G. Peter Lepage, dean—255-4146
Walter Cohen, senior associate dean—255-4147
Elizabeth Adkins-Regan, senior associate dean—255-4147
David DeVries, associate dean of under-graduate admissions and education—255-3386
Jane V. Pedersen, associate dean of administration—255-7507
Susan Robertson, director of communications—255-6386
Paul Sawyer, associate dean and director of writing programs—255-4061
The College of Arts and Sciences is a community of about 4,100 undergraduates and 500 faculty members. It is also a graduate school and research center. Altogether it attracts faculty members whose research and scholarly and creative work require first-rate academic facilities and who bring to all their students the profound questioning and exciting ideas of current scholarship. Finally, the college exists within a university of other colleges at Cornell—about 19,500 undergraduate and graduate students and 1,600 faculty members. This wider community provides depth and diversity of applied and professional studies beyond what a college of the liberal arts and sciences alone can offer. Students studying the liberal arts and sciences may draw upon the knowledge and facilities of the other colleges at Cornell to complement their studies. Abundant variety and outstanding quality in many fields, including interdisciplinary fields, and emphasis on individual academic freedom and responsibility give the college and the university their distinctive character.
The richness of the college’s undergraduate curriculum is extraordinary; there is no course that all students must take, and there are nearly 2,000 from which they may choose. By choosing courses each semester, students design their own education. They develop known interests and explore new subjects. An education in the liberal arts and sciences means honing one’s critical and imaginative capacities, learning about oneself in nature and culture, and gaining experience with views of the world radically unlike one’s own. All this is highly individual, and the college relies on each student and faculty advisor to design a sensible, challenging, and appropriate course of study.
Yet the college faculty believes that each student’s education should have certain common qualities. These include familiarity with several different ways of knowing that are reflected in the various disciplines and fields of study. In addition to these general areas of knowledge, students acquire effective writing and quantitative skills, study foreign languages, achieve cultural breadth, and concentrate on one particular field through which they deepen their imaginative and critical thinking as fully as possible. To accomplish these objectives, the college has certain requirements for graduation.
1. First-year writing seminars: two courses. (See “John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines,” p. 590.)
2. Foreign language: completion of one course at the nonintroductory level or above (Option 1) or at least 11 credits in one language (Option 2).
3. Distribution: nine courses (may overlap with courses counting toward a major).
4. Breadth: two courses (may overlap with courses for distribution, major, or electives).
5. Major (see individual department listings for major requirements).
6. Electives: four or five courses (at least 15 credits) not used to fulfill other requirements (other than the breadth requirements) and not in the major field.
7. Residence: eight full-time semesters, unless a student can successfully complete all other requirements in fewer than eight semesters and meet the additional criteria to accelerate graduation. (See “Acceleration” below.)
8. 34 courses: a 3- or 4-credit course counts as one course. A 2-credit course counts as half a course; a 1-credit course does not normally count toward the requirement; a 6-credit language course counts as one and one-half courses. (See “Courses and Credits” for some 1-credit courses in music, dance, and theatre performance that can be cumulated to count as one-half course.)
9. Credits: a total of 120 academic credits, of which 100 must be taken in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell. (See “Noncredit Courses” below for courses that do not count as academic credits or courses.)
10. Physical education: completion of the university requirement (passing a swim test and two 1-credit nonacademic courses). Note: Physical education credit does not count toward graduation or toward the 12-credit minimum required for good academic standing each semester.
11. Application to graduate. (See “Graduation,” p. XX.)
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 advising deans in 55 or 172 Goldwin Smith Hall and to check their DUST (Distributed Undergraduate Student Tracking) reports at http://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus. The DUST report is updated after each semester to reflect the student’s progress in college requirements. To check on their progress in the major, students should consult their major advisors.
The faculty considers competence in a foreign language essential for an educated person. Studying a language other than one’s own helps students understand the dynamics of language, our fundamental intellectual tool, and enables students to understand another culture. The sooner a student acquires competence, the sooner it will be useful. Hence, work toward the foreign language requirement should be undertaken in the first two years. Students postponing the language requirement for junior and senior years risk not being graduated in time. Courses in foreign languages and/or literature are taught in the College of Arts and Sciences by the following departments: Africana Studies and Research Center, Asian Studies, China and Asia–Pacific Studies, Classics, German Studies, Linguistics, Near Eastern Studies, Romance Studies, and Russian.
The language requirement may be satisfied in one of the following ways:
Option 1: Passing (a) a nonintroductory foreign language course of 3 or more credits at Cornell at the 2000 level or above or (b) any other nonintroductory course at the 2000 level or above conducted in a foreign language at Cornell. OR
Option 2: Passing at least 11 credits of study in a single foreign language (taken in the appropriate sequence) at Cornell.
Any exceptions to these rules will be noted elsewhere in individual department descriptions.
Students whose speaking, reading, and writing competence in a language other than English is at the same level we would expect our entering freshmen to have in English (as shown by completing high school in that language or by special examination during their first year here at Cornell) are exempt from the college’s language requirement.
Entering students who have completed two or more years of high school study in a language, who have been awarded credit for language work at another college or university, or who are native speakers, bilingual, or have spoken the language at home, may enroll in a course in the same language only after being placed by examination. The placement exam may have been taken in high school (SAT II, taken after the last course, or AP, if the score was 4 or 5) or at Cornell (LP test). Being placed by examination into the first course at a nonintroductory level does not earn credit toward the degree. Degree credit is earned only for demonstrated mastery of work equivalent to the first course at an intermediate level at Cornell and placement into the second intermediate course. Students should seek to satisfy the language requirement in their first years at Cornell. Those with test scores one or more years old may be required to take a Cornell Advanced Standing Examination (CASE) if the instructor deems the student is insufficiently prepared for the level in which he or she is enrolled.
Placement Tests Language Literature
LPF SAT II Courses Courses
below 37 below 410 1210
37–44 410–480 1220
45–55 490–590 1230
56–64 600–680 2060
2090
CASE required for
65 and above 690 and above placement in language.
AP 4 or 5 in CASE required for
language, 3 credits. placement in language.
AP 4 or 5 in CASE required for literature, credits. 3 placement in language.
German
Placement Tests Language Literature
LPG SAT II Courses Courses
below 37 below 370 1210
37–44 370–450 1220
45–55 460–580 1230
56–64 590–680 2000
65 and above 690 and above CASE required for placement
AP 4 or 5, 3 credits. CASE required for placement
Placement Tests Language Literature
LPI SAT II Courses Courses
below 37 below 370 1210
37–44 370–450 1220
45–55 460–580 1230
56–64 590–680 2090
65 and above 690 and above CASE required for placement
AP 4 or 5 in
language, 3 credits. CASE required for placement
AP 4 or 5 in
literature, 3 credits CASE required for placement
Placement Tests Language Literature
LPS SAT II Courses Courses
below 37 below 370 1210
37–44 370–450 1220
45–55 460–580 1230
56–64 590–680 2000
2090
2070
65 and above 690 and above CASE required for placement
AP 4 or 5 in
language, 3 credits. CASE required for placement
AP 4 or 5 in
literature, 3 credits CASE required for placement
1. The following language placement and advanced standing tests are scheduled at the beginning of each semester:
• Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Hindi, Japanese, and Korean (schedule available from Department of Asian Studies, 350 Rockefeller Hall);
• German (schedule available from Department of German Studies, 183 Goldwin Smith Hall);
• French, Italian, and Spanish (schedule available from Department of Romance Studies, 303 Morrill Hall) [These placement tests are also offered online during the summer.];
• Russian (schedule available from Department of Russian, 226 Morrill Hall).
The advanced standing examination in French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, is called the CASE (Cornell Advanced Standing Examination). Eligibility for the CASE may be determined from the placement tables. .
Native speakers of Spanish who have completed their secondary education in a Spanish-speaking country do not take the CASE. For these students, the Spanish program offers a walk-in service, the Native Language Accreditation for Spanish, in the third week of September and the first week of February. Students interested in this service should contact Brisa Teutli in 414 Morrill Hall, bt54@cornell.edu. Speakers of Spanish who completed their secondary education in a non–Spanish-speaking country are required to present either SAT II or AP or LPS scores for placement, or for eligibility to take the CASE exam.
2. Arabic: departmental examination, Department of Near Eastern Studies, 409 White Hall.
3. Greek: departmental examination, Department of Classics, 120 Goldwin Smith Hall.
4. Hebrew: departmental examination, Department of Near Eastern Studies, 409 White Hall.
5. Latin: departmental examination, Department of Classics, 120 Goldwin Smith Hall.
6. Persian: departmental examination, Department of Near Eastern Studies, 409 White Hall.
7. Turkish: departmental examination, Department of Near Eastern Studies, 409 White Hall.
In satisfying the distribution requirements, students become acquainted with a broad range of subject matter and points of view among disciplines in the college and explore areas that may be entirely new to them. Or, to look at it the other way, as first-year students explore subjects that interest them, they begin to satisfy distribution requirements. Consequently, first-year students should take courses to prepare for possible majors and to explore subjects new to them and take no course only in order to satisfy a distribution requirement. Although students may complete distribution requirements over eight semesters, they can take advanced courses in subjects they (perhaps unexpectedly) find intriguing only if they have completed the introductory prerequisites. Consequently, students should not postpone satisfying distribution requirements until the last semesters. Once sure of a major, students should consider which distribution requirements are yet unfulfilled and how to fulfill them with courses that complement their overall program. Courses in the major may be applied to the distribution requirements (unless prohibited by one of the restrictions noted under restrictions on applying AP credit, transfer credit, and Cornell courses to distribution requirements).
Students must complete four courses in science and quantitative reasoning, identified below under the categories Physical and Biological Sciences (PBS) and Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (MQR). In addition, they must complete five courses of 3 or more credits each from four of the five categories of courses in the humanities and social sciences with no more than three in the same department. The five categories of courses fulfilling the distribution requirements in humanities and social sciences are: Cultural Analysis (CA-AS), Historical Analysis (HA-AS), Knowledge Cognition and Moral Reasoning (KCM-AS), Literature and the Arts (LA-AS), and Social and Behavioral Analysis (SBA-AS). How an individual course is categorized is indicated with the appropriate abbreviation in its description under its department.
It is important to recognize that only courses with the proper designation in the Arts and Sciences section of the catalog can be used toward fulfilling the distribution requirements in Arts and Sciences. Some topics courses and courses offered through the Society for the Humanities, among others, do not count toward distribution.
Students wishing to take an Arts and Sciences course that does not have a rubric assigned to it in this volume should consult their advising dean to ascertain the status of the course and see if it has, in fact, been assigned any distribution rubric after the publication of this volume. Students may not petition to change the rubric of any given course, nor may any faculty member change the rubric of a course for an individual student. Faculty members wishing to change the rubric for a course they teach must petition the Educational Policy Committee for a change in rubric, and that rubric must then be applied to the course for all students in the course.
• Cultural Analysis (CA-AS)
Courses in this area study human life in particular cultural contexts through interpretive analysis of individual behavior, discourse, and social practice. Topics include belief systems (science, medicine, religion), expressive arts and symbolic behavior (visual arts, performance, poetry, myth, narrative, ritual), identity (nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality), social groups and institutions (family, market, community), power and politics (states, colonialism, inequality).
• Historical Analysis (HA-AS)
Courses in this group interpret continuities and changes—political, social, economic, diplomatic, religious, intellectual, artistic, scientific—through time. The focus may be on groups of people, dominant or subordinate, a specific country or region, an event, a process, or a time period.
• Knowledge, Cognition, and Moral Reasoning (KCM-AS)
Offerings in this area investigate the bases of human knowledge in its broadest sense, ranging from cognitive faculties shared by humans and animals such as perception, to abstract reasoning, to the ability to form and justify moral judgments. Courses investigating the sources, structure, and limits of cognition may use the methodologies of science, cognitive psychology, linguistics, or philosophy. Courses focusing on moral reasoning explore ways of reflecting on ethical questions that concern the nature of justice, the good life, or human values in general.
• Literature and the Arts (LA-AS)
Offerings in this area explore literature and the arts in two different but related ways. Some courses focus on the critical study of artworks and on their history, aesthetics, and theory. These courses develop skills of reading, observing, and hearing and encourage reflection on such experiences; many investigate the interplay among individual achievement, artistic tradition, and historical context. Other courses are devoted to the production and performance of artworks (in creative writing, performing arts, and media such as film and video). These courses emphasize the interaction among technical mastery, cognitive knowledge, and creative imagination.
• Social and Behavioral Analysis (SBA-AS)
Courses in this area examine human life in its social context through the use of social scientific methods, often including hypothesis testing, scientific sampling techniques, and statistical analysis. Topics studied range from the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes of individuals to interpersonal relations between individuals (e.g., in friendship, love, conflict) to larger social organizations (e.g., the family, society, religious or educational or civic institutions, the economy, government) to the relationships and conflicts among groups or individuals (e.g., discrimination, inequality, prejudice, stigmas, conflict resolution). Please note that CRP 1100 (The American City) and CRP 1101 (Global City) satisfy SBA but do not count as A&S credit.
• Physical and Biological Sciences (PBS)
In fulfilling the four courses in science and quantitative reasoning, students must take at least two science courses. At least one of these must be from the primary list of courses in science departments in the College of Arts and Sciences:
Primary list:
(The courses listed individually are all cross-listed in an A&S science department.)
Animal Science
4270 Fundamentals of Endocrinology
Anthropology
3710 Human Paleontology
Applied and Engineering Physics
2170 Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism
3300 Modern Experimental Optics
3630 Electronic Circuits
4500 Introduction to Solid-State Physics
4700 Biophysical Methods
Astronomy: all 3- or 4-credit courses
Biological Sciences: all 3- or 4-credit courses (including any combination of two courses from BIO 1101–1104) except BIOG 1115, 2990, 4980; BIOEE 3620; BIOBM 1320, 3990; BIOGD 1320; BIOMI 1720; BIONB 3210, 4200, 4230, 4350, and BIOSM 2040, 2250, 3620, 3710. BIOG 2000 and 4990 require permission from the Office of Undergraduate Biology.
