Transfer Credit for Mathematics Courses at Carnegie Mellon
Transfer credit can be awarded for courses taken for credit at accredited colleges or universities, where the content and level of rigor is comparable to the corresponding course at Carnegie Mellon. A student must earn a grade of C for transfer credit to be awarded.
For incoming students
Courses taken before enrollment at Carnegie Mellon may transfer, provided they are taught by college or university faculty. There are no online or hybrid mathematics courses offered at CMU, so consistent with these standards, we only accept courses for transfer where all midterm and final exams are proctored in an in-person format.
Courses taken by students in high school taught by high school faculty which have accompanying college transcripts and do not count toward that student’s high school degree can be approved for 21-001 elective credit. If the course has a corresponding prerequisite waiver exam at Carnegie Mellon (21-090, 21-120, 21-122, 21-259) and the student subsequently passes the prerequisite waiver exam, the 21-001 credit may be converted to credit for the corresponding course.
Prerequisite Waiver Exams Information
For current students
Current students should have all courses from another university pre-approved before taking them, to guarantee the credit will transfer. Students should consult with their advisor, who will confirm what materials are necessary to review the course for transfer credit, and inquire about eligibility.
FAQ
What materials are necessary to review a course for transfer credit?
We would like to review a syllabus from the exact version of the course that has been or will be taken. If that is not available (e.g. for a future course), a recent syllabus (within the last year or two) can be accepted, along with evidence of the course being offered by university faculty and assessed in person. In cases where the level of rigor may be in question (e.g. for courses like 21-127 or 21-241) a final exam or examples of major assignments may also be necessary.
A course description or list of topics is not sufficient to evaluate a course for transfer credit. A “master syllabus” outlining topics and course materials may be sufficient to verify course content and rigor, but if this is submitted, a specific syllabus for the semester taken or other documentation is required to verify instructor and method of assessment.
Which introductory courses are commonly transferred?
The following courses are fairly standard, and versions that can transfer are found at many community colleges and four-year institutions:
21-120, 21-122, 21-259, 21-111, 21-240, 21-260
Which introductory courses are hard to transfer and why?
21-127: Despite its low course number, this course is taught at a high level, and covers a lot of content in discrete mathematics and number theory, in addition to an introduction to proofs. Thus it is very rare for a community college course to transfer as 21-127, and not all four-year institutions have good matches. (E.g. At University of Pittsburgh, MATH 0413 is their introduction to proofs course, but its content focuses on analysis, whereas 21-127 is more focused on discrete math and number theory.). An example of a course that has been approved for 21-127 credit is Rutgers Math 300.
21-241: This course is taught at a higher level of rigor than 21-240, and transfer credit is only given if the syllabus or supplementary materials (e.g. a final exam) give evidence of reasoning and proof-writing at an intermediate undergraduate level. Thus it is rare for a community college linear algebra course to transfer as 21-241 (usually they transfer as 21-240), and the same is true for many four-year institutions that have a computational introduction to linear algebra. Many four-year institutions do have a more advanced course that can transfer as 21-241.
21-254 and 21-256: These multivariable calculus courses are tailored to specific audiences at CMU, and so have a somewhat idiosyncratic mix of topics. Typically it is much easier to find a course that matches 21-259. In both cases it is sometimes possible to grant transfer credit for multiple courses at other institutions:
- In the case of 21-254, the course must cover some linear algebra, multivariable and vector calculus, and an introduction to MATLAB. Courses that transfer as 21-240 and 21-259 can be combined to transfer as 21-254
- In the case of 21-256, the course must cover some linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and optimization.
What about courses that are a quarter (or other non-semester length)?
It can be hard to transfer courses from colleges on the quarter system, as a 10-week course does not cover the same content as a 14-week CMU course. It is sometimes possible to grant one semester credit for two quarter courses (or credit for a 2-semester sequence for three quarter courses).
Intensive summer “boot-camp” style courses (e.g. 3 weeks with 3 hours of meetings per day) generally do not treat the content in enough depth to earn credit.
What should students do who have taken a course (e.g. a high school course or an online course) where they have not received transfer credit but don’t want to take a course with overlapping content?
Single and multi-variable calculus: We offer Calculus Placement Exams (for incoming students only) during orientation week where success on the exam can earn the student a prerequisite waiver for 21-120, 21-122, or 21-259.
Prerequisite Waiver Exams Information
21-127 and 21-241: We also offer a more advanced placement exam called the “Mathematical Maturity Survey” (for incoming students only) during orientation week, where students may earn a prerequisite waiver for 21-127 or 21-241 or placement into honors versions of these courses.
Other advanced courses: Many of our courses are taught at multiple levels, so if a student has seen the basic material for one of our courses, they may still benefit from taking a more advanced or theoretical version. Some common examples are:
- Multivariable calculus: If a student has taken a course comparable to 21-259, they may benefit from taking 21-266, 21-268, or 21-269.
- Differential equations: If a student has taken a course comparable to 21-260, they may benefit from taking 21-261.
A student can sometimes take a more advanced course with permission of the instructor, even if they do not have the prerequisite, though this is often not encouraged, as courses that do not transfer are often not taught at the same level as CMU courses.
Students should consult their advisor with any questions about mathematics placement.