2025-26 Global & Public Health Sciences Curriculum Sheet

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

All sections below must be completed to graduate.

Overall Required Credits (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 (from DEA, HD, NS, PUBPOL at any level or HE above 1500 level)
Special Studies courses (4000, 4010, 4020) do not count.

1. Global and Public Health Core Courses (14 credits)

NS 1600 Introduction to Public Health
NS 2060 Preparation for Engaged Learning
NS 2600 Introduction to Global Health
NS 3600 Epidemiology
NS 4600 Explorations in Global and Public Health

2. Supervised Experiential Learning in Global and Public Health (variable credits)

Approval required. May be completed anytime from spring semester
sophomore year onward.

Must be completed before the fall semester of senior year.

This experience may be obtained through one of several options, including (but not limited to):

Cornell Cooperative Extension - Tompkins County and others (NS 4060)
Cornell in Washington (NS 4997)
Global Health Summer Programs
Public Health Research or Internship (NS 4060)
Study abroad programs with a public health focus/internship (NS 4060)
Weill Cornell Clinical & Translational Science Center (NS 4060)

3. Social and Behavioral Health Selective (3-4 credits)

Course should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from a social and/or behavioral health perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from a social science perspective (e.g. sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, communication and other social science disciplines).

Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above. See the Requirements for GPHS majors in CHE for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Must take a minimum of 3 credits.

Choose from the following options, must take a minimum of 3 credits:

NS 2450 Social Science Perspectives on Food and Nutrition
NS 4480 Economics of Food and Malnutrition
NS 4510 Nutrition and Health Equity
NS 4570/ECON 3910 Health, Poverty, and Inequality: A Global Perspective
ANTHR 2468 Medicine, Culture, and Society
COMM 2850 Communication, Environment, Science, and Health
COMM 4760 Population Health Communication
GDEV / LSP 2200 Sociology of Health and Ethnic Minorities
GDEV 3020 Political Ecologies of Health
HD 3325 Theory and Practice of Contemporary Clinical Psychology
HD 4600 Professional Development in Geriatric and Palliative Research
PUBPOL / SOC 3180 Health Disparities (PUBPOL formerly PAM)
PUBPOL 3280 / GDEV 3280 Fundamentals of Population Health (PUBPOL formerly PAM)
PUBPOL 4280 / ECON 3710 The Economics of Risky Health Behaviors (PUBPOL formerly PAM)
SOC 4120 Health and Social Context

4. Biological Aspects of Public Health Selective (3-4 credits)

Courses should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from a biological perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from a biological perspective (e.g. biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, neuroscience and other biological sciences disciplines).

Must take a minimum of 3 credits.

Choose from the following options:

NS 3060 Nutrition and Global Health
NS 3150 Obesity and the Regulation of Body Weight
NS 4140 Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health
NS 4200 Diet and the Microbiome
NS 4210 Precision Nutrition and Health
NS 4300 Proteins, Transcripts, and Metabolism: Big Data in Molecular Nutrition
NS 4410 Nutrition and Disease
NS 5510 Nutrition Assessment
BIOMG 4390 Molecular Basis of Disease
BIOMG 4870 Human Genomics
BIOMI 2600 Microbiology of Human Contagious Diseases
BIOMI 2950 Biology of Infectious Disease: From Molecules to Ecosystems
BIOMI 3210 Human Microbes and Health
BIOMI 4040 Pathogenic Bacteriology
BIONB 3920 Drugs and the Brain
ENTOM 4000 Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases
PLBIO 2100 Medical Ethnobotany

5. Environmental Health Selective (3-4 credits)

Courses should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from an environmental perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from an environmental perspective (e.g. entomology, design and environmental analysis, microbiology and other related disciplines).

Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000 level or above. See the Requirements for GPHS majors in CHE for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Must take a minimum of 3 credits.

Choose from the following options:

DEA 2700 Healthy Places: Design, Planning and Public Health
GDEV 3020 Political Ecologies of Health (GDEV formerly DSOC)
GDEV 3400 Agriculture, Food Systems and Society (GDEV formerly DSOC)
BIOMI 2500 Public Health Microbiology
BIOMI 2950 Biology of Infectious Disease: From Molecules to Ecosystems
BIOMI 4310 / BIOMS 4310 Medical Parasitology
COMM 2850 / STS 2851 Communication, Environment, Science and Health
ENTOM 2100 / BSOC 2101 Plagues and People
ENTOM 3520 Medical and Veterinary Entomology
ENTOM 4520 Biology of Disease Vectors
FDSC 3960 Food Safety Assurance
PLSCI 2100 Medical Ethnobotany
PLSCI 2400 Green World, Blue Planet
PLSCI 4140 Global Cropping Systems
PLSCI 4450 Urban Plants and Public Health

6. Health Policy and Practice Selective (3-4 credits)

Courses should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from a health policy and/or practice perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from a health policy and/or practice perspective (e.g. policy analysis and management, developmental sociology, economics, government, nutritional sciences and other public policy and practice disciplines).