Biological and Environmental Engineering
4710 Introduction to Groundwater
Biology and Society
2141 Biological Basis of Sex Differences
4471 Seminar in the History of Biology
4611 Environmental Policy
4612 Environmental Policy
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
all 3- or 4-credit courses
Cognitive Science
1110 Brain, Mind, and Behavior
3300 Introduction to Computational Neuroscience
Crop Sciences
3970 Environmental Microbiology
4830 Land, Water, Agriculture, and Environment
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
all 3- or 4-credit courses except 2500, 2900, 3750, 4350, 4940
Electrical and Computer Engineering
4870 Intro to Radar Remote Sensing
Engineering
1220 Earthquake!
Entomology
3250 Insect Behavior
3690 Chemical Ecology
4400 Phylogenetic Systems
4530 Historical Biogeography
4550 Insect Ecology
Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
2140 Biological Basis of Sex Differences
History
2870 Evolution
4150 Seminar in the History of Biology
Horticulture
2430 Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants
4730 Ecology of Agricultural Systems
Music
1466 (previously 2111) Physics of MusicalSound
Natural Resources
3030 Introduction to Biogeochemistry
4560 Stream Ecology
Nutritional Sciences
4750 Mammalian Developmental Defects
Physics
all 3- or 4-credit courses
Plant Pathology
4090 Principles of Virology
Psychology
1110 Brain, Mind, and Behavior
3220 Hormones and Behavior
3240 Biopsychology Laboratory
3300 Introduction to ComputationalNeuroscience
3320 Biopsychology of Learning andMemory
3960 Introduction to Sensory Systems
4240 Neuroethology
4310 Effects of Aging on Sensory andPerception Systems
4920 Sensory Function
Science and Technology Studies
2871 Evolution
4471 Seminar in the History of Biology
Students may select additional science courses from the following supplementary list:
Animal Science
1100 Domestic Animal Biology I
1150 Domestic Animal Biology II
2120 Animal Nutrition
Anthropology
1300 Human Evolution: Genes, Behavior,and the Fossil Record
3270 Environmental Archaeology
3390 Primate Behavior and Ecology
4263 Zooarchaeological Method
4264 Zooarchaeological Interpretation
Applied and Engineering Physics
1100 Lasers and Photonics
Archaeology
3270 Environmental Archaeology
4263 Zooarchaeological Method
4264 Zooarchaeological Interpretation
Dance
3120 The Moving Body: Form and Function
Electrical and Computer Engineering
4300 Lasers and Optical Electronics
Engineering (Intro course)
1100 Lasers and Photonics
Entomology
2010 Alien Empire: Bizarre Biology of Bugs (3 cr.)
2100 Plagues and People (3 cr.)
2120 Insect Biology
2770 Natural Enemies: An Intro to Biological Control (3 cr.)
3150 Spider Biology
Food
2000 Intro to Physio & Bio Aspects of Food
Materials Science and Engineering
2810 The Substance of Civilization
Natural Resources
2010 Environmental Conservation
2100 Introductory Field Biology
3110 Fish Ecology, Conservation, and Management
4200 Forest Ecology
Nutritional Sciences
1150 Nutrition and Health
3610 Biology of Normal and Abnormal Behavior
Plant Pathology
2013 Magic Mushrooms, Molds, and More
2015 Mushrooms, Molds, and Molecules
Psychology
2230 Introduction to Biopsychology
3260 Evolution of Human Behavior
3610 Biology of Normal and Abnormal Behavior
• Mathematics and quantitative reasoning (MQR)
In completing four courses in science and quantitative reasoning, students must take at least one of the following courses (note that EDUC 1150 Introductory College Mathematics counts neither toward the college degree nor toward distribution):
Applied Economics and Management
2100 Introductory Statistics
Biometry
3010 Biological Statistics I
City and Regional Planning
3210 Introduction to Quantitative Methods
3280 Quantitative Methods in Policy Planning
Cognitive Science
1720 Computation, Information, and Intelligence
4240 Computational Linguistics
Computer Science
1110, 1112, 1113, 1114 Introduction to Computing
1700 Computation, Information, and Intelligence
2110 Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
2800 Discrete Structures
3110 Data Structures and Functional Programming
3740 Computational Linguistics
4210 Numerical Analysis and Differential Equations 4220 Numerical Analysis: Linear and Nonlinear Equations
4860 Applied Logic
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
4350 Statistical Methods in Meteorology and Climatology
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
3620 Dynamic Models in Biology
Economics
3190 Introduction to Statistics and Probability
3200 Introduction to Econometrics
3210 Applied Econometrics
3270 Time Series Econometrics
3680 Game Theory
4760/4770 Decision Theory I and II
Engineering
1101 Engineering Applications of ORIE
1700 Computation, Information, and Intelligence
2110 Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
Industrial and Labor Relations
2100 Introduction to Statistics
2120 Statistical Reasoning
Information Science
1700 Computation, Information, and Intelligence
Linguistics
4424 Computational Linguistics
4485 Topics in Computational Linguistics
Mathematics
all 3- or 4-credit courses except 1000 and 1009
Philosophy
2310 Introduction to Deductive Logic
3300 Foundations of Mathematics
3310 Deductive Logic
4310 Mathematical Logic
4311 Topics in Logic
Policy Analysis and Management
2100 Introduction to Statistics
Psychology
3500 Statistics and Research Design
Sociology
3010 Evaluating Statistical Evidence
Statistical Science
2100 Introduction to Statistics
If students choose two courses from this list to satisfy part of the distribution requirement, those two courses may not have significant overlap. For example, students may not choose two beginning courses in statistics. Nor may they earn credit toward the degree for overlapping courses: AEM 2100 Introductory Statistics, ILRST 2100 Introduction to Statistics, ILRST 2120 Statistical Reasoning, MATH 1710 Statistical Theory and Application in the Real World, PAM 2100 Introduction to Statistics, PSYCH 3500 Statistics Research and Design, SOC 3010 Evaluating Statistical Evidence, STSCI 2100 Introduction to Statistics.
Students must include in their undergraduate program at least one Arts and Sciences course that focuses on an area or a people other than those of the United States, Canada, or Europe and one course that focuses on an historical period before the 20th century. Courses that satisfy the geographic breadth requirement are marked with an @ when described in this catalog. Courses that satisfy the historical breadth requirement are marked with a #. Many courses satisfy both requirements, and students may in fact use the same course to satisfy both. Students may use courses satisfying distribution, major, or elective—but not writing—requirements in satisfaction of either of the breadth requirements. They may also apply Cornell courses (not credit from an examination) conferring proficiency in a non-Western language toward the geographical breadth requirement.
Students may not apply AP credit or transfer credit from another institution to the breadth requirements or to any distribution requirement.
Students who transfer to the college from another institution are under the above rules for advanced placement credit, but are eligible to have credit for post-high school course work taken during regular semesters (not summer school) at their previous institution count toward all distribution requirements. Transfer students receive a detailed credit evaluation when they are accepted for admission.
1. First-year writing seminars may not count toward any other college requirement.
2. No single course may satisfy more than one distribution requirement.
3. Students may count courses in their major toward distribution and breadth.
4. Only courses with the proper designation in the Arts and Sciences section of the catalog can be used toward fulfilling the distribution requirements in Arts and Sciences.
5. A student may not petition for alteration of a particular course’s distribution rubric, nor may a faculty member change a course rubric for an individual student. The rubric for a course may be changed only if the Educational Policy Committee grants a petition by the course’s instructor to change the rubric. If the rubric changes, it does so for the class as a whole and never for an individual student.
In their last two years, students devote roughly one-half of their time to acquiring depth and competence in a major subject. The major does not necessarily define a student’s intellect or character or lead directly to a lifetime occupation, although it sometimes does some of each. Through the major, students focus and develop their imaginative and intellectual capacities through a subject they find especially interesting.
Most departments and programs specify certain prerequisites for admission to the major; they are found on the following pages in the descriptions of each department and program.
Students may apply for acceptance into the major as soon as they have completed the prerequisites and are confident of their choice. This may be as early as the second semester of freshman year, and must be no later than second semester of sophomore year. To apply, they take a copy of their official transcript to an appointment with the director of undergraduate studies in their prospective major. A department or program may refuse admission into the major if the applicant’s performance does not meet established standards. A student without a major at the beginning of the junior year is not making satisfactory progress toward the degree and risks not being allowed to continue in the college. That student must meet with an advising dean and may be placed on a leave of absence as early as the first semester of the junior year if he or she has not declared a major.
Available majors
Majors are offered by each of the departments. There are also majors in American Studies, Archaeology, Biology and Society, China and Asia-Pacific Studies, Information Science, Religious Studies, Science of Earth Systems, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Some students want to pursue a subject that cannot be met within an established major.
They may plan, with the help of their faculty advisor, an independent major that includes courses from several departments and even colleges. See “Independent Major and College Scholar Program,” under “Special Academic Options.” Whatever the major—chemistry, math, philosophy, or music—graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences earn the one degree the college awards, a Bachelor of Arts.
Double majors
Only one major is required for graduation. Some students choose to complete two or more majors. No special permission or procedure is required; students simply become accepted into multiple majors and find an advisor in each department. All completed majors are posted on the official transcript. However, even though courses in a second major count among the required 15 credits of electives (see immediately below), double majoring can constrict the variety of electives that might be valuable for an education in the liberal arts and sciences. Students should “double major” only if their intellects and deep interests direct them to do so. If a student majoring in more than one subject decides s/he does not wish to complete the second major, s/he must go to the department and formally withdraw from that major.
Students may pursue minors in any department in any college that offers them, subject to limitations placed by the department offering the minor or by the students’ major. Completed minors will appear on the student’s transcript. Not all departments offer minors. Consult the appropriate department or program listing in this Courses of Study or contact the appropriate department for information on minors offered and how to pursue a minor.
Of the 34 courses and 120 credits required for graduation, almost one-third are free electives. How students use these electives frequently makes the difference between an ordinary and a truly interesting course of study. Students must complete at least four courses and at least 15 credits offered outside the major field and not used to fill another requirement except breadth. AP credits not otherwise used may fulfill elective requirements. Students may group electives to complete one of the established interdisciplinary minors. Students may also group electives into a second major. Since only one major is required, students may count courses in a second major as electives. Some students choose to explore a variety of subjects; some develop a concentration in a department or subject outside Arts and Sciences to gain applied training or specialized knowledge.
The College of Arts and Sciences is a residential community for students who devote their energy and spirit to full-time study. The faculty believes that integrated, full-time study for a defined period best promotes intellectual and creative development and best prepares people for citizenship and careers.
Consequently, eight semesters of full-time study in the College of Arts and Sciences are integral to earning the B.A. degree. Even if the minimum requirements can be met in fewer semesters, the faculty of the college expects students to take advantage of the resources of the university for eight full semesters and obtain as rich and advanced an education in the liberal arts and sciences as possible. Students may complete their undergraduate degrees with credits earned at other institutions or as part-time or summer students at Cornell only if they have completed their eight full-time semesters of residence or satisfied the criteria listed below under “Part-time study in final semester.”
For transfer students from other institutions, each full semester of study at their previous institution counts as one of the eight semesters of residence. However, even if transfer students have completed more than four full semesters at their previous institution, they must spend a minimum of four semesters on the Cornell campus in Ithaca enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences. Internal transfers from other colleges at Cornell must spend four semesters on campus in Ithaca as students in the Internal Transfer Division or in the college. Only if a transfer student spends at least four semesters in the College of Arts and Sciences can he or she accelerate (see “Acceleration,” below).
Approved study abroad, SEA Semester, Urban Semester, FALCON, and Cornell in Washington are considered semesters of residence but not semesters on the Cornell campus. Students may spend no more than two semesters on such programs and must be on campus during their last semester. Dual-degree students spending 10 semesters at Cornell who feel they need three semesters abroad may petition the Academic Records Committee for permission but must demonstrate the academic necessity of the extended time away. Semesters of extramural study in Cornell’s School of Continuing Education, semesters of study at other institutions, and summer sessions anywhere do not count as semesters of residence.
Acceleration
The faculty of the college desires that each student achieve depth, as well as breadth, from his or her undergraduate education. Indeed, benefiting from opportunities for advanced, seminar, and independent (sometimes honors) work is what best characterizes undergraduate education in the college. When a student feels he or she does not need eight semesters in order to achieve this depth, the student can apply to be able to accelerate by a term (and in rare cases, two terms), compressing the first four semesters into three (or two), and completing the prerequisites for the major in time to spend four full semesters in the major.
A student desiring to accelerate should meet with an advising dean in the first month of the desired penultimate semester so that he or she may have time to submit the online application to graduate by the deadline. The advising dean will determine the student’s eligibility to accelerate. Accelerants must fulfill the following requirements:
1. All graduation requirements except for the residency requirement (120 total credits, 100 Arts and Sciences credits, 34 courses, all college requirements, and the university’s physical education requirement).
2. Either condition a or b:
a. 60 credits before beginning their last four semesters in the college and the prerequisites for admission to the major in time to spend four semesters in the major.
b. 48 credits in College of Arts and Sciences courses numbered 3000 and above and prerequisites for admission to the major in time to spend four semesters in the major. No more than three upper-level courses taken in other colleges at Cornell University may count toward the 48 credits and then only if approved as part of the major.
3. 100 credits at Cornell at “C” (not C–) or above. Courses completed with a grade of “S” will count toward the 100 credits. Advanced placement and transfer credits do not count toward this requirement.
4. Students may not use credits earned while on leave of absence to reduce their terms of residence. In other words, they must be eligible to accelerate without applying any credit toward the degree that they earned while on leave.
5. Accelerants may not finish the degree with credits earned through part-time study (unless they meet the guidelines for part-time study), or at an off-campus program, including Cornell in Washington, SEA Semester, Urban Semester, or study abroad. That is, they may not exit through any program other than a regular, full-time Cornell semester in Ithaca.
Students matriculating as first-year students may not compress their undergraduate education into fewer than six semesters of residence. Transfer students, both from other institutions and from other colleges at Cornell, must spend at least four semesters in the college on campus in Ithaca. Acceleration is thus limited to transfer students who enter as sophomores. If a student does not meet the requirements for acceleration, that student may not petition for an exception. Acceleration is, in itself, an exception to the normal rules of the college, and the Academic Records Committee does not grant exceptions to exceptions.
Ninth semester
Students who can graduate in eight semesters should do so. If a worthy academic plan for a full ninth or tenth semester is approved, the student enrolls in the college as a special student for the additional work. Such a status allows enrollment in a full schedule of courses and full access to campus resources for full tuition, but allows financial aid only from loans or outside agencies, not from Cornell funds. Students who need fewer than 12 credits in a ninth or tenth semester to graduate should complete the outstanding courses and pay prorated tuition. Students may spend a ninth semester with Cornell aid only with permission of the Committee on Academic Records. Such permission is normally granted only to the following:
1. Students who have been ill or experienced other untoward circumstances beyond their control.
2. Students who were academically underprepared for the curriculum at Cornell and needed to begin with a lighter schedule of courses than normal. (See Dean Turner, Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, about this option.)
Extramural study
Students in good academic standing may take a personal leave of absence and enroll in the School of Continuing Education, but such semesters of extramural study do not count as terms of residence and credits from such semesters may not be used to reduce the terms of residence.
Part-time study in special circumstances
The college and university support students (with financial aid and services) as best they can to make full-time study possible. Occasionally, however, extraordinary but nonfinancial personal, academic, or medical circumstances make studying part-time temporarily necessary and appropriate. Students in good academic standing who face extraordinary situations may petition the Committee on Academic Records for a part-time schedule and proration of tuition in the college.
Prorated tuition in the final semester
Students may complete their degrees by taking fewer than 12 credits and pay prorated tuition at Cornell after fewer than eight semesters of full-time residence only if:
1. They have completed all requirements by the end of the sixth or seventh semester, met the criteria for accelerated graduation, and are remaining to complete study beyond what is required for the degree.
2. They are writing an honors thesis in the eighth semester and can complete all degree requirements by taking exactly two courses, one of which is the thesis itself. They must register for the thesis and one additional course.
