International Degree Equivalencies

Applicants must hold, at a minimum, a U.S. bachelor’s degree or an international equivalent, either already completed or in progress and expected to be completed before enrollment at Cornell.

Not all international bachelor’s degrees are equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. In many cases, applicants can determine the level of their degree based on guidance from their home education system, eligibility for graduate study in the country where the degree was earned, or prior admissions outcomes at other institutions.

If you remain unsure whether your degree is equivalent, you may find it helpful to use World Education Services’ free Degree Equivalency Tool. Applicants may also choose to obtain a professional credential evaluation from a member organization of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE).

If you are still completing your degree, it is usually best to wait until your credential has been formally awarded before paying for a professional credential evaluation. Most evaluation services rely on final documents, and updates after degree conferral often require additional fees rather than free revisions.

Our office evaluates foreign educational credentials using standardized guidelines from AACRAO EDGE, the Electronic Database for Global Education of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.