The requirements listed below pertain to all students matriculating in August 2022 and January 2023.

All of the following sections are required to be completed to graduate.

Courses in areas 1-11 must be taken for a letter grade.

Overall Required Credits (120 credits)

  • Total 120 credits  
  • Human Ecology: 43 credits  
  • Human Ecology, outside the major: 9 credits (courses from FSAD, HD, NS, PAM at any level or HE at the 3000/4000 level)  

1. DEA Core Courses (32 credits)

Take all of the following:

  • DEA 1050 Career Explorations
  • DEA 1101 Visual Literacy and Design Studio
  • DEA 1110 Making a Difference: By Design
  • DEA 1150 Design Graphics and Visualization
  • DEA 1500 Introduction to Environmental Psychology
  • DEA 2030 Design Portfolio and Communication
  • DEA 2510 History of Design Futures
  • DEA 2730 Human Centered Design Methods
  • DEA 3590 Problem-Seeking through Programming
  • DEA 4040 Professional Practices and Ethics  
  • DEA 5304 Design Accountability: Evaluation of the Physical Environment

2. DEA Thematic Courses (9 courses)

Letter grade only. Three out of the 9 must be studio thematic courses.  

Note: Students must take at least one 2000-level studio. Students may not take more than 2 studios in one semester, this includes both DEA and non-DEA studios. Enrollment in 2 studios simultaneously requires approval from both studio instructors. DEA 4990 can fall under any of the three DEA Thematics.  

Design Innovation + Strategy

  • DEA 2025 Impactful Graphics: Visual Communication for Social Impact
  • DEA 2200 Art+Science: Sustainability, Multiculturalism and Transdisciplinarity (formerly DEA 1200)
  • DEA 2201 Magnifying Small Spaces Studio
  • DEA 2203 Studio S H I F T
  • DEA 2750 Lighting Design: Light InForming Space
  • DEA 3050 Construction Documentation: CAD and BIM
  • DEA 3301 Design UX with Technology Studio
  • DEA 3306 Generative Design Studio
  • DEA 3530 Planning and Managing the Workplace
  • DEA 4402 Disruptive Design: Competitions Studio
  • DEA 4500 Policy Meets Design: High-Impact Facilities of the 21st Century
  • DEA 4990 Senior Honors Thesis
  • DEA 5210 Interaction Design Studio  
  • DEA 5520 Virtual Experience of Designed Environments
  • DEA 5540 Workplace Strategy Studio

Sustainable Futures

  • DEA 2020 Introduction to Sustainable Design
  • DEA 2040 High-Performance Buildings
  • DEA 2422 Making Green: Sustainable Product Design Studio
  • DEA 3030 Materials for Design & Sustainability  
  • DEA 3302 Sustainable Consumerism: The New Typologies Studio
  • DEA 3500 The Ambient Environment
  • DEA 4220 Ecological Literacy and Design
  • DEA 4401 Adaptive Reuse Studio: Recycling the Built Environment

Health + Well-Being

  • DEA 2700 Healthy Places: Design, Planning and Public Health
  • DEA 3308 Positive Design Studio
  • DEA 3510 Human Factors and Inclusive Design
  • DEA 4700 Applied Ergonomic Methods
  • DEA 5305 Health and Healing Studio
  • DEA 5500 Designing Atmospheres
  • DEA 5560 Health Impact Assessment
  • DEA 5700 Designing Age Friendly Environments

3. Research Methods Course (3 credits)

Choose one of the following courses:

  • DEA 3550 Research Methods in Human-Environment Relations
  • ILROB 4710 Social Science Research Methods
  • PAM 3120 Research Design, Practice and Policy  

4. First Year Writing Seminars (6 credits)

Note: The 2 required first year writing seminar courses must be completed during the first two semesters at Cornell.