A student must see an advising dean to confirm his or her eligibility for prorated tuition and receive a petition to be approved by his or her faculty advisor. The student must specify the number of credits to be taken in the final term, and the faculty advisor must be able to certify that those credits will allow the student to complete his or her graduation requirements. Once the student has submitted the petition to the advising dean for college approval, he or she must see college registrar Sally O’Hanlon in 55 Goldwin Smith Hall to complete the prorated tuition form necessary for the Office of the Bursar. Both the petition form and prorated tuition form must be completed and approved during the first two weeks of the final semester.
Students must complete at least 34 full courses (which may include courses students place out of with AP credit), to be graduated—that is, an average of four full courses during each of six semesters and five courses during each of two semesters. Not all courses are full courses. Course equivalencies are as follows:
Counting courses:
1-credit courses: Certain 1-credit courses in Music, and in Theatre, Film, and Dance, may aggregate so that each two can count as a half course, and four can count as a full course. Otherwise, single-credit courses do not count as part of the 34.
2-credit course = one-half course
3- or 4-credit course = one full course
5-credit BIOGD 2810 (Genetics) = one and one-half course
Other 5-credit courses = one full course each
6-credit language course = one and one-half course
Other 6-credit courses = one full course each
8-credit FALCON courses = 2 full courses each
16-credit FALCON semester = 4 full courses
16-credit Intensive Arabic semester = 4 full courses
Counting credits: Students must complete 120 credits (which may include AP credits). Of the 120, 100 must be from courses taken in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell.
Courses that do not count toward the 120 credits required for the degree or toward good standing: The College of Arts and Sciences does not grant credit toward the degree for every course offered by the university. Courses in military training, training as an emergency medical technician, service as a teaching assistant, physical education, remedial or developmental training, precalculus mathematics (including EDUC 115), supplemental science and mathematics offered by the Learning Strategies Center, English as a second language, keyboarding, and shorthand are among those for which degree credit and credit toward the 12 credits required each semester for good academic standing are not given. Students should consult http://www.arts.cornell.edu/stu-adv/coursesdontcount.php for more information and a list of courses.
Other cases in which a course may not receive credit or count toward good standing include the following:
• A course identified as a prerequisite for a subsequent course may not be taken for credit once a student completes that subsequent course.
• A repeated course. (For more information, see “Repeating courses,” below).
• A course with material that significantly overlaps with material in a course a student has already taken, for example, SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology, and DSOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology; or any of the following statistics courses: AEM 2100 Introductory Statistics, ILRST 2100 Introduction to Statistics, ILRST 2120 Statistical Reasoning, MATH 1710 Statistical Theory and Application in the Real World, PAM 2100 Introduction to Statistics, PSYCH 3500 Statistics Research and Design, SOC 3010 Evaluating Statistical Evidence, STSCI 2010 Introduction to Statistics.
Courses that count toward the 100 required Arts and Sciences credits may include liberal arts courses approved for study abroad during a semester or academic year of full-time study (not summer study), courses taken in certain off-campus Cornell residential programs, courses (usually no more than three) that certain departments accept from other colleges at Cornell as fulfilling major requirements (and substituting for A&S courses), and courses (up to two) that an advisor accepts as part of a completed and formally established cross-college, interdisciplinary minor.
Courses that do not count toward the 100 required Arts and Sciences credits include credits earned in other colleges at Cornell (except in the cases noted above), credits earned in any subject at institutions other than Cornell, and advanced placement credits. AP credits count as part of the 120 credits and 34 courses required for the degree but not as part of the 100 Arts and Sciences credits and may not be applied to distribution or breadth. AP credits are posted on the transcript during the summer between the freshman and sophomore years, after students have decided whether to accept the credit or forfeit it by taking the Cornell course out of which they had placed. If, subsequently, a student takes the course out of which s/he had placed, the AP credit will be removed because of the overlap in content (For more information on AP credits, please see pages 445-447).
Repeating courses
Students occasionally need to repeat courses. If the instructor certifies that the course content is significantly different, credit is granted a second time. If the content is the same, both grades nonetheless appear on the transcript and are included in any GPA that is calculated, but the course and credit count toward the degree only once. Repeated courses do not count toward the 12 credits required for good standing. Students considering repeating a course under this circumstance should discuss the matter with their advisor and an advising dean. Students who plan to repeat a course must submit a petition to the college registrar, Sally O’Hanlon, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall. If the original course grade was F, no petition is necessary.
Using courses to fulfill more than one requirement:
A course may fulfill more than one college requirement in any of the following situations:
1. A course may be used to fulfill distribution, breadth, and a major requirement (except as noted in earlier sections on restrictions on applying AP credits, transfer credits, and Cornell courses to distribution requirements).
2. A one-semester course in foreign literature (not language) or culture that is acceptable for certifying option 1 in that language may also be applied to the relevant distribution requirement and, if appropriate, to the breadth requirement.
3. Courses may count toward breadth requirements and toward any other requirement except first-year writing seminars.
4. Courses in a second major may count as electives.
Summer session credit
A student may earn credit toward the degree by completing courses in Cornell’s summer session or by successfully petitioning for transfer credit for summer courses at other colleges. Students should consult their advisors regarding summer study plans.
Credit for summer courses not taken at Cornell must be approved by the appropriate Cornell department. Approval forms and information are available online, http://www.arts.cornell.edu, and in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 or 172 Goldwin Smith Hall. Students are advised to submit course descriptions, syllabi, and approval forms to the director of undergraduate studies in the relevant Cornell department for prior approval of each course. Transcripts for completed work at other institutions must be sent to Robin Perry, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall. Credit approved for summer courses away from Cornell (including summer courses abroad) counts toward the 120 credits and 34 courses required for the degree, but not toward the 100 credits required in the college at Cornell. It may not be applied to distribution or breadth requirements but may be applied to elective requirements and to major requirements (with the approval of the department).
Entering students who want to receive credit toward the degree for courses completed before matriculation in a summer session away from Cornell should obtain approval forms as soon as possible and have transcripts sent to Robin Perry, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall. Credits completed in Cornell summer sessions will be awarded automatically.
Summer session at Cornell or elsewhere does not count toward the eight-semester residence requirement. Students are permitted to earn up to 12 credits in one summer.
Transferring credit earned away from Cornell while on leave of absence
See “Leaves of Absence.”
Transferring credit (for transfer students from another institution or from another Cornell college)
Transfer students must satisfy all normal requirements for the degree, including eight semesters of full-time study. They must always complete at least 60 credits and 18 courses at Cornell and be in residence on campus in the college for at least four regular semesters (summer session does not count toward the residence requirement). The college evaluates credit and residence earned either at another school or college at Cornell University or at another accredited institution of collegiate rank and determines the number of credits and courses the student may apply toward the various requirements for the bachelor of arts degree at Cornell. In addition, it reevaluates advanced placement credit allowed by another institution, including another college at Cornell. Evaluations of transfer credits are normally provided when students are notified of their admission. Once matriculated in Arts and Sciences at Cornell, transfer students must adhere to the same rules for transferring credit earned on leave as all other students.
The following four programs allow students to alter the regular college or major requirements or to work toward more than one degree.
The College Scholar Program is meant to serve students whose interests and talents would benefit from a little more academic freedom than other students have, who demonstrate exceptional promise, and who show the maturity to plan and carry out, with the help of their advisor, a well-designed program of study. College Scholars design idiosyncratic programs: some pursue diverse interests; others integrate a variety of courses into a coherent subject. Up to 40 students in each class are accepted into the program.
College Scholars must complete 120 credits of course work (100 in the college), 34 courses, the university’s physical education requirement, and, unless they receive permission from the program to accelerate, eight full terms of undergraduate study but are not required to fulfill the other usual college requirements for the degree. All college scholars must complete a senior project. Although they are not required to complete or fulfill the general education requirements, members of the College Scholar Advisory Board believe that the spirit of those requirements is good.
Each applicant to the College Scholar Program is asked to write an essay, which is due the last Wednesday of classes in the spring of the freshman year. Students should contact Dean Ken Gabard, Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, for further information.
The Dual-Degree Program enables especially ambitious undergraduate students to pursue programs of study in two colleges. Dual-degree candidates may earn both a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Arts and Sciences and: (1) a bachelor of science degree from the College of Engineering; or (2) a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Department of Art in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; or (3) a bachelor of science degree in urban and regional studies from the Department of City and Regional Planning in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; or (4) a bachelor of science degree in architectural history from the Department of Architecture in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. Students enter one of these colleges as freshmen or sophomores and begin the Dual-Degree Program with the second college in the second or, in some cases, the third year. The Dual-Degree Program ordinarily takes five years to complete, and students are eligible for 10 semesters with financial aid. For further information contact Dean Tammy Shapiro in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
The Independent Major Program allows students to design their own interdisciplinary majors and pursue a subject that cannot be found in an established major. Proposals for an independent major must be equivalent in coherence, breadth, and depth to a departmental major, well suited to the student’s academic preparation, and consistent with a liberal education. Proposals must also be supported by a faculty advisor and are assessed by a board of faculty members. Independent majors substitute for established majors, but students must still satisfy all the other requirements for the bachelor’s degree. Students should contact Dean James Finlay, Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, for further information. Deadlines for submitting independent major proposals are listed on the calendar supplement for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Registration in the senior year of the College of Arts and Sciences and the first year of Cornell Law School or the Johnson Graduate School of Management is occasionally possible. A very few exceptionally well-prepared students who have earned 105 credits before the start of the senior year and have been accepted by one of the above-named professional schools may be permitted to register simultaneously in the college and in one or another of these professional schools during the seventh and eighth terms. They earn the B.A. degree after the first year of professional school.
Students with 8 or fewer credits and two or fewer courses to complete may apply to enter the Master’s of Engineering program during (but no earlier than) their eighth semester; dual-degree students may enter this program no earlier than the ninth semester. They earn the bachelor degree(s) after one semester of graduate school.
Students interested in the joint program with the Law School, the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), or the Graduate School of Management, or in early admission to the master’s of engineering program should apply to the relevant program. All candidates should confirm their eligibility with an advising dean, Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Double-registered students must, of course, complete all requirements for the B.A. degree, including 100 credits in Arts and Sciences courses.
Students at Cornell may pursue teaching credentials in agriculture, biology, chemistry, earth science, general science, mathematics, and physics. Cornell students from any college are encouraged to apply for admission to the Cornell Teacher Education Program during their sophomore or junior year. Those who are admitted complete their undergraduate major in an agricultural science, mathematics or science and a minor (concentration) in education. They are then able to complete a master of arts in teaching (MAT) in one year and earn certification in New York State. Students in agricultural science be able to complete all certification requirements as undergraduates, although this option is not recommended.
For more information, contact the program director, Deborah Trumbull, at 255-3108 or djt2@cornell.edu.
The following options enable students to pursue special interests within the usual degree programs.
Independent study affords students the opportunity to pursue special interests or research not treated in regularly scheduled courses. A faculty member, who becomes the student’s instructor for the independent course, must approve the proposed study and agree to provide continuing supervision of the work. Students must prepare a proposal for independent study (proposal forms are available in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 and 172 Goldwin Smith Hall). In one semester students may earn up to 6 credits with one instructor or up to 8 credits with more than one instructor. Students who are being paid for assisting faculty in research earn course credit for that work.
An excellent way to benefit from being an undergraduate at a research university, at Cornell in particular, is to become an apprentice in ongoing faculty research. About 400 students participate each year in creating new knowledge and earn independent study credit for what they learn and contribute. They sharpen their critical and creative abilities and test their interest in pursuing a research career. Sometimes they publish their work.
The Cornell Undergraduate Research Board, an undergraduate organization, conducts an annual open house to help students get started in research and an annual forum at which undergraduates present their work. See http://www.rso.cornell.edu/curb.
Students interested in research should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the department of interest to find out about available opportunities. For more general information on the process of research or on petitioning for independent study credit for research, students should consult Dean James Finlay, Dean Maria Davidis [on leave 2009–2010], or Dean David DeVries, in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, or consult http://www.research.cornell.edu/undergrad.
FALCON (Full-Year Asian Language Concentration). FALCON allows students who are interested in the Far East to study Chinese or Japanese exclusively for one year. They gain proficiency in the language and familiarity with the culture. Students who are interested in the Far East should be aware of the opportunities to pursue rapid and thorough beginning studies on campus with the objective of studying abroad in China or Japan. Students interested in this program should contact the Department of Asian Studies, 388 Rockefeller Hall; e-mail: falcon@cornell.edu.
Law schools seek students with sound training in the liberal arts and sciences; they neither require nor prefer any particular program of study. Students should therefore study what they love and do well. While doing that, they should also develop their powers of precise, analytical thinking and proficiency in writing and speaking. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences who are applying to law school may consult Dean Heather Struck in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
The college offers a minor in law and society. This program offers a broad scope, complements almost any major, and attracts many students not intending to become lawyers as well as a subset of those intending to.
The breadth and depth afforded by a liberal arts education are invaluable for students planning medical careers, whether they intend to practice or go into research. Such education has a profound effect on the doctor’s understanding of the world and hence usefulness to patients, and it affords the flexibility of mind that is needed for major research undertakings. Medical and dental schools do not prescribe or even prefer a particular major; they do, however, require particular undergraduate courses, and most students are well advised to begin chemistry in their freshman year. Students who are interested in medical careers are urged to visit the Health Careers Office, 203 Barnes Hall.
The advisor for students in the College of Arts and Sciences who are planning careers in medicine is Dean Janice Turner, Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Many students find it important to their majors or to their overall academic programs to study off campus or abroad for one or two semesters. When it makes academic sense, the college encourages its students to pursue such studies and grants credit toward the degree for work satisfactorily completed. Students wishing to participate in any off-campus program must petition their advising dean with a list of courses they wish to take during the program and a well-reasoned explanation of why the proposed semester is crucial for their course of study.
The College of Arts and Sciences encourages study, both on campus and abroad, that provides a greater understanding of the world’s peoples, cultures, economies, and environments, and prepares graduates for the challenges of international citizenship in the 21st century. Study abroad is open to students in any major who meet the college requirements and have a strong academic goal. Well-chosen and well-planned study abroad contributes a global or comparative dimension to your chosen field, enhances critical thinking and communications skills, and provides firsthand immersion in and appreciation of another culture. Focused academic work in the right institution abroad can be excellent preparation for advanced study or honors work in your final semesters at Cornell, and can lead to a career with a global component.
Requirements
• acceptance into a major
• area studies course work
• fulfillment of the College of Arts and Sciences residence requirement
• GPA of 3.0 or higher and good academic standing
• language study at the required level
• meet requirements set by the foreign university or program
Cornell Study Abroad students must study alongside degree candidates in their host institutions rather than in self-contained programs that offer courses specially designed for foreigners. The college will approve only those study-abroad proposals that demonstrate realistic and coherent academic goals that are consistent with the philosophy of a liberal arts education.
The college advocates study abroad that enables students to become competent in another language, so that they can engage fully in daily life in another culture, develop social relationships, and complete formal course work in that language. To study abroad in a country where the host language is not English, the student must demonstrate competence in the language as a prerequisite.
