Welcome to Biology & Society
This summer you are asked to request a preliminary schedule of classes using Cornell's Student Center. Summer pre-enrollment process is a first step in thinking about your schedule for the fall, but not the final step. When you arrive in August, you will have plenty of opportunities to discuss your schedule with advisors and make changes that meet your needs and interests. After classes start, you will have additional time to finalize your schedule. You may add a new course within the first 3 weeks, and you may drop a course within 7 weeks.
Goals in Course Selection for First Term
In taking the first step in selecting courses for the fall, your goals should be to select courses that will get you started in exploring your academic interests at Cornell and help you identify your eventual major. You should also consider courses that will count toward your general graduation requirements.
Biology and Society students develop their first-term schedules in different ways. Here are the general guidelines for selecting first-term courses for Human Ecology students interested in Biology & Society.
- First Year Writing seminar (3 cr)
Required of all first term Human Ecology students. You have many options. - Introductory biology course (2-3cr)
- a. Required for the Biology and Society major. AP credit will not apply to this requirement.
- b. Choose one of the following courses: BIOG 1350, BIOG 1440, BIOG 1610, BIOG 1780, or BIOG 1500.
- c. If you change your major, this course will meet distribution requirements for other majors.
- d. May postpone biology course if choosing to take introductory chemistry (see 4b.)
- Introductory Human Ecology course (3 cr)
- a. At least one, 3-cr Human Ecology course is required for first-term Human Ecology students. Human Ecology includes DEA, FSAD, HD, NS, and PAM.
- b. Select HD 1150 or PAM 2300 or DEA 1110 or NS 1150
- c. This course will help you explore the theme areas for Biology and Society in Human Ecology
- d. If you change your major, this course will meet distribution requirements for other majors.
- Elective (3-4 cr)
- a. Choose your elective to explore your interests, build a foundation for special career interests, or fulfill graduation requirements
- b. Premed interest – CHEM 2070 (lecture and lab)
- c. Non-premed interest - Suggestions: HD 1150, PAM 2300, DEA 1110, NS 1150, ECON 1110, ECON 1120, PSYCH 1101, DSOC 1101, SOC 1101
- Physical education course
Required for first-term students. You have many options to choose from.
Number of Credits
Students should take 12-15 credits of regular academic courses plus 1 credit of Physical Education. Several introductory courses in biology, chemistry, math, nutrition, and economics have additional 1 credit support courses that will add to this credit load. The number of credits that is right for you is an individual decision for you to make with advisors when you arrive on campus. The appropriate load and mix of course will depend upon your background, types of courses you select, and extra-curricular responsibilities such as athletics or student employment. You will have time to adjust your credit load when you arrive in August and through the 7 week period Cornell allows to for dropping classes after they begin.
First-year Human Ecology students may enroll in no more than 18 credits total, including physical education and support courses. The pre-enrollment process will not allow you to select more than 18 credits.
Biology & Society in Relationship to Other Human Ecology Majors
Many students have questions about the Biology & Society major and have questions about the differences between this major and a similar major in the college, Human Biology, Health and Society (HBHS). Briefly, the majors are alike in many ways, and both can be used for entrance to medical school. HBHS majors take chemistry in the first semester, and they proceed to organic chemistry and biochemistry in the advanced years. As a Biology and Society major, introductory and advanced chemistry courses are not required, but you may elect to take these courses. In this case, you could elect to take chemistry in your first year.
- The Biology and Society program is interdisciplinary with an emphasis on societal issues surrounding biological concepts. The Biology & Society in Human Ecology focuses on three basic theme ideas that are unique areas of faculty expertise and research in Human Ecology
- Biology, Behavior, and Society – draws on courses in the behavioral and social sciences
- Biology and Health Policy – draws on courses in policy analysis, economics, and sociology
- Design, Health, and Human Performance – draws on courses examining human factors, biomechanics, sustainable product design, environmental psychology
If you are interested in a biology program that focuses on biochemistry, human metabolism, and nutrition, you should consider the Human Biology, Health, and Society or the Nutritional Sciences majors in the college. View the requirements and suggested schedule for these majors.
