Cornell University Registrar

Program Description

Public health is the prevention of illness and promotion of wellness in communities, both large and small. The Global & Public Health Sciences (GPHS) major teaches the tools of public health research, action, and their application to population health issues in the U.S. and globally. The work of public health professionals is distinct from the work of clinical professionals, who typically treat individuals after they have become sick or injured. Public health actions often involve educational and/or governmental approaches that influence many people simultaneously, for example, to address issues such as obesity and diabetes, food security, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, quality of food, water and air, and access to health care. Sustained improvement of the health of populations often requires a multidisciplinary approach involving the biomedical, behavioral, social, political and environmental sciences, and careful consideration of the importance of cultural and ethical contexts.

The GPHS major is intended for students who are interested in:

• Health problems of communities as small as a village and as large as a country, and the actions that will protect or improve the lives of large numbers of individuals within communities
• Advanced study leading leadership positions in governmental or non-governmental organizations that deal directly with current and emerging health concerns in the U.S. or internationally

Academic Standards

• All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade.
• A passing grade must be earned to meet major requirements within a course.
• In addition to the major requirements outlined below, all students must meet their college graduation requirements.​

Program Information

• Program Mode of Delivery: In Person
• Program Location: Ithaca, NY
• Minimum Credits for Degree: 120

Program Requirements

In addition to college distribution requirements, students in the Global & Public Health Sciences Major must complete a minimum of 59 credits as listed below.

Global & Public Health Core Courses (14 Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
NS 1600	Introduction to Public Health	3
NS 2060	Preparation for Engaged Learning in Global and Public Health Sciences	2
NS 2600	Introduction to Global Health	3
NS 3600	Epidemiology	3
NS 4600	Explorations in Global and Public Health	3

Supervised Experiential Learning Opportunity (ELO) in Global & Public Health (Variable Credit)

Students will apply their classroom-based learning to address a global or public health issue through an experience of at least 6 weeks and 150 hours in duration. Department approval is required. Students must take NS 2060 before their ELO and complete their ELO before the fall semester of senior year. 

A reflection course is required to earn credit for the ELO and may be satisfied by the following:  

NS 4060 Experiential Learning in Global and Public Health Sciences (1 cr) OR 

NS 4997 Experiential Learning in Global and Public Health in Washington, DC (4 cr) 

Social & 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).

See the Requirements for GPHS majors for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Choose from the following options, must take a minimum of 3 credits. Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following options:
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
HD 4600	Professional Development in Geriatric and Palliative Research
GDEV 3020	Political Ecologies of Health
PUBPOL 3180	Health Disparities
PUBPOL/GDEV 3280	Fundamentals of Population Health
PUBPOL 4280/ECON 3710	The Economics of Risky Health Behaviors
SOC 4120	Health and Social Context

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). Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above. 

See the Requirements for GPHS majors for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years. 

Choose from the following options, must take a minimum of 3 credits. Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of 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 and Cellular Basis of Human Disease
BIOMG 4870	Human Genomics
BIOMI 2600	Microbiology of Human Contagious Diseases
BIOMI 2950	Biology of Infectious Disease: From Molecules to Ecosystems
BIOMI 3210	The Gut Microbiome
BIOMI 4040	Pathogenic Bacteriology
BIONB 3920	Drugs and the Brain
ENTOM 4000	Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases
PLSCI 2100	Medical Ethnobotany

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 for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years. 

Choose from the following options, must take a minimum of 3 credits. Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following options:
DEA 2700	Healthy Places: Design, Planning and Public Health
GDEV 3020	Political Ecologies of Health
GDEV 3400	Agriculture, Food, Sustainability and Social Justice
BIOMI 2500	Public Health Microbiology
BIOMI 2950	Biology of Infectious Disease: From Molecules to Ecosystems
BIOMI/BIOMS 4310	Medical Parasitology
COMM 2850/STS 2851	Communication, Environment, Science, and Health
ENTOM 2100/BSOC 2101	Plagues and People
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 and Sustainable Development
PLSCI 4450	Urban Plants and Public Health

Health Policy & 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). Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above. 

See the Requirements for GPHS majors for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years. 