For study abroad in Western Europe and Latin America, students must complete at least two semesters of the appropriate foreign language at the 2000 level at Cornell; additional course work is strongly encouraged and will increase students’ chances for acceptance into the most highly competitive programs. Consult this catalog for the required level of course work in specific languages. For study abroad in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa, course work entirely in the host language is not always practical, even after several semesters of language preparation at Cornell. Students should still plan to complete as much language preparation as possible within the Cornell curriculum, at least one to two years of study, and may be approved for language-intensive programs (at least half of the permitted 15 credits) with appropriate course work in English. If Cornell does not offer instruction in the language of the proposed host country, the student may be approved for a program that combines intensive language instruction with subject course work in English. All students must continue to formally study the language of the host country while abroad.
For study abroad in English-speaking countries, direct university enrollment is approved and expected. Cornell students will engage in a full course of study, generally in their major field, alongside regular degree candidates in the host country. In general, the college requires that at least 50 percent of the classes the student enrolls in be advanced-level course work in their major field.
Students will need to acquire background knowledge of the country or region where they intend to study. At least one area-studies course or one course in the history, culture, economics, politics, or social relations of the country of destination (3 or more credits) in addition to language study should be part of every student’s preparation for study abroad. Some especially competitive programs require substantial prior course work in the proposed course of study as a prerequisite to acceptance. Students who intend to enhance their major with study abroad may need advanced course work in that field. As with language study, area-studies preparation beyond the minimum is highly recommended.
All A&S students must be formally accepted into a major before going abroad, and should ideally be accepted into a major before beginning the application process. Most students plan a significant amount of academic work toward the major while abroad. Whether or not students intend to earn major credit, the college requires that time spent abroad will not impede their progress toward the degree. The student’s faculty advisor and departmental director of undergraduate studies must review and approve the study-abroad plans before the application is submitted to the college.
Study abroad can earn up to 15 A&S credits per semester of full-time course work as long as the curriculum abroad is consistent with that of the college. Completion of one trimester of study earns a maximum of 10 credits. Two terms at Oxford or Cambridge may earn up to 20 credits. You must carry a full course load as defined by the host institution, which should be equivalent to at least 15 credits at Cornell, and all courses must be taken for a letter grade. Courses that fall outside the scope of the liberal arts and sciences may only be taken with the prior approval of Dean Wasyliw, and will earn non-A&S credits. Some foreign universities offer courses for visiting students that do not carry any academic credit. Students may not earn additional credit for enrolling in extra courses during the semester or year abroad.
Credit for study abroad will be awarded only after completion of the semester abroad, and after the college receives your official transcript. To receive credit, students must fill out a Request for Credit from Study Abroad formm and submit it to the advising office along with a copy of their transcript. All courses taken abroad will appeaer on the Cornell transcript and grades earned are reported in the system of the host institution. Grades earned through course work abroad do not become part of the Cornell GPA, since grades at other institutions are rarely equivalent to grades at Cornell. Students must save all written work from all courses until their grades are received and recorded on their Cornell transcript.
The maximum length of study abroad that can count toward A&S degree requirements is two semesters, which is also the amount of time recommended for true immersion in another culture and language. Approved semesters away from campus include Cornell in Washington, Urban Semester, and SEA Semester as well as all Cornell Abroad destinations. Students who transfer to Cornell must complete a minimum of four semesters of residence on campus in Ithaca and may not study abroad during any of those four semesters. Internal transfers must complete four semesters of residence on campus in the Internal Transfer Division and/or the College of Arts and Sciences. Students interested in the Cornell in Rome Program should contact Dean Wasyliw.
All applicants for study abroad during the academic year must go through the Cornell Abroad office after being approved by the College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, see Dean Patricia Wasyliw, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall. The full A&S study-abroad policy can be found on the Cornell Abroad web site.
During the summer months students may participate in a Cornell-sponsored archaeological project. In recent years the program has organized archaeological projects in Central America, Greece, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and New York State. Students should contact the Archaeology Program for information about the sites currently available. Students planning on attending field schools organized by other institutions should contact Professor Thomas Volman, 201 McGraw Hall, or tpv1@cornell.edu.
Shoals Marine Laboratory is a seasonal field station that offers more than 30 college courses that award Cornell credit and paid internships, a variety of courses and experiences designed to introduce undergraduates to marine science. The laboratory is located on Appledore Island, six miles off the Maine/New Hampshire coasts. Students should contact the Shoals Marine Laboratory Office, G14 Stimson Hall, or e-mail shoals-lab@cornell.edu, for further information.
The Cornell in Washington program offers students from all colleges in the university an opportunity to earn full academic credit for a semester in Washington, D.C. Students take courses from Cornell faculty members, conduct individual research projects, and work as externs. The Cornell in Washington program offers two study options: (1) studies in public policy, and (2) studies in the American experience. The program also offers unique externship opportunities: students serve as externs in a federal agency, congressional office, or nongovernmental organization and take part in a public policy or humanities seminar. They define and carry out individual research projects under the supervision of Cornell faculty members. Potential externships are arranged through, and approved by, the Cornell in Washington program. For further information, see p. X or inquire at M101 McGraw Hall, 255-4090.
Students wishing to participate in the Urban Semester program, Capital Semester in Albany program, or the Earth and Environmental Systems (EES) semester in Hawaii must petition their advising dean with a list of the courses they wish to take during the program and a well-reasoned explanation of why the proposed semester is crucial for their major course of study. Students interested in the Cornell in Rome program should consult Dean Patricia Wasyliw in 55 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Academic integrity is the heart of intellectual life—both in learning and in research. All members of the university community simply must support each other’s efforts to master new material and discover new knowledge by sharing ideas and resources, by respecting each other’s contributions, and by being honest about their own work. Otherwise the university will fail to accomplish its most central and important goals.
Cornell’s Code of Academic Integrity and policy about acknowledging the work of others are among the documents new students receive. Students should read them carefully and not assume they understand what integrity and cheating are and are not. Academic integrity implies more here at the university than it usually did in high school. The standards of integrity are those that prevail in professional life. This means that students must acknowledge and cite ideas they adopt from others (not just direct quotations) and help they receive from colleagues or parents. With productive emphases on collaborative learning and writing, students must understand the general standards and policies about academic integrity and be sure they understand the expectations in individual courses as well. When in doubt, ask the instructor. For more information, consult cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html.
Forging signatures or credentials on college forms is an academic offense and constitutes academic fraud. In all cases of forgery on academic forms, the effect of the forged documents shall be negated; such incidents will be recorded in the Academic Integrity Hearing Board’s confidential file for forgeries. If the student forges more than once, or if the forgery would advance the student’s academic standing unfairly or fraudulently, or if for any reason the situation requires some response in addition to the uniform penalty, the Academic Integrity Hearing Board might recommend further action, such as a notation on the student’s transcript, suspension, or dismissal.
The following advisors and offices provide academic advising, help with problems, and information on college procedures and regulations.
Each new student is assigned a faculty advisor. Advisors help students plan programs of study and advise them about ways to achieve their academic goals. Advisors may also help students with study or personal problems or may direct them to other offices on campus where help is available. Academic difficulties may frequently be solved or avoided if students and advisors recognize and address problems early.
Advisors and new advisees meet first during orientation week to discuss course selection. New students are encouraged to see their advisors again early in the semester, before it is too late to drop courses, to discuss their academic progress and to become better acquainted. Advisors and advisees meet at least once each semester to discuss courses for the following semester, and more often if advisees wish to discuss academic or personal issues or to petition for an exception to college rules.
After acceptance into a major, each student is assigned a faculty advisor in his or her department, with whom the student shapes and directs the course of study. The advisor eventually certifies the completion of the major. Students should consult their major advisor about all academic plans, including honors, study abroad, acceleration, and graduate study. The advisor’s support is especially important if a student petitions for an exception to the normal procedures or requirements.
Student advisors pass on lore about the college and life at Cornell and help new students become oriented to the university.
This office, located in 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, 255-5004, and 172 Goldwin Smith Hall, 255-4833, is a resource for faculty and student advisors and for individual students and their parents. Advising deans are available to help students define their academic and career goals, to help with special academic options and exceptions to college rules, and to help when problems arise:
David DeVries, associate dean for undergraduate admissions and advising and undergraduate research, 255-3386
Juliette Corazón, minority students and liaison to Latino Studies Program, 255-4833
Maria Davidis [on leave 2009–2010], juniors, seniors, Tanner Dean’s Scholars, Rawlings Cornell Presidential Research Scholars, Mellon Mays Fellows, undergraduate research, and postgraduate fellowships, 255-4833
Christa Downey, career services, 255-4166
James Finlay, first- and second-year students, Independent Major Program, undergraduate research, and peer advisors, 255-5004
Ken Gabard, first- and second-year students and College Scholar Program, 255-5004
Ray Kim, juniors, seniors, student ambassadors, 255-4833
Irene Komor, career counseling, 254-5295
Clare McMillan, first- and second-year students, students with disabilities, Tanner Dean’s Scholars, 255-4833
Diane J. Miller, career services, 255-6924
Sally O’Hanlon, registrar, 255-5794
Myra Sabir, juniors, seniors, internal transfers, Mellon Mays Fellows, and minority students, 255-4833
Tammy Shapiro, juniors, seniors, dual-degree students, 255-4833
Arthur Smith, first- and second-year students
Heather Struck, juniors, seniors, prelaw students, 255-4833
Janice Turner, minority students and pre-med students, 255-9497
Patricia Wasyliw, first- and second-year students, academic integrity, study abroad, 255-5004
The college faculty’s standing Committee on Academic Records has two main tasks: (1) to decide on students’ petitions for exceptions to college requirements or rules and (2) to review the records of students who fail to maintain good academic standing and to take appropriate action. It accomplishes both those tasks without formulae and with attention to each individual situation. Its overriding goal is to help students achieve the best undergraduate education possible.
The college faculty takes graduation requirements seriously, and the faculty’s Committee on Academic Records virtually never waives a requirement outright. However, some students, with the support of their advisors, propose structuring their educations or fulfilling the spirit of college requirements in ways other than the specified norms. The Committee on Academic Records decides on such requests. Students who find that their undergraduate education would be better realized by satisfying requirements or proceeding in a way that requires an exception to normal rules, for example, a substitution for the language requirement, should meet with an advising dean in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising. The deans are expert in the college’s expectations and procedures and can help the student formulate a petition, if appropriate. The committee decides petitions on the basis of their educational merit.
The College of Arts and Sciences has no minimum grade requirement for graduation beyond the guideline that at least 100 Cornell credits of the 120 total required for graduation be passed with grades of C (not C–) or above. Consequently, only through actions of the Committee on Academic Records, described below under “Academic Standing,” does the college maintain the quality of the degree and attend to individual situations when things academic are not going well.
During orientation week, new students attend briefings and other information sessions, meet with faculty advisors, and sign into courses. The college reserves spaces in courses for its incoming students.
Continuing students select and schedule up to five courses of 3 or more credits and as many 1- and 2-credit courses as they would like during the semester before the one in which the courses will be taken. Students who do not “pre-enroll” during the designated period must wait until the beginning of the semester and may have difficulty securing places in the courses they most want. Before enrolling in courses, students plan their programs and discuss long-range goals with their faculty advisors. In addition, all students are welcome to discuss programs and plans with an advising dean in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 or 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
At the beginning of each semester, students find their schedules on Student Center at http://www.studentcenter.cornell.edu. Periodically during the semester, and particularly just before the 3-, 7-, and 12-week deadlines, they should confirm the accuracy of their records.
To meet the 34-course requirement, students must normally take four courses during each of six semesters and five courses during each of two semesters. To meet the 120-credit requirement, students must average 15 credits per semester. (Note: AP credit and/or summer credits may reduce the average numbers of courses and credits required each semester.)
Minimum number of credits per semester
To maintain good academic standing as a full-time student, students must complete at least 12 degree credits per semester; if for compelling personal or academic reasons students need to carry fewer than 12 credits, they should consult their faculty advisor and an advising dean. Permission is by petition only, and after the first semester, such permission is given only in extraordinary circumstances.
Maximum number of credits per semester
First-year students must petition to enroll in more than 18 credits; other students may enroll in up to 22 credits if their previous semester’s average was 3.0 or higher and they are in good academic standing. No more than 22 credits may be taken in a regular semester without permission of the college faculty’s Committee on Academic Records. Students who fail to receive approval for excess credits from the committee may count only 18 or 22 credits, depending on their previous semester’s average, toward the degree for that semester. Students taking summer courses may earn no more than 12 credits in any one semester.
Attendance in classes is expected. Absences are a matter between students and their instructors. If a student cannot attend classes because of illness or family crisis, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising will notify instructors at the request of the student or the family. Nonetheless, the student must arrange to make up examinations or other work with each instructor. A student who will be absent because of religious holidays or athletic competitions must discuss arrangements for making up work with his or her instructors well in advance of the absence. A student who must miss an examination must also consult with the professor in advance. Alternative arrangements are at the discretion of the instructor.
Student athletes should discuss scheduled absences with their instructors at the beginning of the semester. Courses vary in their tolerance of absences. Instructors are not obligated to approve absences for purposes of participating in extracurricular activities, although most will be as flexible as is sensible for a student’s academic program.
After course enrollment (also known as pre-enrollment), students may not adjust their schedules until the new semester begins. During the first three weeks of the semester, students may change courses without petitioning. (Note: the add period for first-year writing seminars is only two weeks.)
After the third week of classes, students must petition to add courses and may add them only for a letter grade. They may drop courses through the seventh week of the semester if no issue of academic integrity is at stake. Between the seventh and 12th weeks students may petition to withdraw from courses, if (1) the instructor approves; (2) the advisor approves; (3) an advising dean approves; (4) the drop does not result in fewer than 12 credits; and (5) no issue of academic integrity is at stake. Students must meet with an advising dean to obtain petition forms.
Courses officially dropped after the seventh week will be noted on the transcript by a “W” where the grade would normally appear. This is a matter of record and cannot be petitioned. Petitions to withdraw from courses may not be submitted after the end of the 12th week in the semester. Deadlines for short courses will be adjusted according to the length of the courses.
The effective date of all course changes will be the day the student submits all completed paperwork to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising.
See “Grading Guidelines,” pages 15–16.
The S–U (satisfactory–unsatisfactory) option allows students to explore unfamiliar subjects or take advanced courses in subjects relatively new to them without being under pressure to compete with better-prepared students for high grades. Students are expected to devote full effort and commitment to a course and complete all work in a course they take for an S–U grade. The S–U option is contingent upon the instructor’s willingness to assign such grades. Students must select their grading option and obtain the instructor's approval for the S-U option during the first three weeks of the semester. No exceptions to this deadline are permitted, and consequently students adding courses after the third week of the semester must add them for a letter grade. After the third week of the semester, students may not petition for a grade option change, unless the course in question has been taken for S–U and is now part of the student’s major. If, subsequently, the student withdraws from that major, the grade option will revert to its prior state. Students should note that a grade of S is equivalent to a grade of C– or higher; a grade of U, which is equivalent to any grade below C–, is a failing grade equal to an F. S means the student receives the credit specified for the course. U means no credit is given. A few courses in the college are graded exclusively S–U; in that case, the final grade appears on the transcript as SX or UX.