Choose from the following options, must take a minimum of 3 credits:

NS 4450 / 6450 Toward a Sustainable Global Food System: Food Policy for Developing Countries
NS 4500 Public Health Nutrition
NS 4510 Nutrition and Health Equity
NS 4570 / ECON 3910 Health, Poverty and Inequality
AMST / GOVT 2225, GDEV / ILROB / PUBPOL / SOC 2220, PHIL 1950 Controversies about Inequality
ANTHR / EDUC / FGSS 4458 Women, Girls and Gender in Education
CRP 3430 Affordable Housing Policy and Programs
GDEV 2090 / PUBPOL / SOC 2208 Social Inequality
GDEV 3020 Political Ecologies of Health
GDEV 3700 / SOC 3710 Comparative Social Inequalities
GDEV 4230 Gender and Health: Concepts, Data, Theories and Evidence
GOVT 3032 Politics of Public Policy in the U.S.
HD 4600 Professional Development in Geriatric and Palliative Research (1.5 cr) PUBPOL 2030 Population and Public Policy
PUBPOL 2350 The US Health Care System
PUBPOL 3110 Pharmaceutical Management and Policy
PUBPOL 3230 Public Policy for an Aging Society
PUBPOL 3650 Social Care Navigation to Advance Health Equity
PUBPOL 3780 Sick Around the World? Comparing Health Care Systems Around the World
PUBPOL 3870 / 5870 Economic Evaluations in Health Care

7. Introductory Chemistry (4+ credits)

Choose one of the following:

CHEM 2070 General Chemistry I^{1, 2} and CHEM 2080 General Chemistry II (two-course sequence required for pre-health)
CHEM 2070 General Chemistry I ^{1, 2} (single course not adequate for pre-health)
CHEM 1560 Introduction to General Chemistry¹ (not for pre-health)
CHEM 2150 Honors General and Inorganic Chemistry^{2, 3} (not for pre-health)

¹Students may use an AP Chemistry score of 5 to place out of CHEM 2070. However, GPHS students must take at least one semester of general chemistry at Cornell — i.e., students who use AP credit toward their general chemistry requirement must take an additional chemistry course (e.g., CHEM 2080, CHEM 2150 or other, but not CHEM 1560). Students interested in the pre-health track should take two semesters of general chemistry at Cornell.

²Students who take CHEM 2070 forfeit AP credit. Students who take CHEM 2150 may keep AP credit.

³Students should only select CHEM 2150 if they are very strong in chemistry and are not considering a pre-health (e.g. pre-med) track.

8. Introductory Biology (8 credits)

Choose one of the following labs:

BIOG 1500 Investigative Lab
BIOSM 1500 Investigative Marine Biology Lab

And choose two out of the three lecture options¹:

BIOMG 1350 Cell and Development
BIOG 1440 Comparative Physiology or² BIOG 1445 Comparative Physiology (autotutorial)
BIOEE 1610 Ecology and the Environment or² BIOEE 1780 Evolution and Diversity

¹Students may use an AP Biology score of 5 or IB HL Biology score of 7 to place out of one introductory biology lecture. Pre-health (e.g. pre-med) students should not use AP scores to fulfill biology requirements.

²Cannot take both courses within one category to fulfill this requirement

9. Organic Chemistry Lecture (3+ credits)

Choose one of the following:

CHEM 1570 Elementary Organic Chemistry (S only, not for pre-health)
CHEM 3570 Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences I and CHEM 3580 Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences II
CHEM 3570 Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences I ¹ (single course not adequate for pre-health)
CHEM 3590 Honors Organic Chemistry I and CHEM 3600 Honors Organic Chemistry II²

¹Students interested in pre-health tracks should take a two-course sequence of organic chemistry lectures (option b or d above).

²Students who select option d above must take both courses in sequence; one course alone will not fulfill requirement.

10. Physiology (3-4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

NS 3410 Human Anatomy and Physiology¹
BIOG 1440 Comparative Physiology
BIOG 1445 Comparative Physiology (autotutorial)²
NS 1150 Nutrition, Health and Society
NS 1220 Nutrition and the Life Cycle

¹Pre-health students might also consider taking NS 3420 Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab as a corequisite with NS 3410. Students may also take NS 4430 Applied Anatomy and Physiology after completing NS 3410.

²Can only be used to fulfill physiology requirement if not used to fulfill introductory biology requirement.

11. Biochemistry (4-6 credits)

Choose one of the following:

NS 3200 Introduction to Human Biochemistry
BIOMG 3300 Principles of Biochemistry
BIOMG 3310 Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins and Metabolism and BIOMG 3320 Principles of Biochemistry: Molecular Biology
BIOMG 3310 Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins and Metabolism and BIOMI 2900 General Microbiology
BIOMG 3330 Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins, Metabolism and Molecular Biology
BIOMG 3350 Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins, Metabolism and Molecular Biology

Students who take only one semester of introductory chemistry should talk with faculty advisors and biochemistry instructors as early as possible to determine which biochemistry course is best for them and how they may access resources for the best chance of success.

12. 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

13. First-Year Writing Seminars (6 credits)

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

14. Social Sciences (6 credits)

Choose one course from two of the following four areas:

Anthropology

ANTHR 1400 The Comparison of Cultures

Economics

ECON 1110 Introductory Microeconomics
ECON 1120 Introductory Macroeconomics

Psychology

HD 1130 Introduction to Human Development
PSYCH 1101 Introduction to Psychology

Sociology

SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology

15. Humanities (3 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).

16. Quantitative Analysis(4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

STSCI 2150 Introductory Statistics for Biology (recommended)
BTRY 3010 Biological Statistics I

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

Other statistics courses with a forbidden overlap may not be used to fulfill this requirement.

17. Additional Distribution Coursework (10-12 credits)

Any course with the Course Distribution ALC-AS, ETM-AS, HST-AS, SCD-AS, SSC-AS, SDS-AS, SMR-AS, PBS, SBA, KCM, MQR, LA, CA, or HA. Language courses may count here.

For example, students interested in pre-health tracks or graduate study in pre-physical therapy/exercise sciences could fulfill this requirement by taking:

CHEM 2080 General Chemistry II
CHEM 3570 and 3580 Organic Chemistry (full year sequence)
CHEM 2510 Organic Chemistry Lab
PHYS 1101 and 1102 General Physics I and II (auto-tutorial) or PHYS 2207 and 2208 Fundamentals of Physics I and II

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.