Selecting Biology Courses
Cornell offers 5 introductory biology lecture courses on different topics (BIOG 1350, BIOG 1440, BIOGO 1610, BIOG 1780) and a separate lab course (BIOG 1500). These courses may be taken in any order, and all of these courses are offered both fall and spring semesters. The lab course is its own separate entity and not a companion course to a lecture course. Enrollment in the lecture and lab courses is limited so that students have a strong learning environment.
For Fall 2013 semester, you should enroll in either one lecture course OR the lab course. You may not be able to enroll in your first choice course in the first term because of the high demand. Be assured that over three semesters, you will be able to enroll in the whole sequence that you need to take for graduation. The biology program has carefully planned to accommodate all students in all their needed courses over multiple semesters.
As Biology and Society program requires two of the lectures and the lab course for graduation, you will take two additional introductory biology courses in the following semesters. You may elect to take both a lecture course and the laboratory course in the fall semester.
Deciding about Chemistry
Although taking both biology and chemistry in the first term is a common schedule for students interested in medical school, this combination is very demanding.
Reasons Biology and Society students postpone chemistry until the sophomore year are: a) uncertainty about their interests, b) a manageable first term schedule so they can adjust to Cornell course demands, and c) extracurricular responsibilities they may have such as athletics or employment.
Reasons for taking chemistry in the first term include a) possible interest in HBHS, a major that requires chemistry in the first term, b) very strong high school preparation in chemistry and biology, and c) and a high level of comfort with studying both demanding subjects.
If you think you may want to take chemistry, we strongly encourage you to request it during pre-enrollment to get a place in the course. Chemistry fills up quickly, and it may be hard to add the class in August. It will be easier to drop chemistry and replace it with another elective if you change your mind about taking chemistry in August.
Biology and Society students may take chemistry in the first semester and postpone taking biology until a later semester.
Using AP Credit
You will be able to apply up to 15 AP credits to the 120 academic credits required for graduation. In choosing how to apply your AP credits to your degree, you will consult with your advisor in the fall term. As you learn more about program options and requirements, your plan for using AP credits may change. In the spring term of your first year, you will be asked to provide a plan for how you want to use your AP credits.
The general rules for applying AP credits to graduation requirements are listed in the Cornell Courses of Study, but specific rules exist for certain colleges and majors. The specific rules you should know about now are listed below.
- Biology & Society students may not use AP credit in biology to meet the introductory biology requirement.
- An AP Chemistry score = 5 may be applied to the introductory chemistry course (CHEM 2070). However, most students taking chemistry for premed preparation choose to take CHEM 2070 so they become familiar with the material and pace of chemistry courses at Cornell because they will be taking advanced chemistry courses.
- Human Ecology students must complete two First-Year Writing seminars in the first two semesters. An AP score = 5 on English Literature and Composition or English Language and Composition may be applied to one of the required First-Year Writing seminars. Entering students should take a writing seminar in their first term. If they have the AP credit, they can apply this to their second writing seminar in the second term.
Course Selection for Second Term
In October, you will plan your schedule for the spring term, consulting with your advisor as you do this. At this time you will carefully look at the curriculum sheet for Biology & Society to understand the requirements for the major. For Biology & Society majors, the second term schedule has a similar structure to the first, with students taking courses to pursue their interests, explore options, and meet graduation requirements.
- First Year Writing seminar (3 cr)
Second term required of all first term Human Ecology students, unless using AP credit. If you have AP credit, you may substitute an elective. - Introductory biology course (2-3cr)
- a. Required for the Biology and Society major. AP credit may not apply to this requirement.
- b. Choose a second course from the introductory course options: one of the following courses: BIOG 1350, BIOG 1440, BIOGO 1610, BIOG 1780 or BIOG 1500.
- Human Ecology course (3 cr)
- a. At least one, 3-cr Human Ecology course is required for second-term Human Ecology students.
- b. You will have many options among the introductory courses offered in the spring or you may wish to build upon the introductory course you took in the fall with a higher level course in HD, PAM, DEA.
- Elective (3-4 cr)
- a. Choose your elective to explore your interests, build a foundation for special career, or fulfill graduation requirements for Human Ecology and Biology & Society.
- b. Premed interest – CHEM 2080 (lecture and lab)
- c. Non-premed interest - Suggestions: Introductory or second level courses in Human Ecology or other colleges. Courses in humanities, social sciences, or math to meet requirements and explore interests.
- Physical education course
Second course required for first-year students. You have many options to choose from.