Prerequisite courses for graduate school and courses counting toward the major should not be taken for an S–U grade, unless the department grants permission. Students may elect the S–U option in courses used to satisfy distribution and elective requirements, provided that such courses do not also count toward major requirements or serve as prerequisites for admission to the major. First-year writing seminars and most language courses disallow the S–U option. In any case, students are advised to use the S–U option sparingly, if they intend to apply to graduate school or for transfer to another college. In addition, second-semester seniors in particular are advised to use the S–U option carefully: A student receiving a D in a nonmajor course he or she needs for graduation will still be graduated if that course has been taken for a letter grade. If, however, the student has taken the course S–U, the D will be recorded as a U and the student will be unable to be graduated on the desired degree date. There is no limit on the number of courses each semester for which students may elect the S–U grade, but within the 120 credits required for the degree, a minimum of 80 credits must be in courses for which a letter grade was received.
An incomplete (INC) signifies that a course was not completed before the end of the semester for reasons beyond the student’s control and acceptable to the instructor. Students must have substantial (normally at least 50 percent) equity in the course, be able to complete the remaining work, and have a passing grade for the completed portion. When a grade of incomplete is reported, the instructor submits a form stating what work must be completed, when it must be completed, and the grade (or permanent—“frozen”—incomplete) earned if the work is not completed by that date. When a final grade is determined, it is recorded on the official transcript with an asterisk and a footnote explaining that this grade was formerly an incomplete.
Students should be aware that INCs are interpreted as credits not passed during a given semester. If a student’s INC takes his or her record below 12 credits in a given semester, the student risks being placed on warning or on leave by the Academic Records Committee. If placed on leave, the student must complete the INC before being allowed to return, and readmission will be permitted only at the beginning of a given semester. If the INC is not completed by the beginning of a regular academic term, the student may not register for that term. Students must resolve (make up or “freeze”) any incompletes with their instructors before graduation.
R is recorded for satisfactory progress at the end of the first semester of a two-semester course. Students enroll in such courses both semesters. The grade recorded at the end of the second semester evaluates the student’s performance in the course for the entire year and will also replace the grade of “R” for the first semester of the course.
Students enrolled in an R course for the thesis may occasionally wish or feel compelled not to complete that thesis. In order to drop the thesis but continue with an independent study, the student should see Sue Downes in 172 Goldwin Smith Hall for the appropriate forms.
Grade reports are available online on Student Center at http://www.StudentCenter.cornell.edu; they are not mailed to students. Students should periodically check their courses and grades to be sure that they are recorded correctly.
The college does not compute class rank.
Inclusion on the Dean’s List is an academic honor bestowed by the dean of the college semester by semester. Based on grades, the criteria include about the top 30 percent of students and vary with the number of credits the student completes. The criteria are subject to slight changes from semester to semester and are available at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/stu-adv/deanslist.asp and in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Students are in good academic standing for the semester if they successfully complete at least 12 degree credits by the end of the semester and earn no more than one D and no F or U grades. If a student completes only three courses, all grades must be above D. In addition, students are expected to make satisfactory progress toward satisfying requirements for the degree and to earn grades of C (not C–) or better in at least 100 of the 120 credits for the degree. Courses listed under “courses that do not count toward the degree” do not count toward good academic standing in a semester.
Students who are not in good academic standing will be considered for academic action by the college faculty’s Committee on Academic Records or by one of the advising deans of the college. Students are urged to explain their poor academic performance and submit corroborating documentation. Students may appeal a decision or action of the committee if they have new relevant information and documentation. They must consult an advising dean about appealing.
Any student who fails to maintain good academic standing will, at a minimum, be warned. A warning is posted on a student’s college record but is not reported to the university registrar and does not appear on official transcripts.
A student in serious academic difficulty may be required by the faculty Committee on Academic Records to take a leave of absence, normally for a full year. Usually, but not always or necessarily, the Committee on Academic Records warns students before suspending them. Before being allowed to return and reregister in the college, students must document what they did on leave and how they resolved their problems, and they must submit a plan for completing the degree. In some cases students will be required to furnish evidence that they are ready to return or satisfy other conditions before being allowed to reregister in the college. Students who request to return in less than a year must present to the committee extraordinarily convincing evidence of their readiness to return. “Required leave” is posted on the student’s official transcript.
The faculty Committee on Academic Records may dismiss a student from the college because of a highly unsatisfactory record for one semester or for failure to make satisfactory overall progress in grades, credits, or degree requirements. This action expels the student permanently from the college. “Required withdrawal” is posted on the student’s official transcript.
Most leaves of absence are not required. Taking time off from college to gain experience or funds, or to find direction, is sometimes useful. In general, students arrange in advance for leaves to take effect the following semester. Students in good academic standing must see an advising dean to obtain and submit a leave of absence statement, to be approved by the advising dean. Students may take a personal leave of absence up to the beginning of the semester (defined as the first day of classes). Students not in good academic standing may pursue a conditional leave of absence from the college up to the first day of classes. If medical issues are involved, students must consult Gannett: Cornell University Health Services about the advisability of a medical leave of absence. Any student who wishes to take a leave of absence must consult with an advising dean in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising, 55 or 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Students sometimes find it necessary to take a leave of absence at some point during the semester. In addition to the serious financial consequence of taking leaves after the semester has begun (see the Proration Schedule for Withdrawals and Leaves of Absence in the General Information section of this catalog), all leaves taken during the semester are granted at the discretion of the college and must, if granted, be conditional leaves of absence. Students must discuss their need for a LOA with an advising dean.
Leaves of Absence are of four types:
1. Personal leaves impose no conditions concerning reentering the college except for the five-year limit (see “Return from Leave,” below). Readmission is automatic upon written request made by the student to his or her advising dean by August 1 for a fall semester, or January 1 for a spring semester. The college is not obliged to re-admit any student who does not meet the deadline for a given semester.
2. Conditional leaves are granted by the college for students who wish to take a leave but are not in good academic standing, or for students who wish to take a leave during the current semester. In consultation with the student, an advising dean and the Committee on Academic Records set the conditions for the student’s return. Students may not return from conditional leaves for at least two semesters and/or until specific and individual conditions, such as completing unfinished work, have been met, and permission to return must be granted by the Committee on Academic Records. Students may be granted conditional leaves after the 12th week of a semester only under extraordinary circumstances and with the approval of the faculty’s Committee on Academic Records.
3. Medical leaves are granted by the college only upon the recommendation of Gannett Health Services, and are usually issued for at least six months. The college may attach additional conditions appropriate to the individual situation. The student’s academic standing is also subject to review at the time of the leave and on return. Students must then receive clearance from both Gannett and the college to be readmitted to study. Students wishing to return from a medical leave should contact Gannett several months in advance to initiate the return process, and only then contact the college.
4. Required leaves. The Committee on Academic Records may require a leave of absence if a student is not making satisfactory progress toward the degree. See “Academic Actions.”
Students on conditional or required leaves of absence (LOA) may not attend any classes at Cornell through the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. Students on a medical LOA may not register for classes at Cornell unless they obtain the permission of the college and a recommendation from Gannett. Courses taken without college permission will not count toward degree requirements.
Return from Leave
Students wishing to return from leave must contact the college and, where appropriate, provide documentation that all conditions for readmission have been satisfied. All requests for readmission must be received by the college by August 1 for the fall semester and January 1 for the spring semester. In the case of conditional and/or medical leaves, students must consult well in advance of those dates with both the college and Gannett. On readmission, the student’s graduation date will be recalculated to account for the time spent away. Five years is the maximum length of time a student may be on leave before being withdrawn from the college.
Transferring Credits Earned While on Leave
Students who take courses elsewhere in the United States while on leave may petition to have credits transferred. Petitions are available in 55 and 172 Goldwin Smith Hall and at http://www.arts.cornell.edu. Approval depends on acceptable grades and the judgment of the relevant departments about the quality of the courses. If approved, these credits may be applied toward the 120 credits and 34 courses needed for graduation, but not toward the 100 credits required in the college. They may be applied to elective requirements or to the major, as allowed by the department, but not to any of the breadth or distribution requirements. Credits earned during a leave do not count toward the eight semesters of residence and may not be used to reduce the terms of residence below the required eight. See “Residence.”
Study abroad undertaken during a leave of absence will not receive academic credit. International students on leave of absence from the College of Arts and Sciences may enroll in courses at a college or university in their home country only, as such enrollment is not defined as study abroad. They may petition for transfer of credit upon return to Cornell. If approved, the credit will count as described in the previous paragraph.
A withdrawal is a permanent severance from the university and from candidacy for the degree. Students planning to withdraw should consult an advising dean. Students not requesting a leave and failing to register for a semester will be withdrawn from the college. The college faculty’s Committee on Academic Records may require a student to withdraw because of a highly unsatisfactory academic record, and the college may require a student to withdraw because of failure to register in a timely fashion.
Internal transfer from one college or school at Cornell into another is attractive for students whose intellectual interests change (or become more focused). Students who wish to transfer should discuss their eligibility with a counselor in the new school or college.
In some cases, students who want to transfer into the College of Arts and Sciences may transfer directly. In other cases, they may be referred to the Internal Transfer Division. During the semester immediately preceding transfer into the College of Arts and Sciences, students must complete at least 12 credits of courses in the College of Arts and Sciences with a 3.0 average and with no grades of , S–U grades (unless only S–U grades are offered for that particular course), or grade below C (C– is below C). Satisfying this minimum requirement does not, however, guarantee admission. Admission to the college is based on consideration of the student’s entire record at Cornell and the high school record, not just the work of one semester. It is also based on ability to complete the B.A. degree within a reasonable time. Internal transfers are required to spend four semesters in Arts and Sciences and thus should initiate the transfer process no later than the second semester of sophomore year. They also must complete at least 100 credits at Cornell with grades of C (not C–) or above. Interested students should see Dean Ray Kim, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
The College of Arts and Sciences grants only one degree (no matter the student’s major): the A.B. (or B.A.). A.B. is the abbreviation of the Latin name for the degree, “artium baccalarius,” or translated into English, B.A., “Bachelor of Arts.”
In the first semester of their senior year, students will receive an e-mail instructing them to complete an online application to graduate. The application is intended to help seniors identify problems early enough in the final year to make any necessary changes in course selection to satisfy those requirements. Nonetheless, meeting graduation requirements is the student's responsibility; problems that are discovered, even late in the final semester, must be resolved by the student before the degree can be granted. Students are responsible for checking their DUST reports and transcripts and alerting their advising deans of any problems with the academic record.
There are three degree dates in the year: May, August, and January. Students who plan to graduate in August may attend graduation ceremonies in the preceding May. Students graduating in January are invited to a special recognition ceremony in December; they may also attend graduation ceremonies the following May.
Almost all departments offer honors programs for students who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in the major and succeeded in research. The honors programs are described by individual departments. The degree of Bachelor of Arts cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude will be conferred upon a student who, in addition to having completed the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, has been recommended for a level of honors by the major department, the Independent Major Program, or the College Scholar Program. Concentrations do not offer honors programs.
The degree of Bachelor of Arts with distinction in all subjects will be conferred on students who have completed the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, if they have met the following requirements by the end of their final semester:
1. completed at least 60 credits while registered in regular sessions at Cornell;
2. achieved a GPA in the upper 30 percent of their class at the end of the seventh semester, or next-to-last semester for transfers and accelerants;
3. received a grade below C– in no more than one course;
4. received no failing grade;
5. have no frozen Incompletes on their records; and
6. maintained good academic standing, including completing a full schedule of at least 12 credits, in each of their last four semesters. (Students who have been approved to be pro-rated for the final semester in order to complete an honor’s thesis are considered to be in good academic standing and therefore eligible to receive distinction.)
All of the dates in the university calendar at the front of this volume apply to all Cornell students. Listed below are some additional dates that are of importance for students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Fall Spring
2009 2010
Last day for adding Sept. 18 Feb. 15
courses without petition
Last day for adding Sept. 11 Feb. 5
a first-year writing seminar
Last day for changing Sept. 18 Feb. 15
grade option to S–U or letter
First deadline for Sept. 29 Feb. 23
submitting independent
major requests. Go to 55 Goldwin Smith Hall for further information.
Last day for dropping Oct. 16 March 15
courses without petition
Last day to petition to Nov. 20 April 23
withdraw from a course
Second deadline for Nov. 24 April 6
submitting independent major requests. Go to the Office of Under- graduate Admissions and Advising, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, for further information.
Deadline for request- Dec. 5 May 1
ing internal transfer to
the College of Arts and Sciences for the
following semester.
Deadline for applying April 29 to the College Scholar
Program.
Deadline for applying See Cornell Abroad Office, to study abroad 474 Uris Hall
Course enrollment TBA TBA
(preregistration) for
the following semester.
S. Hassan, Director (254-1592); N. Assié-Lumumba, A. Bekerie, C. Boyce Davies, J. Byfield, L. Edmondson, G. Farred, T. Gosa, R. Harris, A. Mazrui, A. Nanji, R. Richardson, J. Turner. Offices: 310 Triphammer Road, 255-4625 or 255-4291.
The Africana Studies and Research Center is concerned with the examination of the history, culture, intellectual development, and social organization of Black people and cultures in the Americas, Africa, and the Caribbean. Its program is structured from an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective and presents a variety of subjects in focal areas of history, literature, social sciences, and African languages. African languages such as Swahili and Yoruba are consistently offered fall and spring semesters and some are also taught during summer/winter session.
The center offers a unique and specialized program of study that leads to an undergraduate degree through the College of Arts and Sciences and a graduate degree, the Master of Professional Studies (African and African-American), through the university’s Graduate School.
A student may major in Africana Studies; however, another attractive alternative is the center’s minor in Africana Studies. This program enables the student to complete a major in any of the other disciplines represented in the college while at the same time fulfilling requirements for a minor in Africana Studies. This requires only a few more credits than is usually the case when one completes a single major course of study. Courses offered by the center are open to both majors and nonmajors and may be used to meet a number of college distribution requirements, including historical/temporal breadth (#) and geographical breadth (@) requirements, such as first-year writing seminars, languages, expressive arts, humanities, social sciences, and history.
The center also brings distinguished visitors to the campus, sponsors a new Book/Black Author series, a colloquium series, and houses its own Africana library, the John Henrik Clarke Library.
The undergraduate major offers interdisciplinary study of the fundamental dimensions of the African American, African, and Caribbean experiences. Because of the comprehensive nature of the program, it is to the students’ advantage to declare themselves Africana majors as early as possible. The following are prerequisites for admission to the major.
Students should submit:
1. a statement of why they want to be an Africana Studies major;
2. a tentative outline of the area of study they are considering (African, African American, or Caribbean) for the major; and
3. a full transcript of courses taken and grades received.
The center’s director of undergraduate studies will review the applications and notify students within two weeks of the status of their request.
