Departments & Fields of Study: Biological Sciences Minor - Cornell University

Courses of Study 2020-2021

Apr 25, 2025

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The Minor in Biological Sciences
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The Minor in Biological Sciences:

The minor in biological sciences has been designed to provide students with significant flexibility to choose courses of interest within biology. With a few exceptions, students enrolled in any major at Cornell may complete the minor. The following majors are ineligible to minor in biological sciences: Biology & Society; Entomology; Human Biology, Health & Society; Nutritional Sciences; Plant Sciences.

Students interested in the minor are encouraged to meet with an advisor in the Office of Undergraduate Biology. Please see the OUB website for walk-in advising office hours or call the OUB at (607) 255-5233 to arrange an appointment.

To complete the minor, students must submit the Application to Certify Completion of Biological Sciences Minor form once they completed all courses for the minor or during their last semester of enrollment. The OUB will notify the student’s college Registrar that the minor has been certified and a notation will be made on the student’s transcript.

Requirements:

All courses for the minor must be taken for a letter grade unless a course is offered S/U only. Grades of D- or better count toward the minor.
Only 2 courses may be used to fulfill both the biology minor requirements and major requirements.
Advanced Placement credits earned in biology may not be used toward the 21 credits required for the minor.
Once a student is matriculated, all courses for the minor must be taken at Cornell or through a study abroad program approved by Cornell. External transfer students and students who study abroad may apply up to 4 credits from another institution to count toward minor requirements. Students should consult with the OUB.

21 credits of approved biology coursework chosen from the following:

BIOMG 1350 - Introductory Biology: Cell and Developmental Biology
BIOG 1440 - Introductory Biology: Comparative Physiology OR
BIOG 1445 - Introduction to Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, Individualized Instruction
BIOG 1500 - Investigative Biology Laboratory
BIOSM 1500 - Investigative Marine Biology Laboratory
BIOEE 1540 - Introductory Oceanography (crosslisted)
BIOEE 1610 - Introductory Biology: Ecology and the Environment
BIOSM 1610 - Ecology and the Marine Environment
BIOEE 1780 - An Introduction to Evolutionary Biology and Diversity
BIOSM 1780 - Evolution and Marine Diversity
BIOEE 1781 - [Introduction to Evolution and Diversity]
Courses with significant biology content that count toward any of the 14 biological sciences concentrations at a level of 2000 or higher (i.e. Chem, Math, CS courses do not count).
Courses with a BIOXX prefix at a level of 2000 or higher.
Other courses with significant biological content at a level of 2000 or higher may be approved via the biological sciences petition.
One course worth 2 or more credits must be a course with a laboratory component, a laboratory course or a field course.BIOG 2990 may not be used. Up to 3 credits of BIOG 4990 may be used to fulfill this requirement.

The Minor in Biological Sciences:

Requirements:

21 credits of approved biology coursework chosen from the following:

Courses that won’t count toward minor:

Office of the University Registrar