study in Dyson. Internal transfer admission into Dyson is extremely competitive and therefore not all applicants who meet the criteria below are accepted. For information/Q&A session registration or office hour zoom links, please refer to the “Virtual Support” section near the bottom of the page.

Eligibility

Rising second year and rising third year (i.e., those who apply in their first or second year) currently attending Cornell University are eligible to apply as internal transfer applicants. Preference is given to current first year applicants. Current juniors and seniors are not eligible for internal transfer to Dyson. Students who transferred to Cornell from another university or college are also not eligible for internal transfer to Dyson.

First-year students exploring the possibility of transferring to Dyson should familiarize themselves with AEM prerequisites to ensure that courses taken during the first year will meet Dyson requirements.

Admission Requirements

The application for internal transfer is available here on the Cornell University Undergraduate Admissions site. It will go live in early March.

Internal transfer applicants must meet (or complete during the semester in which they apply) the following requirements to be considered for admission:

* Students are encouraged take the statistics class housed within their current college or major.

Please note that Dyson will not accept AP or IB credit for the required courses above. Students must take these courses at Cornell or at the college level for college credit prior to enrolling in Dyson.

Current curriculum requirements are subject to change and internal transfers will be held to the major requirements for the year in which they matriculate to Dyson.

We acknowledge that some colleges require a meeting with an advisor in the college to which you are applying for internal transfer, however, this is NOT required for internal transfer to the Dyson School. Additionally, please note that we do not review resumes or application materials prior to their official submission.

Course Recommendations

Your internal transfer application is strengthened if you take at least one quantitative course each semester. Possible courses include the following:

  • AEM 2770: Excursions in Computational Sustainability
  • AEM 3100: Business Statistics
  • AEM 4110: Introduction to Econometrics
  • AEM 4120: Computational Methods for Management and Economics
  • ECON 3110 (cross-listed as ILRST 3110): Probability Models and Inference for the Social Sciences
  • ECON 3130: Statistics and Probability
  • ECON 3140: Econometrics

Courses available to first-year students that may fulfill AEM requirements and can inform your decision to transfer to Dyson include the following:

  • AEM 2015: The Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion
  • AEM 2300 (cross-listed as ECON 2300): International Trade and Finance
  • AEM 2350: Introduction to the Economics of Development
  • AEM 3020: Farm Business Management
  • ECON 1120: Introductory Macroeconomics

Do not feel you must choose courses from this list; it is provided for your information only.

Note: Management, marketing, accounting, and finance courses offered as part of the university minor in business do not fulfill Dyson major requirements and therefore should not be taken by students applying to transfer. 

In addition to coursework, your internal application to Dyson will be evaluated on qualitative factors such as work experience, volunteer activities, leadership positions, internships, and your ability to explain in detail why the AEM major is a good fit for you.

Essay Guidance

Please be advised that your essay has a maximum word count of 650. It could address any of the following as well as/or any additional subjects that help you explain why you would like to internally transfer to the Dyson School:

  • How your interest in a given major and college has developed, and how you have explored it
  • Explain clearly and in a well-thought out manner how your intended major and college could provide you with the tools and instruction you desire to achieve at Cornell, and why other options (double major, minors, etc.) are not useful.
  • Describe the professional goals/interests you are considering. How will your target college help you to attain your goals?
  • If you do not satisfy all the requirements for transfer to your intended college, state the reasons for this, and how you intend to fulfill those requirements.
  • You can also talk about the activities that you have been involved in at Cornell and the community (work/volunteer experiences, clubs, research) and how they have shaped you.
  • Is there anything else your target college should know about you (e.g. personal/family situations, independent study…) that you consider could further clarify your interest?

Virtual Support

The Office of Admissions hosts information sessions and/or office hours for prospective internal transfer students every semester. The dates for the Fall 2023 semester are as follows:

Info Session–
Tuesday, September 26th from 5-6pm ET. Advance registration required: Registration

Office Hours–
Thursday, October 26th from 5-6pm ET. No registration required: Zoom link
Wednesday, November 1st from 5-6pm ET. No registration required: Zoom link
Tuesday, November 28th from 5-6pm ET. No registration required: Zoom link 

*Please note that the office hours are not information sessions; admissions officers will be available to answer your questions but will not offer a presentation or review any application materials. The sessions open at 5:00pm ET and close at 6:00pm. We appreciate your patience as you wait to be seen.

Application Process and Timeline

Dyson enrolls transfer students in the fall semester only. Internal transfer applications are accepted during the prior spring semester. The application deadline is midnight ET at the end of the day on May 1st.

Contact

If you have questions, please contact the Office of Admissions at dyson_admissions@cornell.edu.

Office of Undergraduate and Master’s Programs Admissions

SC Johnson College of Business
289 Statler Hall
Phone: 607.254.4228
dyson_admissions@cornell.edu

Student Spotlight

Maria Jiang '16

Maria Jiang
Hometown

Reading, Pennsylvania

Concentration

Environmental, Energy, and Resource Economics

What Makes Dyson Special?

The support. In classes, everyone works together to strengthen their understanding of concepts. Study groups are commonplace and nonexclusive. The majority of classes are TA'ed by peers who have taken the classes before. This means your TAs know exactly how to help you understand the most difficult lessons, because they were once there, too. Dyson also offers the widest variety of concentrations I found while applying to business schools. I got to specialize in environmental, energy, and resource economics right off the bat, without having to wait years and years until graduate school.