CHE Navigate
We are so excited to have you join our collaborative and supportive community. As a new member of CHE, you will be part of the CHE Navigate program, which will help to ensure you have what you need to start the semester on solid footing. You will be supported throughout the summer as well as throughout your time at Cornell by the team of college advisors from the Student and Career Development Office.
Weekly Navigate newsletter
Throughout the summer, check your email for the weekly Navigate newsletter. It will include timely updates and information to help you get ready for fall 2025. Be sure to read and act on information in the weekly Navigate and any communication you receive from Cornell.
CHE Navigate virtual sessions
In addition, we will host three CHE Navigate virtual sessions to share information about the college and your major, academic requirements in your first semester, how to enroll in your fall courses and resources available to support you throughout your journey.
Sessions will be on
• June 11
• June 18
• June 25
The dean of CHE will also host a Virtual Family Welcome on Thursday, August 14.
We will share more details about these events in the Navigate newsletter.
Your Cornell email
We will contact you via your cornell.edu email address, so be sure to activate your NetID and regularly check your official Cornell email account for updates.
Course enrollment
There are two registration periods each semester at Cornell:
Pre-enrollment for new first-year and transfer students
July 21-July 24
This is your first opportunity to get a spot in your preferred fall courses.
Add/drop period
begins Aug. 22 for first-year students
You can make changes to your schedule during this time.
Please see the University Registrar's Key Dates and Guide to Enrollment for detailed information.
More information
In advance of the pre-enrollment period, we will share resources and instructions through Canvas, Cornell’s learning management system. You can also schedule an individual meeting with a college advisor from Student and Career Development.
All students will be automatically enrolled in the introductory course required for their major. You can review the curriculum sheet for your major to start planning out the rest of your schedule.
Orientation
Cornell’s New Student Orientation is August 18-24, 2025.
During this time, new students are required to attend college-specific orientation sessions and a session related to their major.
The major-specific orientation sessions will be on Friday, August 22. Check your Cornell email for the specific time, location and other updates.
Information by department
Learn more about our majors
Suggested schedules
Design + Environmental Analysis
Course enrollment
We will directly enroll you in some courses for your major. Please do not drop these courses as you try to schedule other courses since you could find yourself without a critical introductory course.
Laptop and accessory requirements
Effective: 2025/2026 Academic Year
General requirements
It is strongly recommended that each HCD student own the appropriate laptop computer and necessary accessories for coursework, which may range from heavy graphics tasks to writing papers and emails. These requirements ensure students can fully participate in all course activities and complete assignments effectively.
Required accessories (all students)
- USB thumb drive (64 GB minimum)
- External mouse (wired or wireless)
- Recommended: External hard drive for backup (1TB minimum)
- Recommended: Protective laptop case or sleeve
For DEA (Design + Environmental Analysis) students
Minimum specifications
- Processor: Intel i7 (13th gen or newer) or Intel i9 or equivalent processor
- Memory: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 equivalent or better (or RTX A-series if you prefer Quadro drivers)
- Storage: 1 TB NVMe SSD
- Operating System: Windows 11
- Recommended: 3-year warranty
- Recommended: Theft and damage insurance
Recommended brands and models
- Dell Alienware
- Razer
- ASUS
- Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
Warning
D+EA students are advised against Mac computers. Revit, certain Rhino plugins, and most real-time 3D visualization tools used in DEA courses do not run natively on Mac and work only in Windows. While Windows can be virtualized on Mac computers, this is strongly advised against due to severe limitations in performance and compatibility.
For FSAD (Fiber Science and Apparel Design) students
Minimum Specifications
- Any recent laptop with Windows 11 or Mac OS 15 should be adequate.
- Chromebooks, Netbooks, and other mobile PCs are not sufficient for coursework requirements.
Contact
If you have questions, contact Darin Gillenwater, our undergraduate coordinator, at djg326 [at] cornell.edu or 607-255-3196.
DNS is home to three majors:
- Global and Public Health Sciences (GPHS)
- Human Biology, Health and Society (HBHS)
- Nutritional Sciences (NS)
Plus the Biological Sciences concentration in Human Nutrition and several minor fields at Cornell. Our programs include students from three colleges. Each year we welcome approximately 200 new undergraduate students to join our majors.
Advising
All first-year students in DNS are assigned a professional staff advisor in Student Services. You will get to meet the team of DNS professional staff advisors virtually over the summer during the events surrounding pre-enrollment for fall courses.
You will later have an opportunity to meet with your assigned staff advisor and student peer advisor, as well as DNS faculty, at Orientation in August. These individuals are all part of your Advising Support Network, a larger group of people at Cornell who will help guide your undergraduate experience and assist you with thinking about what opportunities will be most valuable to help you reach your goals at Cornell and beyond.
Contact
Have other questions? Please reach out to us at dnsstudentservices [at] cornell.edu!
Visit the Psychology Department website for information for new Human Development majors.
For pre-health students
Cornell’s Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC) provides advising and information beginning with First Year Student Resources all the way to assistance with professional school applications near the end of your time at Cornell.
Over the summer, HPAC will hold virtual information sessions for incoming first-year and transfer students to drop in and chat with pre-health advisors, ask initial questions and meet other pre-health students. Visit the HPAC Events website to learn more.