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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

The bio logy major p rovides a unified

curriculum for undergraduates enrol led in

either the Co llege of Agriculture and Life

Sciences or the Colle ge o f Arts and Sciences.

Courses in biol ogical sciences are in tegral to

many disciplines and are basic requirements

in many schools and college s at Co rnell.

Graduate study in the bio logical s ciences is

administe red by more than 15 sp ecialize d

fields wit hin the Graduate School, as

descr ibed in the Field s of Study catalog at

www .gradschoo l.corn ell.ed u/?p =38.

In the College of Human Eco logy, the natural

sciences distribution require ment is for at least 6

credits selected from BIO G 109-110, 101 and

103 plus 102 and 104, 105-106 or 107-108 or

from s pecified courses in chemistry or physics.

Switch ing be tween BIO G 109-110 and either

BIO G 101-104 or 105-106 at midyear ma y

not be p ossible because o f variation in

presentation of topics. Students must re ceive

permis sion o f the instructor to switch

sequen ces. Taking sequenc es in reverse order

is stro ngly discou raged in BIO G 101-104 but

allo wed in BI O G 105-106.

5. Enrolle es in those courses in the

bio logica l scien ces in which animal use

is a compo nent may, at the p rofessor ’s

discreti on, be asked to sig n copies of

this statem ent (USE OF AN IMALS . . .)

at the first meetin g of the course.”

ADVANCED PLACEMENT

For information on credit for advanced

placemen t in b iologi cal s ciences, s ee

www .biology.corne ll.ed u/advisi ng/a p.html.

ORGANIZATION

Many different departments p articipate in the

bio logy major.

Student services are pr ovided by the O ffice of

Undergra duate B iolog y (O UB), ww w.bi ology.

cornell .edu. Lo cated in Stimson Hall, the

profess ional and student ad visors pr ovide

academ ic and career advising, as we ll as help

undergraduates fin d research opport unities on

campus. Adviso rs in the OUB also foll ow the

progres s o f biol ogy majors and work clos ely

with faculty advisors. Additional services and

resources of the Bi ology Ce nter include

tutoring, lecture tapes, examin ation files , and

exten sive in formation on summer research

opport unitie s and gr aduate pro grams. T he

center has comfortab le areas for stu dying and

relaxing.

The Shoals Marine Laboratory, a coope rative

venture with the University of N ew

Hampshire, is locate d on App ledore Island in

the Gulf o f Maine. Its base offic e in Stimson

Hall provides acade mic advising fo r students

interested in the marine s ciences and

administers th e SEA Sem ester prog ram fo r

Cornell students pursuing studies at Wo ods

Hole, Mass., o r aboard the s choone r Rober t C.

Seama ns o r brigantin e Co nuith Cramer.

DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT

In the C ollege of Agri culture a nd Life

Sciences, the Physical and Life Scien ces

distribution requirement is a minimum of 18

credits, including at least 6 credits o f

introductory biolo gy sat isfied by BIO G 109-

110, 105-106, or 101 and 103 plus 102 and

104, o r 107-108.

For Students in the Co llege of Arts and

Sciences, all bio logy (“BIO ”) courses can be

used toward fulfillment of the bio logical

sciences distribution requirement. Pleas e see

the Arts and Sciences “Distribution

Requirem ents” sectio n o f this catalog for

further details. Th e fo llowi ng c ourses are

espec ially suitable for the distribution

requirem ent beca use they h ave no

prerequisite: BIO G 101-104, 105-106, 107-108,

109-110, 170; B IOAP 212; BIOEE 154, 207,

275; BIO GD 184; B IOMI 192; BIONB 111;

BIOPL 240, 241.

USE OF AN IMALS IN THE BIOLOGICAL

SCIENCES CURRICULUM : CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

Students wis hing to enroll in b iolog y ( “BIO ”)

courses should know and under stand the

follow ing criteria relative to the use o f animals

in the teachin g progr am, as passed b y the

faculty of the Divisio n o f Bio logical Sci ences

in 1988, and reaffirm ed in 1997:

1. “ Live animals w ill be us ed for teaching

in cer tain courses in the biological

sciences. Some animals will require

humane euthanasia after they have

been used for teaching.

2. Courses bearin g the “BIO” des cription

conf orm to the rules for the care of

such an imals as outlined in G uid in g

Pri ncipl es in the Care a nd Use o f

An im als (a s app roved by the Council

of the American Physio logical Society),

the Guide for the Care and U se o f

Labor atory Anim als (D HEW publi cation

86-23, revised 1996; se e p. 7, Courses

o f Study ), the Animal Welfar e Act, and

the New York State Pub lic Health Law.

Within these regulations, and in

kee ping with the principle o f Acade mic

Free dom of th e Faculty, the use o f

animals to aid in teac hing any

bio logical sciences discipline is at the

discretion of the pro fessor in charge.

3- Each course, as well as research

projects, in which animals are used

receiv es a formal review annually b y the

Cornell University Institutional Animal

Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

4. Any c oncerns regarding the use of live

animals in teach ing shou ld be

addres sed first t o the faculty member

respo nsible for that course. H e o r she

is re quired to be in c omplia nce w ith all

applicab le regulations an d guidelin es.

Alternati vely, students may choose to

address their concern s to the di rector

o f the C ornell Center f or Researc h

Anim al Resources, Dr. M ichele Bailey,

at 253-3520. The director may initiate

discussion w ith the f aculty me mber

respo nsible for a particular c ourse

with out in volvin g the student if he or

she woul d p refer to remain anonymous.

THE MAJOR

The major of biological sciences is available to

students e nrolle d in either the Col lege of

Agricu lture an d Life Sciences or the Colle ge o f

Arts and Sciences. T he u ndergraduate program

is coordinate d for students in both college s by

the Offic e o f Undergrad uate Biology . By

com pletion of the sophom ore year, all

students w ho intend to m ajor in biologic al

scienc es must decl are the major and a

prog ram of study th rough the Offi ce o f

Undergradu ate Bi olog y, in 216 Stimson Hall.

Wh eneve r poss ible, students s hould inc lude

the introduc tory bi ology, chemistry, and

mathematics s equence s in their freshman

sched ule and c omple te the organic ch emistry

lecture course in th eir soph omor e year.

Bio logy majors should regularly monitor their

progress in the major, an d should assess as

realistic ally as p ossible the li kelihood of

achievin g at a level that is consistent with

their academic a nd pers onal goals. Weak

perf ormance in cor e courses, particularly after

the freshman year, may indicate a n eed to

reevaluate aptitude and ge nuine interest in the

major. Students with questions, particularly

with concerns about their ability to com plete

the major, are encou raged to cons ult with

their b iolo gy advi sor and to take advanta ge o f

the advising and counseli ng resources of the

Off ice o f Under graduate Biology as we ll as

those of the un iversity an d their college.

The requiremen ts for the biol ogical sciences

major are lis ted belo w. Requirements 1-9 must

be taken f or a letter grade. Courses ta ken for

the program o f study should be taken f or a

letter grade unless the course is off ered for

S-U grades only or if the student’s advis or

grants permission.

1. Introductory biology for majors

(on e year ): B IO G 101 and 103 plus

102 and 104, o r 105-106. BIO G 107-

108, offe red during the eigh t-week

Cornell summer session for 8 credits,

also satisfies the introduc tory biolo gy

requiremen t for majors.

2. General chemistry: CHEM 207-208 or

215. Students w ho, via ad vanced

placem ent, take only CHEM 208 o r

only 215 s hould b e aware that some

profession al and graduate schools

requi re 8 c redits o f gene ral chemistry.