Choose from the following options, must take a minimum of 3 credits. Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be at the 2000-level or above.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following:
NS 4450	Toward a Sustainable Global Food System: Food Policy for Developing Countries
NS 4500	Public Health Nutrition
NS 4510	Nutrition and Health Equity
NS 4570	Health, Poverty, and Inequality: A Global Perspective
AMST 2225	Controversies About Inequality
ANTHR 4458	Girls, Women, and Education
CRP 3430	Affordable Housing Policy and Programs
GDEV 3020	Political Ecologies of Health
GDEV 3700	Comparative Social Inequalities
GOVT 3032	Politics of Public Policy in the U.S.
HD 4600	Professional Development in Geriatric and Palliative Research
PUBPOL 2030	Population and Public Policy
PUBPOL 2050	Critical Perspectives in Global Health and Policy
PUBPOL 2208	Social Inequality
PUBPOL 2350	The U.S. Health Care System
PUBPOL 3110	Pharmaceutical Management and Policy
PUBPOL 3230	Public Policy for an Aging Society
PUBPOL 3320	Mental Health Care Delivery and Policy
PUBPOL 3650	Social Care Navigation to Advance Health Equity
PUBPOL 3780	Global Comparative Health Care Systems
PUBPOL 3870	Economic Evaluations in Health Care
PUBPOL 4370	The Economics of Health Care Markets

Introductory Chemistry (4-8 Credits)

This fulfills the college distribution natural sciences requirement.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following options:
OPTION A: (two-semester sequence required for pre-health)
CHEM 2070 & CHEM 2071 & CHEM 2080 & CHEM 2081	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory and General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Laboratory
OPTION B: (single semester not adequate for pre-health)
CHEM 2070 & CHEM 2071	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory 1, 2
OPTION C: (not for pre-health)
CHEM 1560 & CHEM 1561	Introduction to General Chemistry and Introduction to General Chemistry Laboratory 1
OPTION D: (not for pre-health)
AP Chemistry Score of 5 AND
CHEM 2080 & CHEM 2081	General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Laboratory
OPTION E: (not for pre-health)
AP Chemistry Score of 5 AND
CHEM 2150	Honors General and Inorganic Chemistry 2, 3

¹

Students may use an AP Chemistry score of 5 to place out of CHEM 2070 + CHEM 2071. 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 general chemistry course (i.e., CHEM 2080 + CHEM 2081, CHEM 2150, or other, but not CHEM 1560 + CHEM 1561). Students interested in the pre-health track should take two semesters of chemistry at Cornell.

²

Students who take CHEM 2070 + CHEM 2071 forfeit AP credit. Students who take CHEM 2150 may keep AP credit.

³

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

Introductory Biology (8 Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following labs:
BIOG 1500	Investigative Biology Laboratory
BIOSM 1500	Investigative Marine Biology Laboratory
Select two out of the three lecture options: 4
BIOMG 1350	Introductory Biology: Cell and Developmental Biology
BIOG 1440	Introductory Biology: Comparative Physiology 5
or BIOG 1445	Introduction to Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, Individualized Instruction
BIOEE 1610	Introductory Biology: Ecology and the Environment 5
or BIOEE 1780	An Introduction to Evolutionary Biology and Diversity

⁴

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

⁵

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

Organic Chemistry Lecture (3+ Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following options:
OPTION A:
CHEM 1570	Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry (not for pre-health)
OPTION B:
CHEM 3530	Principles of Organic Chemistry
OPTION C:
CHEM 3570 & CHEM 3580	Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences and Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences
OPTION D:
CHEM 3570	Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences (single course not adequate for pre-health) 6
OPTION E:
CHEM 3590 & CHEM 3600	Honors Organic Chemistry I and Honors Organic Chemistry II 7

⁶

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

⁷

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

Physiology (3-4 Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following:
NS 1150	Nutrition, Health, and Society
NS 1220	Nutrition and the Life Cycle
NS 3410	Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOG 1440	Introductory Biology: Comparative Physiology 8
or BIOG 1445	Introduction to Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, Individualized Instruction

⁸

Cannot take both to fulfill this requirement. Can only be used to fulfill the physiology requirement if not used to fulfill the introductory biology requirement.

