Undergraduate Studies

Human Ecology’s applied, pre-professional curriculum is organized around contemporary social topics or themes - Design and Technology, Development and the Life Course, Economic and Social Well-being, and Human Nutrition, health and Genomics - not simply academic disciplines. Our academic majors are firmly grounded in the social, natural and physical sciences, and design to create dynamic, interdisciplinary fields of study. This allows our students to explore their interests in a broader context, and to understand and analyze issues from multiple perspectives.

While our programs are focused on pre-professional study, there is no prescribed way to prepare for careers in health/medicine, law, or business, or just one way to be creative in the college or at Cornell University. Any major allows students to take prerequisite courses for professional and graduate school.

All of our undergraduate programs result in a Bachelor of Science degree.

Experiential learning is another important part of the Human Ecology education. Most undergraduates participate in at least one internship/externship during their time here, and many more conduct research through our college departments and across the university. Study away programs also provide our students with outstanding real-world opportunities to apply their education.

We encourage you to learn more about our programs and how they can be applied to your interests.

our admissions process is comprehensive as we craft our community of scholars and leaders. In addition to established academic success and rigor, we are interested in students who understand how our programs can help them affect change in communities and who can see beyond their own experiences. We encourage prospective freshmen to attend a College of Human Ecology information session and prospective transfers to schedule a phone or in-person appointment with an Admissions Counselor. We also encourage students to carefully review our online and printed publications.