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). 

1. Nutritional Sciences Core Courses (16 credits)

  • NS 1150 Nutrition, Health and Society
  • NS 2450 Social Science Perspective on Food and Nutrition
  • NS 3450 Introduction to Physiochemical and Biological Aspects of Food
  • NS 3310 Nutrient Metabolism
  • NS 3320 Methods in Nutritional Sciences

2. Advanced Electives in Nutrition (9+ credits)

At least 9 credits of NS courses at the 3000 level or above (see below for NS courses at the 3000/4000 level organized by area of interest).

Notes:

  • May include NS 3410 only if BIOAP 3110 is used to fulfill the physiology requirement.
  • May include no more than a total of 3 credits from NS 4000 Directed Readings, NS 4010 Empirical Research, 4020 Supervised Fieldwork, and NS 4990 Honors Research. These credits must be taken for a letter grade. However, if a NS 4020 Supervised Fieldwork experience or section is offered solely on an S/U basis, up to three credits may be applied toward the major requirement.  
  • May not include NS 3200 Introduction to Human Biochemistry, NS 3980 Research in Human Nutrition and Health, or NS 4030 Teaching Apprenticeship. 

Economic Influences on Human Nutrition

  • NS 3060 Nutrition and Global Health
  • NS 4450 / 6455, AEM 4450 / 6455 Toward a Sustainable Global Food System: Food Policy for Developing Countries
  • NS 4480 / 6480 Economics of Food and Malnutrition
  • Text Box 2, TextboxNS 4570 Health, Poverty, and Inequality: A Global Perspective

Nutrition and Public Health

  • NS 3600 Epidemiology
  • NS 4300 Proteins, Transcripts, and Metabolism: Big Data in Molecular Nutrition
  • NS 4500 Public Health Nutrition
  • NS 4510 Nutrition and Health Equity
  • NS 4600 Explorations in Global Health

Food Quality and Food Service Management

  • NS 4880 Applied Dietetics in Foodservice Systems

Human Health and Nutrition

  • NS 3150 / PSYCH 3150 Obesity and the Regulation of Body Weight
  • NS 3420 Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory
  • NS 4140 Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health
  • NS 4200 Diet and the Microbiome
  • NS 4210 Precision Nutrition and Health
  • NS 4330 Nutrition and the Brain
  • NS 4410 Nutrition and Disease
  • NS 4420 Implementation of Nutrition Care
  • NS 4430 Applied Anatomy and Physiology
  • NS 5510 Nutrition Assessment

Nutritional Biochemistry

  • NS 4300 Proteins, Transcripts, and Metabolism: Big Data in Molecular Nutrition
  • NS 6310 Micronutrients: Function, Homeostasis and Assessment
  • NS 6320 Regulation of Macronutrient Metabolism

Psychological and Social Influences on Human Nutrition

  • NS 4250 Nutrition Communications and Counseling

3. Introductory Chemistry (8 credits)

Choose one of the following options: 
 

  • CHEM 2070 General Chemistry I and CHEM 2080 General Chemistry II1
  • (AP Chemistry score of 5 or IB HL Chemistry score of 6 or 7) and CHEM 2080 General Chemistry II 2
  • (AP Chemistry score of 5 or IB HL Chemistry score of 6 or 7) and CHEM 2150 Honors General and Inorganic Chemistry3

1 Recommended for nearly all students, especially those on or considering a pre-health (e.g. pre-med) track.

2 Students may use an AP Chemistry score of 5 or an IB HL Chemistry score of 6 or 7 to place out of CHEM 2070. Pre-health (e.g. pre-med) students should not use AP scores to fulfill chemistry requirements. Students who take CHEM 2070 forfeit AP or IB credit.

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

4. 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

1 Students 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. 

5. Organic Chemistry Lecture (3-8 credits)1

Choose one of the following:

  • CHEM 1570 Elementary Organic Chemistry (not for pre-health)
  • CHEM 3570 Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences I AND CHEM 3580 Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences II1
  • CHEM 3590 Honors Organic Chemistry I AND CHEM 3600 Honors Organic Chemistry II2

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

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

6. Organic Chemistry Lab (2-4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

  • CHEM 2510 Introduction to Experimental Organic Chemistry
  • CHEM 3010 Honors Experimental Chemistry

7. Physiology (3-4 credits)1

Choose one of the following:

  • NS 3410 Human Anatomy and Physiology
  • BIOAP 3110 Animal Physiology

1 Pre-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. 

8. 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 (F) 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

9. 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  

10. First-Year Writing Seminars (6 credits)

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

11. Social Sciences (6 credits)

Choose one course in any 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

12. 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). 

13. Calculus/Advanced Math (3-4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

  • MATH 1105 Finite Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences (Not for pre-health)
  • MATH 1106 Calculus for the Life and Social Sciences
  • MATH 1110 Calculus I
  • MATH 1120 Calculus II
  • A score of 4 or higher on the AB or BC Calculus AP Exam* Not for pre-health 

*Unless a student scored a 4 or 5 on both the Statistics and the BC Calculus AP Examinations, they must take either statistics or calculus at Cornell.

  • AP Statistics Only (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill statistics requirement
  • AP Calculus AB Only (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill calculus requirement
  • AP Calculus BC Only (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill calculus requirement
  • AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill either calculus or statistics requirement.
  • AP Calculus BC and AP Statistics (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill both the calculus and statistics requirements.

14. Quantitative Analysis (3-4 credits)

Choose one of the following: 

  • STSCI 2150 Introductory Statistics for Biology (recommended)1
  • PUBPOL 2100 Introduction to Statistics
  • AEM 2100 Introductory Statistics
  • BTRY 3010 Biological Statistics I
  • ILRST/STSCI 2100 Introductory Statistics
  • MATH 1710 Statistical Theory and Application in the Real World
  • PSYCH 2500 Statistics and Research Design
  • SOC 3010 Statistics for Sociological Research
  • A score of 4 or 5 on the Statistics AP Exam2

1 Students planning to take NS 3600 Epidemiology must take either STSCI 2150 or BTRY 3010.

2 Unless a student scored a [4 or 5] on both the Statistics and the BC Calculus AP Examinations, they must take either Statistics or Calculus at Cornell.

  • AP Statistics Only (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill statistics requirement
  • AP Calculus AB Only (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill calculus requirement
  • AP Calculus BC Only (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill calculus requirement
  • AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill either calculus or statistics requirement.
  • AP Calculus BC and AP Statistics (score of 4 or 5) — May use AP credit to fulfill both the calculus and statistics requirements.

15. Electives (Variable)

Any courses that are not taken in Areas 1-14 above count as electives.

Students interested in pre-health tracks or graduate study in biological, medical or exercise sciences should take one of the following:

  • PHYS 1101 and 1102 General Physics (auto-tutorial)
  • PHYS 2207 and 2208 Fundamentals of Physics

16. 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.

17. 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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