Biochemistry (4-6 Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following: 9
NS 3200	Introduction to Human Biochemistry
BIOMG 3300	Principles of Biochemistry, Individualized Instruction
BIOMG 3310 & BIOMG 3320	Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins and Metabolism and Principles of Biochemistry: Molecular Biology 2
BIOMG 3310 & BIOMI 2900	Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins and Metabolism and General Microbiology Lectures 3
BIOMG 3350	Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins, Metabolism, and Molecular Biology (S)

⁹

Students who take only one semester of introductory chemistry should talk with their 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.

Statistics (4 Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following: 10, 11
STSCI 2150	Introductory Statistics for Biology	4
or STSCI 2200	Statistics I

University Graduation Requirements

Requirements for All Students

In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.

Academic Requirements

A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.

Non-academic Requirements

Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.

Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.

Additional Requirements for Undergraduate Students

The University has two requirements for graduation that must be fulfilled by all undergraduate students: the swim requirement, and completion of two physical education courses. For additional information about fulfilling University Graduation Requirements, see the Physical Education website.

Physical Education

All undergraduate students are required to take two credits (two courses) of Physical Education prior to graduation. It is recommended they complete the two courses during their first year at Cornell. Credit in Physical Education may be earned by participating in courses offered by the Department of Athletics and Physical Education and Cornell Outdoor Education, by being a registered participant on a varsity athletic team, or performing in the marching band.

Students with medical concerns should contact the Office of Student Disability Services. 

College of Human Ecology Graduation Requirements

Students are responsible for monitoring their progress toward graduation by regularly reviewing degree requirements and their official transcript. Official transcripts may be requested through the Office of the University Registrar.

Students are expected to plan their course selections carefully to ensure all major, college, and university graduation requirements are completed within eight semesters. Once all requirements have been satisfied, the College will confer the degree; students should therefore monitor their progress closely.

Minor programs, honors programs, research, and other enrichment opportunities are not considered degree requirements. Students who complete all university, college, and major degree requirements will have their degree conferred in the term in which those requirements are satisfied and may not extend enrollment solely to complete non‑degree requirements or activities.

Transfer students may be allotted fewer semesters depending on the number of transferable credits awarded at admission. Students who require additional time to complete degree requirements must meet with a Human Ecology College Advisor (1210 MVR Hall) and be approved through the formal petition process.

Credit Requirements

Cornell Credit Requirements

• To graduate, a student must earn a minimum of 120 academic credits. Physical education credits and 10XX courses do not count toward the 120 required credits.
• Of the 120 credits required to graduate, at least 60 credits must be earned at Cornell University (applicable to transfer students).
• Students who matriculate as first-years may apply a maximum of 15 non-Cornell credits earned prior to matriculation (including AP, IB, and approved college-level coursework) toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
• Transfer students may apply up to 60 non-Cornell credits earned prior to matriculation, as awarded at the time of admission. After matriculation, all students (both first-year and transfer) may apply a maximum of 15 extramural credits (coursework taken outside of Cornell) toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
• No college credit earned before matriculation and used to meet Cornell's minimum admission requirements may be counted in the 120 credits required for graduation. This policy does not apply to transfer students.
• Courses taught by a college in the high school setting or counted toward high school graduation are not allowed to count for either credits or fulfillment of requirements.
• Strict limitations exist on the number of credits that can be applied toward the 120-credit minimum for special studies courses (including but not limited to 4000, 4010, 4020), for 4030 courses, and for courses taken with an optional S–U grade. Details follow.

Human Ecology Core Requirement^1,2

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Core Courses
HE 1800	Blazing Your Trail in Human Ecology (Required in the first fall semester of matriculation to Human Ecology) 1
HE 1850	Introduction to Human Ecology (Required in the first spring semester of matriculation to Human Ecology)
HE 2000	Social Justice, Thriving, and the Human Experience 2

¹

Internal and external transfer students are exempt from HE 1800.

²

Internal and external transfer students must complete HE 2000 in their first fall semester in Human Ecology.

