Biology Department Information for Transfer Students

Internal Transfers

The following general rules apply if you are transferring from another NYU school into CAS:

  1. Students transferring from Liberal Studies should have taken BIOL-UA (and CHEM-UA) courses that count directly toward the Biology major. Students are encouraged to speak with a Liberal Studies adviser early on in the Liberal Studies program about their intent to transfer into CAS and pursue the Biology major, and should plan their courses accordingly. Upon transferring to CAS, students should seek advice from the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology or assigned Biology faculty adviser.
  2. Students transferring from Tandon may transfer BMS-UY 1004 and 2004 as equivalent to BIOL-UA 11, 12 and 123. No other Tandon Biology courses count toward the CAS Biology major (or minor). Also note that current CAS students may not take BMS-UY 1004 or 2004 in place of BIOL-UA 11, 12 or 123.
  3. Students transferring from NYU Abu Dhabi or NYU Shanghai should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology to determine what parts of the Foundations of Science series and other courses will count toward the CAS Biology major.
  4. Students transferring from NYU schools that are not listed above should expect that no course except CAS courses that have already been taken will transfer over to the Biology major, and should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology or assigned Biology faculty adviser to construct a course plan to meet degree requirements.

External Transfers

Students transferring from schools outside NYU must submit a full syllabus to count any course toward the Biology major. It is extremely rare for any biology course beyond introductory biology (Principles of Biology) to be counted as equivalent to a BIOL-UA course. In particular, all transfer students must take Molecular and Cell Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 21 and 22) here. Students should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology or assigned Biology faculty adviser to construct a course plan to meet degree requirements. Mid-year transfer students should consult in particular about the possibility of taking BIOL-UA 21 in the first (Spring) semester, so as to get on track with the major more quickly.

To submit a biology-course syllabus for evaluation, email a PDF to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology. For chemistry, physics or math courses, please contact the corresponding NYU department to have these courses evaluated as being equivalent to the CAS courses that count toward the Biology major. If the course was determined to be equivalent, please forward the email thread to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology so the appropriate memo can be drafted. Please include your student ID (N#) in all correspondence.

Minor in Biology as a Transfer Student

To complete one of the four minors in Biology, transfer students can apply credits that are equivalent to Principles of Biology (BIOL-UA 11, 12 and 123) toward fulfillment of the minor. All other courses associated with a Biology minor must be completed through Biology department courses.