Biology & Society

In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences .

Faculty
Admission to the Major
Major Requirements
Independent Study
The Honors Program

The Biology & Society major provides the skills and perspectives necessary to confront problems with biological, social, and ethical dimensions. The Biology & Society major is suited for students who wish to combine training in biology with perspectives from the social sciences and humanities aspects of modern biology. Because the Biology & Society major is multidisciplinary, students must attain a basic understanding of each of the several disciplines it comprises, by including courses in the fields of biology, humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. In addition, majors take core courses in Biology & Society, and a set of electives, and a special senior seminar that comprises their theme. Students are expected to select their theme courses to meet their own goals and interests in consultation with a faculty advisor. Some areas of interest may be genetic engineering, the right to medical care, health and society, biology and public policy, food and population, and environment and society, to name a few.

Course work in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences may be selected from theme concentrations in Biology & Business; Environment and Society; Health and Society; Biology, Behavior and Society, to name a few. Students may also develop their own individually tailored theme, in consultation with a faculty advisor. For further information on the major, including courses of related interest, see Suman Seth, advising coordinator, in 303 Morrill, or contact him by email at ss536@cornell.edu.

The Biology & Society major, which involves faculty from throughout the university, is offered by the Department of Science & Technology Studies. Students in the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are eligible for the major. The major is coordinated for students in both colleges through the Biology & Society Office in 303 Morrill, (607) 255-6047. All Biology & Society courses can count towards credits in either the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences or the College of Arts and Sciences.

Website: www.sts.cornell.edu

Faculty

R. Prentice (Fall)/M. Ziewitz (Spring), director of undergraduate studies, College of Arts and Sciences; R. Wayne, advising coordinator, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; E. Cohn, W. Crepet, J. Davis, P. Dear, G. W. Feigenson, C. Greene, L. Harrington, S. Hilgartner, T. J. Hinrichs, B. Johnson, B. Knuth, S. Langwick, C. Leuenberger, B. V. Lewenstein, J. Losey, M. Lynch, K. McComas, S. McCouch, S. Nicholson, J. Niederdeppe, M. Pfeffer, T. Pinch, A. G. Power, S. Pritchard, J. Ratcliff, C. Roby, A. Sachs, S. Seth, J. Sipple, R. Slayton, R. Stedman, B. Strupp, J. Tantillo, J. Thies, M. Vitousek, R. Wayne, E. Wethington, W. White, T. Whitlow, S. Wolf.

Biology & Society Major:

Admission to the Major:

Because of the interdisciplinary nature and flexibility of the Biology & Society major, we do not allow students to triple major. All students should have completed a year of college-level biology or two entry-level biology courses before submitting an application during their sophomore year. An application deadline is in effect each semester for CALS students; please check with the department for deadline dates. A&S students are encouraged to apply during that time, but applications will be accepted after the deadline of their sophomore year. Applying during this period will ensure an optimal advising experience prior to pre-enrollment. Juniors are considered on a case-by-case basis. Upper-division applicants should realize the difficulties of completing the major requirements in fewer than two years. Freshmen admitted to the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences as Biology & Society majors are considered to have been admitted to the major on a provisional basis, contingent on successful completion of the course requirement in introductory biology and submission of the application to the university major. The application includes (1) a one-page statement explaining the student’s intellectual interests in the Biology & Society major and why the major is consistent with the student’s academic goals and interests; (2) the theme the student wishes to pursue in the major; (3) a tentative plan of courses fulfilling Biology & Society requirements, including courses already taken and those the student plans to take; and (4) a transcript of work completed at Cornell University (and elsewhere, if applicable), current as of the date of application.

Acceptance into the major requires completion of the course sequence in introductory biology with a minimum grade of C-. Sophomores in the process of completing this prerequisite may be admitted to the major on a provisional basis. It is the student’s responsibility to assure that final acceptance is granted upon satisfactory completion of the introductory biology requirement. Although only introductory biological science is a prerequisite for acceptance, students find it useful to have completed some of the other requirements (listed below) by the end of their sophomore year, preferably by the end of the first semester. Students who are considering the major may also find it beneficial to take STS 2011 - What Is Science? An Introduction to the Social Studies of Science and Technology , in their freshman or sophomore year.

Note: Biology and Society majors may not double major in Biological Sciences. This policy will apply to new students entering Fall 2018.

Major Requirements:

No single course may satisfy more than one major requirement. All courses must be taken for a letter grade and at least 3 credits. For a course to count towards the major, students must receive at least a C- as a final grade.

