The requirements listed below pertain to all students matriculating in August 2025 and January 2026.
All sections below must be completed to graduate.
Overall Credits Required (120 credits)
- Total: 120 credits
- Human Ecology: 45 credits (courses from DEA, FSAD, HD, NS, PUBPOL at any level or HE at the 3000/4000 level)
- Human Ecology, outside the major: 11 credits (courses from FSAD, HD, NS, PUBPOL at any level or HE above 1500 level).
1. DEA Core Courses (41 credits)
Take all of the following:
- DEA 1101 Visual Literacy and Design Studio
- DEA 1110 Making a Difference: By Design
- DEA 1140 Principles of Design Computing
- DEA 1150 Design Graphics and Visualization
- DEA 1501 Introduction to Environmental Psychology
- DEA 2025 Impactful Graphics: Visual Communication for Social Impact
- DEA 2200 Arts & Science: Sustainability, Multiculturalism, and Transdisciplinary
- DEA 2510 History of Design Futures
- DEA 2730 Human Centered Design Methods
- DEA 3550 Research Methods
- DEA 4040 Professional Practices
- DEA 4050 Design Portfolio and Communication
- DEA 4590 Problem-Seeking Through Programming
- DEA 4800 Ethical Design: Engine of Positive Change
2. DEA Thematic Courses (9 courses)
Choose nine courses from the list below, one course from each thematic area is required. Letter grade only.
Students must take at least one studio at the 2000-level, 3000-level, and 4000-level or above.
Students may not take more than 2 studios in one semester, this includes both DEA and non-DEA studios. DEA 4990 can count towards one Thematic area.
Design Innovation and Strategy
- DEA 2201 Magnifying Small Spaces Studio
- DEA 2203 Studio S H I F T
- DEA 2750 Light In Forming Space: Lighting Design
- 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 4403 Technopoetics – Designing Tomorrow
- DEA 4040 Professional Practices
- DEA 4375 / AEM 4375 Business Design
- 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 4025 Designing Decolonial Futures: Imagining the World Differently
- DEA 4220 Ecological Literacy and Design
- DEA 4401 Adaptive Reuse Studio: Recycling the Built Environment
- DEA 4990 Senior Honors Thesis
Health and 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 4990 Senior Honors Thesis
DEA 5500 Designing Atmospheres
DEA 5560 Health Impact Assessment - DEA 5700 Designing Age Friendly Environments
3. First Year Writing Seminars (6 credits)
- Two FWS courses must be completed during the first two semesters at Cornell.
4. Social Sciences (3 credits)
Choose one of the following courses:
- HD 1120 People in Perspective: Brain, Mind, and Society
- HD 1130 Introduction to Human Development
- PSYCH 1101 Introduction to Psychology
Must be taken at Cornell, AP credits are not accepted for Psychology.
5. CHE Core Curriculum (5 credits)
Students must complete all three courses in their first three semesters:
- HE 1800 Blazing Your Trail in Human Ecology
- HE 1850 Introduction to Human Ecology
- HE 2000 Social Justice, Thriving, and the Human Experience
6. Introductory Microeconomics (3 credits)
- ECON 1110 Introductory Microeconomics
Must be taken at Cornell, AP credits are not accepted for Microeconomics.
7. Humanities (3-4 credits)
Choose any course with the Course Distribution: Historical Analysis (HA or HST-AS), Literature and the Arts (LA or ALC-AS), or Cultural Analysis (CA).
8. Quantitative Analysis (3-4 credits)
Choose one of the following courses:
- PUBPOL 2100 Introduction to Statistics
- AEM 2100 Introductory Statistics
- ILRST/STSCI 2100 Introductory Statistics
- PSYCH 2500 Statistics and Research Design
Must be taken at Cornell, AP credits are not accepted for Statistics
9. Natural Science I (3-4 credits)
Choose one of the following:
Biology
- BIOG 1140, 1440 or 1445, BIOMG 1350, BIOEE 1610
Chemistry
- CHEM 1560 or 2070, 2080
Physics
- PHYS 1101 or 2207, 1102 or 2208
No lab is required. No AP credit allowed; course must be taken at Cornell.
12. Natural Science II (3-4 credits)
- Choose any 3-credit course with a PBS, BIO AS, PHS-AS, BIOLS-AG, or BIONLS-AG Course Distribution.
No AP credit allowed; course must be taken at Cornell.
13. Additional Distribution Coursework (6 credits)
Any course with the Course Distribution PBS, ALC-AS, ETM-AS, HST-AS, SCD-AS, SSC-AS, SDS-AS, SMR-AS, BIOLS-AG, BIONLS-AG, SBA, KCM, MQR, LA, CA, or HA. Language courses may count here.
14. Electives (Variable)
Any courses that are not taken in the areas above count as electives.
15. 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.
16. Swim Test Requirement
A successful swim test must be completed in order to graduate.
College Policies
TOTAL CREDITS TO GRADUATE = 120
• Students must complete 120 credits toward graduation.
• A maximum of 15 credits of AP credit and in absentia credit can count towards the 120 total credits.
• A maximum of 15 credits of Study Abroad/Exchange, Cornell-In-Washington or Capital Semester can count towards total electives.
45 HE credits:
Courses from: DEA, FSAD, HD, NS, PUBPOL at any level or HE above 1500 level
• Students must complete a minimum of 45 Human Ecology credits.
• HE non-departmental courses at the 1500-level and below do not count toward the 45 HE credits.
• Students must enroll in a minimum of one 3-credit course each semester in HE for their first four semesters, excluding winter and summer sessions.
11 credits HE credits outside the major:
Courses must be from DEA, FSAD, HD, PUBPOL at any level or HE above 1500 level.
• Students must complete a minimum of 11 HE credits outside of the Division of Nutritional Sciences (DNS). All DNS courses are listed under the course code “NS”.
• FWS, HE non-departmental courses below the 1500 level, Statistics and Research Methods courses (PUBPOL 2100, PUBPOL 3120, DEA 3550, or
HD 2830), Special Studies (4000, 4010, 4020), and teaching assistantships (4030) do not count toward this requirement.
• These can be taken S/U only if course is NOT used to fulfill a curriculum requirement [Areas 1-18 on the following pages].
HUMAN ECOLOGY CORE COURSES: Within these required 11 credits listed above, 5 credits will come from the following courses.
- HE 1800 Blazing Your Trail (1 credit)
Required in the first fall semester of matriculation to HE (first-year students only) - HE 1850 Introduction to Human (1 credit)
Required in the first spring semester of matriculation to HE Human Ecology (first-year, internal & external transfers) - HE 2000 Social Justice, Thriving, and the Human Experience (3 credits) (updated course name effective Fall 2025)
First-Year students will complete HE 2000 in their third semester.
Internal and external transfer students must complete HE 2000 in their first fall in Human Ecology.
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.