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External Transfers to CS

Students who are interested in transferring from a 2-year or 4-year institution to the University of Michigan to study computer science must choose one of two colleges: Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), or Engineering (CoE).

Please refer to the transfer admissions pages of those colleges: LSA or CoE.

Once you decide which college you prefer, carefully consider the following directions for pursuing the Computer Science major (CS-LSA or CS-Eng).

NOTE:  Students must indicate they wish to be considered for advance selection for CS at the time of their application to U-M. Transfer students are not be able to apply for or switch to CS once on campus.

External transfer applicants to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts 

Prospective transfer students who would like to pursue the Computer Science major (CS-LSA) through the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts must indicate they wish to be considered for advance selection on the Common Application. There will be a CS request section on the Common App Academics page where the college options are indicated.

Recommended prerequisites for admission into the Computer Science-LSA major:

  • Two semesters of calculus
  • One semester of computer programming

Completion of the prerequisites does not guarantee admission into the computer science major.

External transfer applicants to the College of Engineering

Prospective transfer students who would like to pursue the Computer Science major (CS-Eng) through the College of Engineering must indicate they wish to be considered for advance selection on the Common Application. There will be a CS request section on the Common App Academics page where the college options are indicated.

Students applying to transfer into the CS-Eng major must have completed the following prerequisite courses, with a letter grade of a “C” or better: 

  • Calculus I
  • Calculus II
  • One Calculus-Based Physics + Lab 
  • One General College Chemistry + Lab
  • One Computing Course
    • (Engineering 101 or C++ preferred)
  • One English Composition

Departmental credit is not accepted for transfer admission. Using the Transfer Credit Equivalency Database, please ensure that your prerequisite coursework is directly equivalent to the U-M course and not transferable as departmental credit. For questions, contact [email protected].

Any AP/IB exam credit must meet the U-M guidelines, regardless of whether your current institution granted you exam credit. Prerequisite coursework cannot be filled by placement exams administered at other institutions.

Competitive applicants to Michigan Engineering will have completed all of the required prerequisite courses prior to their intended term of enrollment at U-M, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Questions about external transfers to CS?

Please contact [email protected].