After acceptance as a major in the Africana Center, a student must maintain a C+ cumulative average in the center’s courses while completing the major program. The Africana major must complete 36 credits in courses offered by the center, to include the following four core courses: ASRC 2300, 2601, 2602, and 4501. Beyond the core courses, the student must take 8 credits of center courses numbered 2000 or above and 15 credits numbered 300 or above. The program of an undergraduate major may have a specifically African American or African focus.
The center offers minors in Africana Studies. The center’s director of undergraduate studies will assist students in the design and coordination of minor programs. For the minor the center will require that at least 16 credits be taken in Africana Studies courses, including ASRC 2602.
In the case of double majors, students undertake to carry the full load of stipulated requirements for a major in each of the two departments they have selected.
[Not available 2009–2010. In conjunction with the Institute for African Development, the Africana Studies and Research Center administers an undergraduate Certificate in African Studies program. The certificate is available to students in all of the undergraduate colleges at Cornell. Many of the courses in the program might be used to fulfill other course distribution requirements. By pursuing this certificate, students acquire an interdisciplinary understanding of Africa.]
Honors
The honors program offers students the opportunity to complete a library research thesis, a field project in conjunction with a report on the field experience, or a project or experiment designed by the student. The requirements for admission to the honors program for all students—regular majors, joint majors, and double majors—are a B– cumulative average in all courses and a B+ cumulative average in the center’s courses. Each student accepted into the honors program will have an honors faculty committee consisting of the student’s advisor and one additional faculty member, which is responsible for final evaluation of the student’s work. The honors committee must approve the thesis or project before May 1 of the student’s junior year. The completed thesis or project should be filed with the student’s faculty committee by May 10 of the senior year.
Courses in Swahili, Arabic, Yoruba, and Zulu may be used to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences language requirement. In Swahili, successful completion of ASRC 2100 satisfies Option 1. For Yoruba, successful completion of ASRC 2103 satisfies Option 1. For Arabic, ASRC 2101 or ASRC 3101 satisfy Option 1. For Zulu, ASRC 2104 satisfies Option 1. ASRC majors are not required to take an African language, but the center recommends the study of an African language to complete the language requirement.
See John S. Knight Institute brochure for times, instructor, and descriptions.
See “Department of Near Eastern Studies.”
M. C. Garcia, acting director; G. Altschuler, E. Baptist, R. Bensel, M. P. Brady, D. Chang, E. Cheyfitz, J. Cowie, J. Frank, J. E. Gainor, M. C. Garcia, F. Gleach, S. Haenni, A. Hammer, R. Harris, M. Jones-Correa, K. Jordan, K. Kassam, M. Katzenstein, J. Kirschner, R. Kline, I. Kramnick, C. Lai, F. Logevall, T. J. Lowi, B. Maxwell, K. McCullough, L. L. Meixner, R. Mize, R. L. Moore, V. Nee, M. B. Norton, J. Parmenter, R. Polenberg, S. Pond, A. Sachs, N. Salvatore, S. Samuels, M. E. Sanders, V. Santiago-Irizarry, M. Shefter, A. M. Smith, S. Villenas, M. Washington, S. Wong, M. Woods, D. Woubshet. Affiliated faculty: J. E. Bernstock, M. Hatch, J. Jennings, J. Peraino, P. Sawyer. Emeritus: S. Blumin, J. Brumberg, M. Kammen, D. E. McCall, J. Silbey
The major in American Studies, appropriate for a wide array of future professions, began as a program of coordinated study in the history, literature, and politics of the United States. These remain the core elements, but American Studies aims to be inclusive in its subject matter. Given the nation’s diverse population and cultures, the program wants its majors to examine American experience in broad terms, drawing on the materials and methods of a variety of disciplines.
Students who contemplate becoming American Studies majors are encouraged to speak with the program director as early as possible to arrange for a major advisor.
All students majoring in American Studies must take a minimum of 12 courses selected from the American Studies roster, completing them with a grade of C or better. No more than six of these courses can come from any one discipline. Of the 12 courses at least three must have a substantial focus on material before 1900, at least two must deal with American diversity (AMST 1109 and 1110 are especially recommended), and at least one must be a 4000-level seminar, either one of the American Studies 4300 course range (4300–4399) or an appropriate substitute seminar at the 4000 level (AMST 4997/4998, taught in Washington, D.C., does not fulfill the seminar requirement though it counts as one course toward the major). Note: A single course may satisfy more than one of these requirements: e.g., a course on Native Americans in the 1800s is both a course dealing substantially with pre-1900 material and one dealing with American diversity.
Although a good bit of freedom is encouraged in the selection of courses, American Studies majors, in consultation with their advisor, must define an area of concentration and complete six courses in that area. The area of concentration can be designed to fit the particular interests of a student, but it must include subjects in at least two disciplines. Possible areas of concentration include “visual studies,” “cultural studies,” “race and ethnicity,” “legal and Constitutional studies,” “American institutions,” “class and social structure,” “the American environment.” (Courses taken to satisfy the concentration may be used to fulfill other requirements for the major.)
Students may find courses relevant to American experience that they wish to take but that are not on the American Studies course list. With their advisor’s approval, students may count two such courses toward fulfilling the major.
Candidates for honors must maintain an average of B+ in courses pertinent to the major and have taken at least one course in which they wrote a research paper. Normally, at the end of the junior year students who wish to write a senior honors essay must approach a member of the American Studies faculty and discuss their ideas for a project. With approval from the faculty member students may then register in the fall of their senior year for AMST 4993, the honors essay tutorial. At the end of the fall semester, honors candidates meet with their advisor and a second member of the American Studies faculty to discuss their progress. If satisfactory, honors students complete their honors essays in the spring by enrolling in AMST 4994.
Category Key: Courses in American Studies are broken into different categories. To determine which category (ies) a course falls in, please note the reference at the end of each course description. The key is as follows: ASE = Anthropology, Sociology, and Economics, LT = Literature and Theatre Arts, GP = Government and Public Policy, HI = History, MV = Music and Visual Studies, HR = Honors, Reading and Research.
Please see description of major for information about registration in these courses.
A. Willford, chair; H. Miyazaki and N. Russell, directors of graduate studies; S. Langwick, director of undergraduate studies; A. Clark Arcadi, J. Fajans, M. Fiskesjo, F. Gleach, D. Greenwood, J. Henderson, D. Holmberg, K. Jordan, K. March, H. Miyazaki, V. Munasinghe, P. Nadasdy, A. Riles, N. Russell, S. Sangren, V. Santiago-Irizarry, M. Small, T. Volman, M. Welker. Emeritus: R. Ascher, B. J. Isbell, B. Lambert, J. Siegel, R. Smith.
Anthropology is one of the most diverse disciplines in the university. Spanning human evolution, the development and heterogeneity of language and culture, human history, and the diversity of cultures past and present, the field has broad scope, uses a variety of methods, addresses basic issues about human origins and human life, and maintains commitment to understanding social life and using this understanding to improve society. Anthropology is an ideal “liberal arts” major. It also serves as a major that, when well designed by the student with his or her advisor, prepares students for a wide range of professional careers, e.g., law, medicine, foreign service, human rights, social services, international development, and business, among others.
Courses for nonmajors: Anthropology welcomes nonmajors into many of its courses. Unless prerequisites are explicitly stated, 2000- and 3000-level courses do not have formal prerequisites and students without prior experience in anthropology are welcome in these classes. For additional information, see the anthropology department web page (falcon.arts.cornell.edu/Anthro).
The major is structured to provide both general grounding in three subfields of anthropology (sociocultural anthropology, anthropological archaeology, and biological anthropology) and detailed focus on a particular area of concentration. Areas of concentration include a wide variety of subjects within and between these three subfields. Topics ranging from identity politics and globalization to prehistory and human evolution can be pursued in classes focused on every major geographical region in the world. Upper-level courses span a range of topical and theoretical issues related to religion, gender, economics, colonialism, democratization, prehistoric cultures, race, behavioral evolution, and conservation, to name a few.
No prerequisites are required to enter the anthropology major. Students should see the director of undergraduate studies to apply to the major and obtain an advisor. Majors prepare a short statement about their interests and goals for the major, and then meet with their advisor. Majors and advisors collaboratively build a program of study that reflects the student’s individual interests and the intellectual breadth of the field. Our goal is to provide a close and supportive advising relationship and a strong and coherent structure for the student’s major.
A minimum of 37 credits are necessary to complete the major. To complete the major, students must take:
• One class of 3 or more credits in each of the three subfields (sociocultural, archaeological, biological) at the 1000 or 2000 level.
• ANTHR 3000: Introduction to Anthropological Theory
• Two other courses of at least 4 credits at the 3000 level that are designated “comparative survey” courses in the catalog.
• Two 4000-level courses, one of which must be a seminar course in your senior year (4000, 4258, 4260, and 4263 are not seminar courses and do not fill the requirements).
• An additional 8 credits in elective courses, which may be in cognate disciplines with the approval of your advisor.
Exceptions to these requirements may be granted if a written petition is approved by the director of undergraduate studies.
No S–U credits or First-Year Writing Seminars may count toward the major. A letter grade of C– or better is required in all courses counted toward the major.
Study abroad and off-campus study programs: The Department of Anthropology encourages students to consider a semester of study abroad or off-campus study developed as an integral part of the student’s major concentration. The director of undergraduate studies serves as the anthropology study abroad advisor.
The Cornell–Nepal Study Program: The Cornell–Nepal Study Program is a joint program of Cornell University and Tribhuvan University, the national university of Nepal. Qualified juniors, seniors, and first- or second-year graduate students work with faculty from both universities to prepare for and undertake field research projects in Nepal. Students receive 15 credits per semester; students may enroll for either fall or spring semester, or for the entire year; application is through Cornell Abroad. For further information, consult David Holmberg or Kathryn March in the Department of Anthropology.
Other anthropologically relevant study abroad options, using existing Cornell Abroad and off-campus options, can be worked out in consultation with the major advisor, the anthropology study abroad advisor, and Cornell Abroad.
Honors in anthropology are awarded for excellence in the major, which includes overall GPA and completion of an honors thesis. Undergraduate students interested in working for an honors degree should apply to the chair of the Honors Committee in the second semester of their junior year (requests for late admission may be considered, but not later than the second week of the first semester of the senior year). It is the student’s responsibility to identify an appropriate topic for a thesis and to find a faculty member willing to sponsor and supervise the research; the advisor and at least the general subject of the thesis must be identified at the time of application for admission to the Honors Program. Note that clearance from the University Committee on Human Subjects usually is required before research involving living people may begin; students contemplating such research should begin to work with their thesis advisors to design their investigations and obtain the clearance well in advance of the date when the involvement with research subjects is to begin.
Admission to the Honors Program requires an overall GPA of 3.3 or greater and a 3.5 GPA in the major. In addition, the student should have no outstanding Incompletes in courses that will be used toward the major (provisional admission with Incompletes is possible at the discretion of the chair of the Honors Committee on evidence that a good faith effort to finish them is under way). Under special circumstances, a student with an overall GPA of 3.0 may petition for admittance to the program.
Writing an honors thesis typically is a two-semester project involving 8 credits of course work; most students do this work during their senior year. During their first semester of honors work, students typically register for (1) ANTHR 4983 Honors Thesis Research (3 credits); and (2) ANTHR 4991 Honors Workshop I (1 credit). During their second semester of honors work, students typically register for (1) ANTHR 4984 Honors Thesis Write-up (2 credits); and (2) ANTHR 4992 Honors Workshop II (2 credits). The two-course/term arrangement reflects the division of supervision over the thesis between the thesis advisor and the chair of the Honors Committee. The thesis advisor is ultimately responsible for guiding the scholarly development of the thesis; the chair of the Honors Committee is mainly responsible for assuring timely progress toward completion of the thesis, and providing a context for students in the Honors Program to share ideas (both editorial and substantive) as their theses progress.
Collections: the department has an extensive collection of archaeological and ethnological materials housed in the Anthropology Collections. A limited number of students can make arrangements to serve as interns in the Anthropology Collections. Olin Library houses some of the most extensive collections of materials on the ethnology of Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and Latin America to be found anywhere in the United States. The biological anthropology laboratory (B65 McGraw Hall) houses an extensive collection of materials for teaching purposes, including (1) human skeletal remains, (2) articulated skeletons and cranial casts of primates, and (3) casts of important fossils in the human lineage.
Independent Study: specialized individual study programs are offered in ANTHR 4910, Topics in Anthropology, a course open to a limited number of juniors and seniors who have obtained permission and supervision of a faculty member. Undergraduates should note that many 6000-level courses are open to them by permission of the instructor.
Colloquia: The Department of Anthropology holds colloquia almost every week of the semester on Friday at 3:30 p.m. in 215 McGraw Hall. Faculty members from Cornell and other universities participate in discussions of current research and problems in anthropology. Students are encouraged to attend.
For more complete information about the anthropology major, see the director of undergraduate studies or visit the Department of Anthropology web page (falcon.arts.cornell.edu/Anthro).
Each of these Introductory Courses provides an introduction to one of the subfields of anthropology. They do not form a sequence; students can take them in any order and at any point during their time at Cornell.
Sociocultural anthropology is rooted in the precise observation and rigorous analysis of human cultural capacities and human social practices, relations, and institutions. All sociocultural anthropology involves both inquiry into the diversity of human cultures (ethnography) and comparative analysis of human social dynamics (social theory). Historically, sociocultural anthropology specialized in the study of nonwestern peoples, but today there are few places and domains of human activity that sociocultural anthropologists do not study. To give a few examples, sociocultural anthropologists study nuclear weapons scientists in California, the transformation of state power in Russia, and the politics of development in India. They study how television producers in Egypt contribute to nationalism, the social effects of truth commissions in Guatemala and South Africa, and the emergence of new religious and social movements in Latin America. What distinguishes sociocultural anthropology as a field is its engagement with the full abundance of human lived experience and its integrated, comparative effort to make sense of the key processes shaping this experience. As such, sociocultural anthropology is an excellent, flexible choice of major. It teaches core critical, analytical, and expressive skills and important perspectives on human cultural creativity and social life that are widely applicable. Recently, our majors have gone into careers as diverse as academic scholarship, activism, advertising, consulting, design, film, journalism, marketing, medicine, NGO–work, and politics and government.
Anthropological archaeology studies the diverse societies of the past using the material traces they left behind in the archaeological record. In addition to studying artifacts, archaeologists use unique methods to study the settings in which artifacts were produced and used by examining regional settlement patterns, the structure of sites and communities, the organization of activities, and ancient symbolism and social relations. The concerns of anthropological archaeology range from basic questions about continuity and change in the past, to application of hard science methods to date sites and determine the sources of artifacts, criticism of the uses to which the past is put in contemporary society, and protection of the archaeological record. Anthropological archaeology can be distinguished from other forms of archaeology (such as Classical or Art Historical archaeology) based on its emphasis on holistically studying past cultural systems, and by the theories and approaches it shares with sociocultural and biological anthropology. There are numerous career opportunities for anthropological archaeologists, including work with museums, government agencies, and historic preservation groups in addition to academic employment. Private companies engaged in federally mandated cultural resource management (or CRM) archaeology employ thousands of archaeologists in the United States, and similar management programs exist in many other countries.
