The requirements listed below pertain to all students matriculating in August 2025 and January 2026. 

All of the following sections are required to 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. Fiber Science Core Courses (28 credits)

Take all of the following:

  • FSAD 1140  Principles of Design Computing
  • FSAD 1350  Fibers, Fabrics, and Finishes
  • FSAD 1360  Fiber and Yarn Analysis Laboratory
  • FSAD 2370  Structural Fabric Design  
  • FSAD 3200  Global Textile & Apparel Sustainability
  • FSAD 3320  Product Quality Assessment  
  • FSAD 3350  Fiber Science
  • FSAD 4360  Fiber Chemistry  
  • FSAD 4460  Nanotechnology of Fibers and Textiles  
  • FSAD 4660  Textiles, Apparel, and Innovation (seniors only)

Note: Courses taken for this area cannot also count for Area 2 (FSAD Introductory Courses) and Area 3 (FSAD Advanced Courses) 

2. FSAD Introductory Courses (6-8 credits)

Take any two additional FSAD courses at the 1000, 2000 and 3000 level.

3. FSAD Advanced Courses (6-8 credits)

Take any two additional FSAD courses at the 4000 level or 6000 level.

FSAD 4000, 4010, 4020, 4030, 4990 cannot count here. 

4. Computer Science (4 credits)

Choose one of the following courses:

  • CS 1110  Introduction to Computing Using Python
  • CS 1112  Introduction to Computing: An Engineering and Science Perspective  
  • CS 2110  Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
  • AEM 2841 Python Programming for Data Analysis and Business Modeling  
  • AEM 3030 Explorations in Analytic Modeling AND CS 1133 Short Course in Python (1.5 credits)

AP Credit Accepted –AP Computer Science score of 5. 

5. Introductory Chemistry (8 credits)

Choose one of the following sequences:

  • CHEM 2070/2071 and CHEM 2080/2081  General Chemistry I and II
  • CHEM 2150  Honors General and Inorganic Chemistry (eligible to take with a score of 5 on AP Chemistry)

6. Organic Chemistry Lecture (3 credits)

Choose one of the following:

  • CHEM 3570  Introductory Organic Chemistry I for the Life Sciences
  • CHEM 3590  Honors Organic Chemistry I 

7. Organic Chemistry Laboratory (2 credits)

  • CHEM 2510  Introduction to Experimental Organic Chemistry 

8. Physics (8 credits)

Choose one of the following sequences:

  • PHYS 1101 and 1102  General Physics I and II
  • PHYS 1112 and 2213  Physics I: Mechanics & Heat and Physics II: Electromagnetism
  • PHYS 2207 and 2208  Fundamentals of Physics I and II 

9. Additional Approved Elective Sequence (6-8 credits)

Choose two courses from the following 

Apparel Design *

FSAD 1450 Introduction to Fashion Design AND

Choose one of the following:

  • FSAD 2660  Activewear Design and Product Development
  • FSAD 3650  New Technologies in Fashion Design
  • FSAD 3990  Smart Clothing: Design & Programming
  • FSAD 6900  Functional Aspects of Design and Clothing

*Courses used here may not apply to Areas 2 or 3 

Environment and Sustainability

Choose from one of the following two course groups: 

  • NTRES 1101  Environment & Sustainability AND NTRES 1201  Global Water Sustainability

OR

  • DEA 2020  Introduction to Sustainable Design AND BEE 3299  Sustainable Development 

Materials Science and Engineering

  • MSE 2610 Mechanical Properties of Materials: From Nanodevices to Superstructures 

Choose one from the following:

  • MSE 2620  Electronic Materials for the Information Age
  • MSE 3010  Chemistry of Materials
  • MSE 3040  Kinetics, Diffusion, and Phase Transformation
  • MSE 3050  Electronic, Magnetic and Dielectric Properties of Materials 

Biomedical

Choose one of the following:

  • BME/ENGRI 1310  Introduction to Biomedical Engineering OR
  • CHEME 2880  Bimolecular Engineering: Fundamentals and Applications

AND  

  • MSE 4610  Biomedical Materials and their Applications 

10. 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

11. First-Year Writing Seminars (6 credits)

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

12. Social Science (3 credits)

  • ECON 1110 Introductory Microeconomics

13. Humanities (3-4 credits)

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

14. 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
  • MATH 1710  Statistical Theory and Application in the Real World
  • ENGRD 2700  Basic Engineering Probability and Statistics
  • PSYCH 2500 Statistics and Research Design 

Must be taken at Cornell. AP Statistics is not accepted.

15. Calculus (8 credits)

Choose one of the following sequences:

  • MATH 1110-1120  Calculus I and II
  • MATH 1110-1220  Calculus I and Theoretical Calculus II
  • MATH 1910-1920  Calculus for Engineers and Multivariable Calculus for Engineers 

A score of 5 on AP Calculus AB fulfills the Calculus I requirement; a score of 5 on AP Calculus BC fulfills Calculus I and II requirements.

16. Linear Algebra (4 credits)

Choose one of the following courses:

  • MATH 2210  Linear Algebra
  • MATH 2230  Theoretical Linear Algebra and Calculus
  • MATH 2310  Linear Algebra with Applications
  • MATH 2940  Linear Algebra for Engineers 

17. Ethics (3-4 credits)

Choose from one of the following:

  • AEM 3205  Ethics in Business and Organizations
  • BSOC 2061  Ethics and the Environment (also STS 2061/PHIL 2960)  
  • COMM 4300  Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication  
  • CRP 3011  Ethics, Development, and Globalization
  • DEA 4220  Ecological Literacy and Design
  • GDEV 3240  Environmental Sociology
  • DEA/FSAD 4025  Design for Change: Imagining Decolonial Futures  
  • FSAD 4021  Apparel and Textiles in Developing Nations I  
  • DEA/FSAD 4800  Ethical Design: Engine of Positive Change
  • ILROB 4760  Morality at Work
  • INFO 1200  Information Ethics, Law, and Policy
  • INFO 4270  Ethics & Policy in Data Science
  • NTRES 3320  Introduction to Ethics and Environment 

18. Electives (Variable)

Any courses that are not taken in areas 1-17 above count as electives

19. 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.

20. 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. 
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