Human Ecology Distribution Requirement

Students must complete the college distribution requirements listed below. Each course applied to a distribution category must be a minimum of 3 credits, and the total credits in each category must meet the specified requirement (3 or 6 credits).  A list of courses that fulfill each Distribution Requirement code can be found on the College of Human Ecology Distribution Requirement Course List page of this catalog.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Natural Sciences 3		6
Courses that carry any of the following distribution codes will count toward the Natural Sciences requirement:
BIO-AG, BIO-AS, BSC-AG, PBS-HE, PHS-AS, PSC-AG
Social Sciences		6
Courses that carry any of the following distribution codes will count toward the Social Sciences requirement:
ETH-AG, ETM-AS, KCM-AG, KCM-HE, SBA-AG, SBA-HE, SSC-AAP, SSC-AS, SSC-HA
Humanities		3
Courses that carry any of the following distribution codes will count toward the Humanities requirement:
ALC-AAP, ALC-AS, ALC-HA, CA-AG, CA-HE, HA-AG, HA-HE, HST-AS, LA-AG
Quantitative Analysis		3
Courses that carry any of the following distribution codes will count toward the Quantitative Analysis requirement:
DLG-AG, DLS-AG, MQL-AG, MQR-AAP, MQR-HE
First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS) - Must be completed during the first two semesters at Cornell 4		6
Select one of the following options:
Two Knight Program First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS) courses
One Knight Program First-Year Writing Seminar course and a score of 5* on AP English Language or AP English Literature
One Knight Program First-Year Writing Seminar course and a score of 7* on IB English Literature or IB English Language

³

Courses with exam credit may not count.

⁴

Juniors, seniors, and transfer students may use ENGL 2880 Expository Writing to satisfy one First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS) requirement. For additional information on FWS courses and guidelines, please visit the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines.

45 Human Ecology Credit Requirement^4,5,6

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Students must complete a minimum of 45 credits from the following Human Ecology subject areas:		45
Design and Environmental Analysis (DEA)
Fiber Science & Apparel Design (FSAD)
Human Development (HD)
Human Ecology non-departmental (HE) at the 1500 level or higher
Nutritional Sciences (NS)
Public Policy (PUBPOL)

⁴

Courses that fulfill College Distribution or Major Requirements may not be taken S–U unless S–U is the only grading option available.

⁵

Courses taken S–U that count toward Electives may also be applied to the 45-credit requirement.

⁶

Students should refer to the S–U grading section for complete policy details.

Minimum Semester Requirements

Students enrolling in the college as first‑years must enroll in a minimum of one 3‑credit course each semester in HE for their first four semesters, excluding winter and summer sessions (i.e., fall and spring semesters only). Students must carry 12 credits each semester, excluding physical education.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement for Graduation

Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (C) or better to graduate.

Degree Requirements by Catalog Year

 All degree requirements are based on the term in which the student matriculated to Human Ecology with no exceptions. If a student changes majors within Human Ecology, they should speak with the Human Ecology College Advisor or Registrar to discuss options. 

Special Studies

• A maximum of 12 credits of special study course work from Human Ecology or other colleges will count towards the 120 overall credits. Courses will be indicated on the class roster with a Component of either IND or RSC. Additional special study credits may be taken but will not be applied toward the student’s major, college, or university degree requirements.
• A maximum of 12 credits of 4000-4030 may count toward the 45 HE credit requirement.

10XX Courses

10XX‑numbered courses do not count toward graduation requirements but do count toward full‑time enrollment status.

S-U Grade Options

The S‑U grading option may not be used for College Distribution courses or required major courses unless it is the only grading option available for the course. S‑U grading may be applied to courses taken to fulfill the Outside‑of‑Major requirement and to elective courses.

Students may apply no more than 12 credits of S‑U graded coursework toward the 120 credits required for graduation. Required courses that are offered only on an S‑U basis do not count toward this limit. In addition, Honors Research (4990) taken S‑U is excluded from the 12‑credit maximum. Students may enroll in additional S‑U courses beyond this limit; however, those credits will not be applied toward graduation requirements.

Advanced Placement and Advanced Standing Credit

Learning Outcomes

Upon graduation with the GPHS major, students should be able to:

• Integrate knowledge from the biological and social sciences and experiential learning to address public health problems facing populations.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the complex and evolving nature of scientific knowledge in the promotion of health and the etiology and prevention of disease.
• Demonstrate the ability to use epidemiological principles to evaluate critically scientific information from the primary research literature investigating influences on human health and disease.
• Develop positions on public health issues. Communicate positions on public health issues to colleagues and lay/target audiences.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ethical principles, considerations and dilemmas relevant to the research and practice of public health.