Biological anthropology is the subfield of anthropology that explores the physical diversity, evolutionary history, and behavioral potential of our species. Consistent with anthropology more generally, biological anthropology is concerned with human variation. The distinctive perspective of this subfield is that it examines human variation within the framework of evolutionary theory. Analyses of both biology and culture, and of the interaction between the two, mark the broad boundaries of this discipline. Within that wide scope, specific areas of inquiry are diverse, including fossil studies, primate behavior, nutrition and development, sexual behavior, parental investment, molecular and population genetics, adaptation to environmental stress, disease evolution, life history analysis, and more. Some of the most pressing social issues of our time fall within the domain of biological anthropology as well as a range of professions: the controversy over evolution and intelligent design; race, gender, and genetic determinism; the control of disease; the roots of aggression; and conservation and the role of humans in ecological systems. Although the number of Anthropology courses offered in this subfield are limited, students can pursue their interests through a variety of related courses in other departments and by constructing independent study courses with specific faculty members.
The graduate program in anthropology is described in much greater detail on the anthropology department web page at falcon.arts.cornell.edu/Anthro. The seminars described immediately below pertain to the program in sociocultural anthropology. For information about graduate study in archaeology and biological anthropology, see the anthropology department web page.
A core set of seminars is required of all graduate students in sociocultural anthropology: ANTHR 6000 and 6010. ANTHR 6403 is strongly recommended. These courses are open to graduate students from other related fields. This sequence, and the graduate curriculum in general, is premised on the idea that anthropology is best defined as the comparative study of human social life. This definition resists institutional pressures in the academy to distinguish social science from humanistic or cultural studies and scholarly from more worldly applications. Our most important method, ethnography, is at once scientific and humanistic; disciplinary aspirations refuse to view cultural interpretation and analytic explanation as separable values. Furthermore, theory in anthropology is directly related to practice in the world whether in relation to research or more action-oriented pursuits. Consequently, the core sequences as well as most other courses for graduate students are oriented explicitly toward subverting an ideological construction of social life as separable into cultural and social (or political-economic) domains.
See “Department of Near Eastern Studies.”
S. Baugher, director (Landscape Architecture), K. M. Clinton, director of graduate studies (Classics), A. Alexandridis (History of Art), K. Bowes (Classics), J. E. Coleman (Classics), M. Fiskesjo (anthropology), F. Gleach (Anthropology), K. L. Gleason (Landscape Architecture), J. S. Henderson (Anthropology), K. Jordan (Anthropology), K. A. R. Kennedy (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), S. Manning (Classics), R. McNeal (Asian Studies), C. Monroe (Near Eastern Studies), L. Monroe (Near Eastern Studies), D. I. Owen (Near Eastern Studies), A. Ramage (History of Art), E. Rebillard (Classics), N. Russell (Anthropology), B. S. Strauss (History), M. A. Tomlan (City and Regional Planning), T. P. Volman, director of undergraduate studies (Anthropology), J. R. Zorn (Near Eastern Studies).
Archaeology is an interdisciplinary field at Cornell, which is one of the few universities in the United States to offer a separate archaeology major and a master’s degree. Program faculty members, affiliated with several departments, coordinate course offerings and help students identify opportunities for fieldwork, graduate study, and professional positions.
Prospective majors must complete ARKEO 1200 or one of the basic courses as defined below before they will be admitted to the major.
Because the major draws on the teaching and research interests of faculty from many departments to present a broad view of the archaeological process, interested students should discuss their course of study with a participating faculty member as early as possible. In some areas of specialization, intensive language training should be coordinated with other studies as early as the freshman year.
Once admitted to the major, students must take at least 32 additional credits from the courses listed below, or from related fields selected in consultation with a major advisor of their choosing. The courses chosen should provide exposure to a broad range of cultures known through archaeology and the methods of uncovering and interpreting them. Sixteen of the credit hours should be at the 3000 level or above. At least two courses must be taken from each of the following categories: II. Anthropological Archaeology; III. Classical, Near Eastern, and Medieval Archaeology; and IV. Methodology and Technology. Only 4 credits of ARKEO 3000 Individual Study or other supervised study can count toward the major.
Courses basic to the discipline of archaeology are marked with the word “Basic” after the number of credit hours. It is recommended that majors who are planning to pursue graduate studies in archaeology take at least two of the basic courses in each category. Further courses in languages and geology are also recommended.
Honors. Honors in archaeology are awarded on the basis of the quality of an honors essay and the student’s overall academic record. Prospective honors students should have at least a 3.5 GPA in the major and a 3.0 grade point average overall. They should consult with the director of undergraduate studies by the beginning of the senior year. The honors essay is normally prepared over two semesters in consultation with a faculty advisor during the senior year. Students may enroll in ARKEO 4981 Honors Thesis Research, and to complete the thesis, they may enroll in ARKEO 4982 Honors Thesis Writeup. Both courses are offered in the fall and spring. Only ARKEO 4981 may count toward hours for completion of the archaeology major requirements. The credit hours for these courses are variable.
Fieldwork. Every student should gain some practical experience in archaeological fieldwork on a project authorized by his or her advisor. This requirement may be waived in exceptional circumstances. The Jacob and Hedwig Hirsch bequest provides support for a limited number of students to work at excavations sponsored by Cornell and other approved institutions.
Students in Cornell schools and colleges other than Arts and Sciences may elect a minor in archaeology. To minor in archaeology, the student must complete five courses, all with a grade of C or better. The five courses must consist of either (1) ARKEO 1200 and four other courses from categories II–IV (described above), at least three of which must be basic courses, or (2) five courses from categories II–IV, at least four of which must be basic courses. Minors are encouraged to gain some fieldwork experience. They are eligible for Hirsch Scholarships in support of fieldwork on the same basis as majors.
For course descriptions, see the First-Year Writing Program brochure.
Contact Sherene Baugher in Landscape Architecture at sbb8@cornell.edu or the Ithaca College Anthropology Department at 274–1331 for further information or visit their web site at http://www.ithaca.edu/hs/anthro.
Prehistory of South America. M. Malpass. Every other year.
New World Complex Societies. M. Malpass. Irregular offering.
Archaeological Methods and Techniques. M. Malpass. Fall 2008.
Archaeology of Colonial America. S. Stull. Fall 2008.
World Prehistory. J. Rossen. Every semester.
North American Prehistory. J. Rossen. Every year.
People, Plants, and Culture: Archaeobotany and Ethnobotany. J. Rossen. Every other year.
Seminar: Hunter-Gatherers. J. Rossen. Every other year.
Seminar: Origins of Agriculture. J. Rossen. Every other year.
Ethnoarchaeology. J. Rossen. Every other year.
Archaeological Field School.
R. McNeal, chair (350 Rockefeller Hall, 255–5095); A. Blackburn, B. Bledsoe, D. Boucher, T. Chaloemtiarana, M. Chapman, B. de Bary, S. Divo, W. George, D. Gold, G. Green, E. Gunn, B. Herath, H. Huang, S. Ichikawa, N. Jagacinski, J. Kanemitsu, Y. Katagiri, N. Larson, J. M. Law, L. McCrea, D. McKee, Y. Lee-Mehta, S. Mukherjee, S. Oja, J. Pandin, L. Paterson, H. Phan, B. Rusk, N. Sakai, T. Savella, W. Shao, S. Singh, M. Song, R. Sukle, M. Suzuki, K. Taylor, Q. Teng, T. Tranviet, S. Tun, D. X. Warner, L. Zheng; Emeritus: K. Brazell, T. L. Mei, J. Wolff; Associated Faculty: A. Carlson, J. Chen, Z. Chen, S. Cochran, A. Cohn, M. Fiskesjo, M. Hatch, R. Herring, T. J. Hinrichs, K. Hirano, D. Holmberg, M. Katzenstein, K. Kennedy, V. Koschmann, T. Loos, T. Lyons, K. March, S. Martin, K. McGowan, H. Miyazaki, S. Mohanty, V. Munasinghe, V. Nee, A. Nussbaum, A. Pan, P. Sangren, J. Siegel, E. Tagliacozzo, N. Uphoff, J. Whitman, A. Willford
The Department of Asian Studies and associated faculty members in other departments encompass the study of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and offer courses in most of the disciplines of the social sciences and the humanities. Over 40 faculty members specialize in topics arranged under our rubrics of “Literature and Linguistics,” “Religion,” and “Society and Culture,” as well as offering more broad courses under our “General Education” heading. Asian Studies courses through the 4400 level (ASIAN is the prefix) are taught in English and are open to all students in the university. Some of these courses may be counted toward majors in other departments; others fulfill various distribution requirements.
To become an Asian Studies major, a student must first successfully complete with a minimum grade of B at least two Asia content courses (excluding writing seminars), one of which may be a language course. Applications to major in Asian Studies must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies.
Completion of the major requires completion of two years of an Asian language or the demonstration of equivalent proficiency. To demonstrate equivalent proficiency, a student with prior background in the language should attempt to test into a desired language course at the 2200 level or beyond. Completing two courses at the 2200 level, or the second semester of such a sequence (while testing out of the first semester), or testing into a language course beyond the 2200 level, serves to demonstrate proficiency. Once proficiency has been demonstrated, students may count up to 6 units of further language study among the 30 Asian Studies units required of departmental majors. These 30 units must be taken from courses numbered 2200 and above and including at least one from two of the Asian Studies categories of “Literature and Linguistics” (LL), “Religion” (RL), and “Society and Culture” (SC); at least one course at the 3300 level; and at least one course at the 4400 level or above. A minimum grade of B must be received in all of these courses. Courses taken for major credit must be taken for a grade rather than as S–U. Certain courses about Asia offered in other departments at the 1100 level may, at the discretion of the advisor and the DUS, be counted toward our major as if they were 2200-level courses, e.g., HIST/ASIAN 1191, 1192.
Category Key: Courses in Asian Studies are broken into different categories. To determine which category a course falls in, please note the reference at the end of each course description. The key is as follows: GE = General Education, LL = Literature and Linguistics, RL = Religion and SC = Society and Culture.
To be eligible for honors in Asian Studies, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.7 in all Asian Studies area courses and must successfully complete an honors essay during the senior year. Students who wish to be considered for honors should apply to the director of undergraduate studies during the second semester of their junior year. The application must include an outline of the proposed project and the endorsement of a supervisor chosen from the Asian Studies advising faculty. During the first term of the senior year, the student does research for the essay in conjunction with an appropriate Asian Studies course or ASIAN 4401. By the end of the first term, the student must present a detailed outline of the honors essay and have it approved by the project supervisor and the director of undergraduate studies. The student is then eligible for ASIAN 4402, the honors course, which entails the writing of the essay. At the end of the senior year, the student has an oral examination (with at least two faculty members) covering both the honors essay and the student’s area of concentration.
A candidate for the bachelor of arts or science degree at Cornell may take a minor in East Asian studies by completing at least 18 units of course work in East Asian studies.
Students normally take five courses in East Asian Studies from those East Asian courses listed (China, Japan, Korea) either under Asian Studies or Asian-related courses taught outside of the Asian Studies department. Of these, nonlanguage courses should be selected at the 2200 level or above. Two courses in an East Asian language at the 1100 level or above may be counted toward the minor. Language study is strongly encouraged. East Asian graduate courses may also be taken for the minor, as well as East Asia–related courses with a research paper on an East Asian topic. Appropriate courses taken through Cornell Abroad in East Asia may also be counted toward the minor. A minimum grade of B must be received for all courses counted toward the minor. S–U courses are ineligible. Students minoring in East Asian Studies should select an advisor from the East Asia Program faculty for consultation on their course of study. For more information, contact the Department of Asian Studies, 350 Rockefeller Hall, 255-5095, or lrc.cornell.edu/asian.
A candidate for the bachelor of arts or science degree at Cornell may achieve a minor in South Asia Studies by completing at least 18 units of course work (typically five courses) in South Asian Studies. These courses are selected from South Asia courses listed under the Department of Asian Studies, or from other Asia-related courses offered by other departments. Of these, nonlanguage courses should be selected at the 2200 level or above. Two courses in an South Asian language at the 1100 level or above may be counted toward the minor. Language study is strongly encouraged. Appropriate South Asia graduate course work may be included in the minor with consent of the instructor and the advisor. One South Asia–related course with a research paper on a South Asia subject may be included with the consent of the advisor and the director of undergraduate studies. A minimum grade of B must be received for all courses toward the Minor. S–U courses are ineligible. Students minoring in South Asian Studies are considered members of the South Asia Program and will have an advisor from the program faculty. (This advisor will supervise a student’s minor and does not substitute for a student’s major advisor.) For more information, contact the Department of Asian Studies, 350 Rockefeller Hall, 255-5095, or lrc.cornell.edu/asian.
A candidate for the bachelor of arts or science degree at Cornell may take a minor in Southeast Asian Studies by completing 18 units of course work, including a history course and 3 courses or seminars at the intermediate or advanced level. Up to 2 Southeast Asian language courses at the 1100 level or above may be included in the minor courses. A recommended plan would include ASIAN 2208 and 4 additional courses. A minimum grade of B must be received for all courses counted toward the minor. S-U courses are ineligible. Students taking a minor in Southeast Asian Studies are members of the Southeast Asia Program and will have an advisor from the Southeast Asia program faculty. Such students are encouraged to commence work on a Southeast Asian language either at the 10-week intensive courses offered by the Southeast Asia Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) or by studying for a semester at IKIP Malang, Indonesia; Khon Kaen University, Thailand; or Hanoi University, Vietnam. Fellowships are available for undergraduates through the Cornell Abroad Program. For more information, contact the Department of Asian Studies, 350 Rockefeller Hall, 255-5095, or lrc.cornell.edu/asian.
The FALCON Program offers intensive instruction in either Japanese or Mandarin Chinese. Aside from the exclusive language schools of some government agencies, FALCON is the only program in the world that offers a full year of intensive instruction beginning at the elementary level and continuing through the advanced level. FALCON is a full-time program; the degree of intensity does not allow students to enroll simultaneously in other courses or to work, except perhaps on weekends. Students typically take the entire sequence of 1160, 2260, and 3360, but they may take any portion of the program if they have the necessary background as determined by a placement interview. Some students do choose to apply only to the summer portion. The spring semester of the Chinese program will be offered in Beijing at the School of International Studies at Peking University.
Students must formally apply to the program. To guarantee course availability and scholarship eligibility, applications must be received by March 1. After that, applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis and acceptance is contingent on the availability of spaces. The 1160–2260–3360 sequence fulfills the language requirement for the M.A. in Asian Studies and the joint M.B.A./M.A. in Asian Studies. Applications are available in 388 Rockefeller Hall or on the FALCON web site at lrc.cornell.edu/falcon/apply.
There are many strong options for study abroad in Asia. Cornell Abroad helps students plan a year or semester abroad as part of their Cornell undergraduate degree. Cornell has affiliations with several programs and institutions in Asia and sends students to those and others.
Cornell is affiliated with IUP, the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Beijing (at Tsinghua University) and is a member of CIEE and IES, organizations sponsoring study abroad programs offering Chinese language instruction at several levels as well as courses in Chinese studies in the humanities and social sciences. Students may also study at other programs in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The Chinese FALCON program includes a spring semester in Beijing at Peking University.