5. Psychology (3 credits)

Choose one of the following courses:

  • HD 1150 Human Development: Infancy and Childhood
  • HD 1170 Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood
  • PSYCH 1101 Introduction to Psychology

6. Introductory Microeconomics (3 credits)

  • ECON 1110 Introductory Microeconomics

7. Humanities (3-4 credits)

Choose any course with the Course Distribution Historical Analysis (HA), Literature and the Arts (LA), or Cultural Analysis (CA).

8. Statistics (4 credits)

Must be taken at Cornell, AP Statistics is not accepted

  • Choose one of the following courses:
  • PAM 2100 Introduction to Statistics
  • AEM 2100 Introductory Statistics
  • ILRST/STSCI 2100 Introductory Statistics
  • PSYCH 2500 Statistics and Research Design

9. Natural Science I (3-4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

Biology 

BIOG 1140, BIOG 1440, 1445 OR BIOMG 1350 OR BIOEE 1610 OR AP Biology score of 5  

Chemistry  

CHEM 1560, 2070, 2080 OR AP Chemistry score of 5  

Physics 

PHYS 1101, 2207, 1102, 2208 OR AP Physics score of 5

Note: If AP isn’t used to satisfy the requirement, then the course must be taken at Cornell.

Note: No lab is required.    

10. Natural Science II (3-4 credits)

Choose any 3 credit course with a PBS, BIOLS-AG, or BIONLS-AG Course Distribution.

Note: No AP credit allowed, course must be taken at Cornell.

11. Additional Distribution Coursework (6 credits)

Any course with the Course Distribution PBS, BIOLS-AG, BIONLS-AG, SBA, KCM, MQR, LA, CA, or HA. Language courses may count here.

12. Electives (Variable)

Any courses that are not taken in Areas 1-12 above, count as Electives.

13. Physical Education Requirement (2 courses)

Physical Education must be completed in order to graduate. However, physical education does not count toward college and university minimum credit requirements for full-time status, nor does it count towards the 120 credits required for graduation.

14. Swim Test Requirement

A successful swim test must be completed in order to graduate.

 

College Polices

120 Overall Credits 

  • Students must complete 120 credits toward graduation.
  • A maximum of 15 credits of AP credit and in absentia credit can count toward the 120 total credits.
  • 15 credits of study abroad/exchange or Cornell in Washington, or 12 credits of Capital Semester, can count toward total electives. 

43 HE Credits 

  • Students must complete a minimum of 43 HE credits.
  • HE non-departmental courses at the 2000 level and below do not count toward the 43 HE credits.
  • Students must complete 5 HE credits by the end of the first year and 12 HE credits by the end of the sophomore year. 

9 HE Credits Outside the Major 

Students must complete a minimum of 9 HE credits outside of the major. These credits are given for any Human Ecology course outside your major (except 4030). These can be taken S/U only if course is not used to fulfill a curriculum requirement. 

Pass/Fail Courses (S/U)

  • S/U grading option may not be used for any required course unless it is the only grade option offered for that course.
  • S/U may be used for the 9 HE credits outside the major and for electives.
  • Students may apply no more than 12 credits of S/U toward graduation requirements. If a required course is only offered S/U, it will not count toward this limit. Students may take more S/U courses if they choose, but the additional credit will not be applied toward graduation.
  • The deadline for changing grade options is the 57th calendar day of the semester, the same as the “drop” deadline. 

Special Study Courses (4000, 4010, 4020, 4030)

  • A maximum of 12 credits of special study course work from Human Ecology or other colleges will count toward the 120 overall credits. Courses will be indicated on the class roster with a Component of either IND or RSC. (Additional credits can be taken but will not be applied.)
  • A maximum of 12 credits of 4000-4030 may count toward the 43 HE credit requirement.
  • A maximum of 3 credits of 4000-4020 (not including 4030) may count toward the 9 credits outside the major requirement as long as the special study is in a department outside the student’s major.
  • Students cannot TA (4030) the same course for credit more than once or take and TA the same course simultaneously. 4030 does not fulfill any requirements toward the major. Registration for 4030 may not exceed 5 credit hours per semester. 
Jump To: