Graduation Requirements

1. Credit Requirements: 120 academic credits, of which a minimum of 55 must be taken from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell. A minimum of 100 credits must be in courses for which a letter grade was received (see below for courses that ‘do not’ count as academic credit).
2. Physical Education: Successful completion of two one-credit non-academic PE Cornell courses with a satisfactory grade (SX) and successful completion of the swim test. Note: PE credit does not count toward the 120 credits needed to graduate or toward the 12-credit minimum required for good academic standing each semester. (see the physical education site for more information)
3. Residency: Eight semesters of full-time study are expected. External transfer students are credited with one semester in residence for each full-time semester (or equivalent) earned at another accredited institution.
4. GPA: Minimum cumulative GPA: 2.00 or above must be maintained. The cumulative GPA includes all letter grades earned at Cornell.
5. Physical and Life Sciences: 18 credits in at least three disciplines of which six credits must be introductory life sciences/biology and three credits in chemistry or physics.
6. Quantitative Literacy: Faculty legislation requires minimum competency in quantitative literacy. This requirement can be satisfied by taking an approved calculus or statistics class.
7. Social Science and Humanities: Students must complete four courses of 3 or more credits each from seven categories of courses in the humanities and social sciences.  At least one course MUST be completed in three different categories. Human Diversity (D) is a required category and MUST be completed. No more than two courses in the same department will be counted toward the distribution requirement.
8. Written and Oral Expression: nine credits total, of which at least six must be in written expression. Oral expression is not required by the college but may be required for some majors.  If not required, all nine credits may be in written expression.
9. Major: see individual department listings for major requirements.
10. Application to Graduate: see ‘Graduation.’

Undergraduates are responsible for knowing and fulfilling the requirements for graduation and for alerting the college to any problems with their records. To check on their progress toward the degree, students are urged to consult their faculty advisor and to check their DUST (Distributed Undergraduate Student Tracking) degree progress report. The DUST report is updated after each semester to reflect the student’s progress in college requirements. To check on the progress in the major, students should consult their major advisors.

Credit Requirements:

1. Minimum total credits: 120 academic credits are required for graduation.

Important Exceptions:

• Repeated Cornell courses increase the number of credits required for graduation by the number of credits in the course.  These credits do count toward the minimum 12 credits required for full-time status.
• Forbidden Overlaps do count toward the minimum 12 credits required for good academic standing and full-time status. Completing a forbidden overlap course at Cornell will increase the number of credits required for graduation by the number of credits in the class. More information found under the course enrollment page  . 
• Review or supplemental courses (e.g., 1000- to 1099-level) increase the number of credits required for graduation by the number of credits in the course.  These credits do not count toward the minimum 12 credits required for full-time status.
• Physical Education courses do not count toward 120 credits for graduation.  They do not count toward the minimum 12 credits required for full-time status.

2. Minimum Credits at Cornell: 60 academic credits must be completed at Cornell (includes CALS Exchange, Education Abroad, Cornell in Rome, Capital Semester, and Cornell in Washington).

3. Maximum Non-Cornell Credits:  60 non-Cornell credits (AP, CASE, IB, GCE, French Baccalauréat, Cambridge Pre-University, and external transfer coursework) can be applied toward degree requirements.  A first-year student can transfer in 15 academic credits before the first semester in CALS (AP, CASE, IB, GCE, French Baccalauréat, and external transfer credits).

4. Minimum Credits from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: 55 CALS credits are required for graduation; CALS credits include all courses from departments within CALS and courses offered in Applied Economics and Management, Biological Sciences, Biology & Society, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Environment and Sustainability, Information Science, Nutritional Science, and The Department of Statistics and Data Science.

5. Minimum Letter-Graded Credits: 100 (Proration Chart for Non-Cornell credit).

6. Maximum Credits earned through Special Studies (Independent Study, Research, Teaching Assistantships, and/or Internships): 15 credits of “unstructured” coursework can be applied toward graduation requirements (Proration Chart for Non-Cornell credit).

Physical Education Requirement:

Exception: Students who externally transfer to Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from another accredited college or university are exempt from the physical education requirement and swim test.

Physical Education Requirement*: Successful completion of two 1-credit non-academic PE Cornell courses with a satisfactory grade (SX). Students are expected to complete the Physical Education Requirement in their first two semesters at Cornell.

*Note: Physical education credit does not count toward the 120 credits needed to graduate or toward the 12-credit minimum required for full-time status.

Swimming Requirement: Successful completion of the swim test. Swim tests are recommended to be completed as part of the orientation process.

Residency Requirements:

1. Eight semesters of full-time study are expected. External transfer students are credited with one semester in residence for each full-time semester (or equivalent) earned at another accredited institution.
2. Internal transfer students must be enrolled in CALS for at least two semesters.
3. The final semester before graduation must be completed in a Cornell program as a full-time student. (The School of Continuing Education does not count towards a final semester in residency.)
4. Students in the ninth (or equivalent) and final semester may be eligible to apply for prorated tuition. The eligibility criteria are listed online.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements:

Minimum cumulative GPA: 2.00 or above must be maintained. Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better to graduate. The cumulative GPA includes all letter grades earned at Cornell.  

Distribution Requirements:

The purpose of the distribution requirement is to have all students achieve common learning outcomes. It is expected that through college and major course requirements graduates will be able to:

• Explain, evaluate, and effectively interpret factual claims, theories and assumptions in the student’s discipline(s) (especially in one or more of the college’s priority areas of Food & Energy Systems, Social Sciences, Life Sciences and Environmental Sciences) and more broadly in the sciences and humanities.
• Find, access, critically evaluate, and ethically use information.
• Integrate quantitative and qualitative information to reach defensible and creative conclusions.
• Communicate effectively through writing, speech, and visual information.
• Articulate the views of people with diverse perspectives.
• Demonstrate the capability to work both independently and in cooperation with others.

Through the study of the physical and life sciences, students develop their understanding and appreciation of the physical sciences, enhance their quantitative reasoning skills, and gain an appreciation of the variability of living organisms. The social sciences and humanities give students perspective on the structure and values of the society in which we live, and prepare them to make decisions on ethical issues that will affect their work and role in society. Written and oral expression is designed to help students become competent and confident in the use of oral and written communication to express themselves and their ideas.

Important Notes:
Credits received for independent study, fieldwork, teaching, research, work experience, and internships cannot be used to fulfill the distribution requirement.  Review or supplemental courses, such as 1000- to 1099-level courses, will not be counted in the distribution areas.

First-Year Writing Seminars (FWS) cannot be used to satisfy the Physical and Life Sciences distribution area.