I. Prerequisite and Basic Courses:

a. Introductory Biology:

Starting with the Class of 2014, AP credit will no longer be accepted by the Biology & Society major to fulfill the Intro Bio requirement. See the DUS or Advising Staff in 303 Morrill Hall (sms252@cornell.edu) for other options.

b. College calculus (one course:)

MATH 1106 - Calculus for the Life and Social Sciences
MATH 1110 - Calculus I
MATH 1120 - Calculus II
or any higher-level calculus course.

c. Recommended but not required:

General chemistry (one-year sequence) (prerequisite to biochemistry and other chemistry courses):

II. Foundation Courses:

(Should be completed by end of junior year.) Foundation courses are intended to provide a broad introduction to methodology and theory in their area.

All courses must be above the 1000-level, at least 3 credit hours, and taken for a letter grade. For a course to count towards the major, students must receive at least a C- as a final grade.

a. Ethics:

One course (should be completed by end of junior year).

b. Social sciences/humanities foundation:

Two courses; one from any two of the following subject areas:

History of science
Philosophy of science
Sociology of science
Politics of science
Science communication
Literature and Science

c. Biology foundation (breadth requirement):

Three courses; one each from three of the following subject areas:

Anatomy and physiology
Animal behavior
Biochemistry, molecular and cell biology
Biological diversity
Ecology
Genetics and development
Neurobiology
Nutrition

d. Biology foundation (Depth requirement):

One biology course for which one of the above (2c) is a prerequisite. (Contact dept for list of approved nutrition depth courses)

e. Statistics:

One course.

III. Core Course:

One course. Should be completed by end of junior year.

IV. Theme:

(Five courses that correspond to the theme selected by the student). These courses must be above the 1000-level, at least 3 credit hours, and taken for a letter grade. For a course to count towards the major, students must receive at least a C- as a final grade. Choose these courses as follows:

Natural science issues/biology elective (two courses). Select from the list of BSOC approved natural science issues courses or choose course(s) with introductory biology as a prerequisite.
Humanities/social sciences electives (two courses). Courses from the list of senior seminars may be used as theme electives if not used to meet another requirement, or select humanities or social sciences courses in consultation with the faculty advisor.
Senior seminar (one course taken junior or senior year). Courses change yearly.

Note:

Students may petition to take a second statistics course (an advanced course, in sequence with the statistics course taken in the foundation) in place of the calculus requirement.

A list of approved depth courses using NS 1150 and NS 1220 as a prerequisite is available in 303 Morrill Hall. (Courses are subject to change.)

First-year writing seminars and introductory courses may not be used to fulfill major requirements.

Independent Study:

Permission of faculty supervisor required. Enrollment limited to: biology and society majors. To apply for independent study, please complete the on-line form.

Projects under the direction of a Biology & Society faculty member are encouraged as part of the program of study in the student’s theme area. Applications for research projects are accepted by individual faculty members. Students may enroll for 1–4 credits in BSOC 3751 - Independent Study with written permission of the faculty supervisor and may elect either the letter grade or the S–U option. Students may elect to do an independent study project as an alternative to, or in advance of an honors project. Information on faculty research, scholarly activities, and undergraduate opportunities are available in the Biology & Society office, 303 Morrill Hall. Independent study credits may not be used in completion of the major requirements.

The Honors Program:

The honors program is designed to provide independent research opportunities for academically talented undergraduate students whose major is Biology & Society (BSOC). Students who enroll in the honors program are expected, with faculty guidance, to do independent study and research dealing with issues in Biology & Society. Students participating in the program should find the experience intellectually stimulating and rewarding whether or not they intend to pursue a research career.

Biology & Society majors are considered for entry into the honors program at the end of the second semester of the junior year. Application forms for the honors program are available in the Biology & Society office. The honors program is available to Biology & Society majors from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Agriculture and Life Sciences. To qualify for the Biology & Society honors program, students must have an overall Cornell cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.3, have formulated a research topic, and have found a project supervisor (with an academic appointment at Cornell) and another faculty member willing to serve as their advisor. At least one of these must be a member of the Biology & Society major. Applications will be reviewed by a committee headed by the director of undergraduate studies, who will notify students directly of the outcome. Students will be permitted to register for the honors program only by permission of the department. Students must enroll for both the fall and spring semesters. More information on the honors program is available in the Biology & Society Office, 303 Morrill Hall, (607) 255-6047.

For additional information about the Biology & Society Major and Honors Program:

In Arts and Sciences: Malte Ziewitz, director of undergraduate studies, mcz35@cornell.edu.

In Agriculture and Life Sciences: Randy Wayne, advising coordinator, row1@cornell.edu.

General Information: Stacey Stone, Biology & Society Advising Office, sms252@cornell.edu.