Cornell is a member of the consortium of the Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies, an undergraduate semester or year program in Japanese language and Japanese studies. An agreement with International Christian University (ICU), outside Tokyo, permits Cornell students to attend that institution. Cornell students have attended CIEE and IES programs as well as other programs and institutions in Japan.
Cornell is a member of the American Association of Indian Studies, which offers fellowships for intensive study in India or Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil. There are study abroad options in universities or other organizations in various regions of India. In cooperation with Tribhuvan National University of Nepal, Cornell organizes the Cornell–Nepal Study Program for undergraduate and graduate students wishing to spend a semester or year studying and conducting research in Nepal.
Students may spend a semester or year in Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, or the Philippines or choose to study about Asia at such institutions as the School of Oriental and African Studies in London or the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University. Undergraduates should consult Cornell Abroad; graduate students should inquire at the East Asia Program, Southeast Asia Program, or South Asia Program offices.
Students may apply up to 15 credits from abroad to the major.
See John S. Knight Institute brochure for times, instructor, and descriptions.
The following courses are taught entirely in English and are open to any Cornell student.
For complete descriptions of courses numbered 6000 or above, see http://www.lrc.cornell.edu/asian.
Note: Contact S. Tun in 405 Morrill Hall before classes begin for placement or other testing and organizational information.
See “Khmer.”
Note: Testing for placement, including those with near-native abilities, takes place in registration week, before classes begin. Time and place will be posted at lrc.cornell.edu/asian/programs/placement and on the bulletin board outside 350 Rockefeller Hall.
CHIN 2213: A course primarily for students who have acquired basic oral/aural and written skill in Cantonese and have the interest to continue learning speaking Cantonese and reading and writing Cantonese characters; CHIN 2214: A course primarily for students who have the interest to raise their oral and written Cantonese to a higher level. For more detail, see lrc.cornell.edu/asian/courses/ch/chin213 and lrc.cornell.edu/asian/courses/ch/chin214.
For full information, brochures, etc., see the FALCON Program coordinator in 388 Rockefeller Hall or e-mail: falcon@cornell.edu or lrc.cornell.edu/falcon
FALCON is designed to help students develop “copability” in Mandarin Chinese by bringing them to the level where they can make progress on their own even with no further instruction. The full-year program provides over 1,800 hours of language exposure—which exceeds even the exposure that students living in China typically receive. This allows students to develop levels of fluency, accuracy, and control that are not achieved in other academic settings. By taking the entire full-year sequence, students can complete as much Chinese in one calendar year as they would complete in three or more years of regular study at most academic institutions. The full-year sequence is CHIN 1159 or 1160 (summer), 2260 (fall), and 3360 (spring). Students typically take the entire sequence, but they may take any portion of the program if they have the necessary background as determined by a placement interview. This course sequence also serves to fulfill the language requirement for the M.A. in Asian Studies and the joint M.B.A./M.A. in Asian Studies. For more information and application forms, please contact the FALCON program office. Some students do choose to apply only to the summer portion. The spring semester of the Chinese program will be offered in Beijing at the School of International Studies at Peking University. In the summer and fall, three small interactive classes per day are conducted entirely in Chinese, and one lecture is conducted in both Chinese and English. In the spring semester, all four classes are conducted entirely in Chinese. In the summer and fall, students are also required to spend at least two one-hour sessions per day in the language lab. Additional preparation time in the language lab of up to three hours is necessary in the evenings. The demands of this 16-credit program do not normally permit students to take other courses simultaneously.
Students must formally apply to the program. To guarantee course availability and scholarship eligibility, applications must be received by March 1. After that, applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis and acceptance is contingent on the availability of spaces. Applications are available in 388 Rockefeller Hall or at lrc.cornell.edu/falcon/apply.
Web site: lrc.cornell.edu/falcon.
Director: R. Sukle, 388 Rockefeller Hall, 255-0734 or rjs19@cornell.edu.
Program coordinator: 388 Rockefeller Hall, 255-6457 or falcon@cornell.edu.
FALCON is designed to develop “copability” in students by bringing them to the level where they can make further progress on their own even with no further instruction. The full-year program provides over 1,800 hours of language exposure—which exceeds even the exposure that students living in Japan typically receive. This intensive work in Japanese allows students to develop levels of fluency, accuracy, and control of the language that is not achieved in any other type of academic setting. The full-year FALCON sequence is Japanese 1160 (summer), 2260 (fall), and 3360 (spring). By taking this entire sequence, students can complete as much Japanese in one calendar year as they would complete in three or more years of regular study at most academic institutions. This course sequence also serves to fulfill the language requirement for the M.A. in Asian Studies and the joint M.B.A./M.A. in Asian Studies. For more information and application forms, please contact the FALCON program office. Because of FALCON’s intensive nature, graduate students can complete their language work in minimal time. Undergraduates, including freshmen, achieve levels of competency that far exceed what is normally achieved in a four-year program, provided that they continue studying Japanese after FALCON. Three small interactive classes per day are conducted entirely in Japanese, and one lecture is conducted in both Japanese and English. The interactive classes are conducted by experienced and highly trained teachers, and the lecture is taught by an expert in the structure of the Japanese language. In addition to time spent in these classes, students are required to spend at least two one-hour sessions per day in the language lab. Additional preparation time in the language lab of up to three hours is necessary in the evenings. One must formally apply to the program to take the courses. The deadline for application is March 1 in a given year, but applications will be considered after that date if space is still available. The degree of intensity of this program makes it impossible to simultaneously take other courses or work except possibly on weekends.
The Cornell Nepal Study Program
Cornell and the central campus of Tribhuvan National University (in Kirtipur, Kathmandu) cosponsor a semester or year in Nepal at the Cornell Nepal Study Program for both undergraduate and graduate students. North American students live and study with Nepali students at the Cornell program houses near the university, taking courses taught in English by faculty from Tribhuvan University. After an intensive orientation, semester courses include intensive spoken and written Nepali language, Contemporary Issues in Nepal, and Research Design and Methods in a wide variety of fields in the social and natural sciences and the humanities. (Language instruction in Tibetan and Newari may also be arranged.) There is a 10-day study tour and field trip during the semester, and students execute their research proposal during four weeks of guided field research, writing up their findings for presentation at the end of the semester.
Juniors, seniors, and graduate students from any field may apply. Students should have a desire to participate in a program featuring relatively intense cultural immersion and to undertake rigorous field research. Instruction is in English, but prior study of Nepali language is strongly recommended for Cornell students. Those interested in the program should consult Cornell Abroad (cuabroad@cornell.edu).
Nepali, the official language of Nepal, will be offered in the Summer Session at both beginning and continuing levels. Taught by faculty from Cornell University and the Cornell–Nepal Study Program at Tribhuvan University, this summer program provides an unusual opportunity to develop competence in Nepali. Emphasis will be on the spoken colloquial language, in dialogues, exercises, and conversational practice. In addition, special attention is given to assisting students in developing vocabularies and skills appropriate to their unique professional needs. Reading and writing practice use both popular and scholarly materials in the Nepali (Devanagari) script. Students will spend five hours per day in class and two further hours working with recorded materials in addition to the time required for daily preparation. Films and guest lecturers complement the summer program. The program lasts six weeks and meets five days a week. Students must formally apply to the program. Applications are available at http://lrc.cornell.edu/asian/programs/summer/nepali during the spring semester. For more information, etc., please see Kim Scott in 350 Rockefeller Hall or e-mail: kp16@cornell.edu.
Check the primary department section for the offering status of the following courses. Courses in other colleges will count as College of Arts and Sciences credit only for Asian Studies majors. Courses below generally count toward the Asian Studies major, as long as the course content is 50 percent or more focused on Asia. Such courses typically fall under the heading of Society and Culture (SC).
[ARTH 2800 Introduction to Art History: Approaches to Asian Art (SC)]
DSOC 2050 International Development (SC)
ECON 4730 Economics of Export-Led Development (SC)
ILRIC 6370 Labor Relations in Asia (SC)
ECON 4450 Industrial Policy (SC)
ECON 4540 China and India: Growth Miracle (SC)
[ANTHR 3535 The Situation of China’s Minorities (SC)]
ANTHR 7550 East Asia: Readings in Specific Problems (SC)
CAPS/GOVT 2827 China and the World (SC)
[ARTH 3800 Introduction to the Arts of China (SC)]
[ARTH 4810 The Arts in Modern China (SC)]
ECON 4690 China’s Economy Under Mao and Deng (also CAPS 4690) (SC)
ANTHR 2560 Japanese Society through Film (SC)
ANTHR 7550 East Asia: Readings in Specific Problems (SC)
ARCH 3309 Elements, Principles, and Theories in Japanese Architecture (SC)
[HIST 2300 Japan and the Pacific War (SC)]
ANTHR 3421/6421 Sex and Gender (SC)
ANTHR 3545 Peoples and Cultures of the Himalayas (SC)
ANTHR 4406 Culture of Lives (SC)
[ANTHR 6373 Human Evolution: History, Concepts, and Theory (also BIOES 6373) (SC)]
ANTHR 7530 South Asia: Readings in Specific Problems (SC)
ARCH 3402 Architecture as a Cultural System (SC)
ARCH 4405 Architecture and the Mythic Imagination (SC)
ARCH 4407 Architectural Design and the Utopian Tradition (SC)
ARCH 4408 Topics in Architecture, Culture, and Society (SC)
ARCH 4408–4418 Special Topics in Architectural Culture and Society (SC)
ARCH 6401–6402 Architecture in Its Cultural Context I and II (SC)
ARCH 6409 Graduate Investigations in Architecture, Culture, and Society (SC)
CRP 6710 Seminar in International Planning (SC)
[ECON 4750 The Economy of India (SC)]
HD 6330 Language Acquisition (SC)
[ANTHR 3516 Power, Society, and Culture in Southeast Asia (SC)]
ANTHR 4420 Development of Anthropology Thought (SC)
ANTHR 4523 Making History on the Margins: The China–SE Asian Borderlands (SC)
ANTHR 7520 Southeast Asia: Readings in Special Problems (SC)
ARTH 3960 The Arts of Southeast Asia (SC)
ARTH 4900 Art and Collecting: East and West (SC)
ARTH 4855 Threads of Consequence—Textiles in South and Southeast Asia (SC)
GOVT 6423 Comparative Political Economy: East and Southeast Asia (SC)
HIST 2440 The United States in Viet Nam (SC)
HIST 3950 Southeast Asian History from the 18th Century (SC)
HIST 6950 Early Southeast Asia: Graduate Proseminar (SC)
HIST 6960 Modern Southeast Asia: Graduate Proseminar (SC)
MUSIC 1341 Gamelan in Indonesian History and Cultures (SC)
[MUSIC 3610 Cornell Gamelan Ensemble (SC)]
[MUSIC 6301 Ethnomusicology (SC)]
The Asian American Studies Program is a university-wide academic program housed administratively within the College of Arts and Sciences. Its aim is to promote teaching, research, and educational activities related to Asians in the Americas and to serve as a resource to the campus and regional communities. The program’s undergraduate courses, offered within the program and cross-listed with departments in various colleges, meet distribution requirements and count toward a minor in Asian American Studies. The program does not offer a graduate course of study, but students can undertake graduate work in Asian American Studies within selected disciplines of the university.
The program’s undergraduate minor affords students an opportunity to develop a multidisciplinary approach to the study of Asians in the hemispheric Americas. The course of study stresses developments not only within the United States, but also underscores the transnational and comparative contexts of Asian America and the field’s connections with African American, American Indian, Latino, and Women’s Studies. Students must work with a faculty advisor from among the program’s affiliated faculty and must complete at least 15 units of credits as follows: (1) AAS 1100 and two additional courses in Asian American Studies; (2) one course in African American, American Indian, U.S. Latino Studies, or Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies*; and (3) one course in East Asian, South Asian, or Southeast Asian Studies.* (*These courses must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor, and they should address issues of race, gender, or the histories and cultures of Asian peoples.) Students must file an application for the minor with the Asian American Studies Program.
The program’s Asian American Studies Resource Center, located in 420 Rockefeller Hall, provides meeting space for the more than 50 undergraduate student organizations of the Cornell Asian Pacific Student Union and the Society for Asian American Graduate Affairs. It also holds a modest print collection of books, periodicals, and newspapers; a current news clipping file; a comprehensive database of publications on Asian Americans since 1977; and a sizable collection of videotapes as well as music CDs on the Asian American experience.
The program encourages faculty and student research on Asian Americans by sponsoring guest lectures, conferences, film festivals, readings, and exhibits. It also funds research projects and student travel to conferences and research sites. The Asian American Studies Workshop is the program’s principal research initiative, engaging Cornell’s faculty and students with invited faculty from other universities in a yearlong intensive study of selected themes.
D. Chang, C. Lai, V. Munasinghe, S. Wong
I. M. Wasserman, chair (616 Space Sciences Bldg., 254-4556); G. J. Stacey, director of under-graduate studies (212 Space Sciences Bldg., 255-5900); R. E. Bean, J. F. Bell, J. A. Burns, D. B. Campbell, D. F. Chernoff, J. M. Cordes, E. E. Flanagan, P. J. Gierasch, R. Giovanelli, M. P. Haynes, T. L. Herter, J. R. Houck, D. Lai, J. P. Lloyd, R. V. E. Lovelace, P. D. Nicholson, S. W. Squyres, Y. Terzian, S. A. Teukolsky, J. F. Veverka. Emeritus: P. F. Goldsmith, M. O. Harwit
Cornell’s Astronomy faculty, research staff, graduate, and undergraduate students are active in diverse areas of modern astronomy ranging from theoretical astrophysics and general relativity to radio and radar astronomy, submillimeter, infrared and optical astronomy, and the exploration of the solar system. Cornell operates two local optical observatories, the world’s largest radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and with two other institutions, the 200-inch optical telescope at Mt. Palomar in California. With Caltech, Cornell is carrying out a design study for a large submillimeter telescope in the high Atacama desert in Chile. Several members of the department faculty are also principal investigators on major NASA space and planetary exploration missions.
The department offers a number of courses to satisfy a general interest in astronomy. These courses have few or no prerequisites and are not intended for the training of professional astronomers. Among the introductory courses, several choices are available, depending on background and on the requirements to be fulfilled. The 1000-level courses are designed primarily for nonscience majors. The alternative introductory sequence ASTRO 2211–2212 is geared toward sophomore physical science and engineering majors and requires co-registration in beginning calculus. ASTRO 2201 and 2202 are intended for students with an interest in astronomy but no scientific background; they are topical rather than survey-oriented. ASTRO 3332 is designed for physical science and engineering majors as an introduction to astrophysics. Other courses at the 2000 and 3000 levels may appeal to students of various backgrounds and interests, as indicated in the individual course descriptions.
Courses numbered above 4000 are intended for students who have had two to three years of college physics and at least two years of college mathematics. ASTRO 4940 Independent Study permits students to engage in individual research projects under the guidance of a faculty member.
Interested students are encouraged to become members of the undergraduate Cornell Astronomy Club. The club has access to the Fuertes Observatory on campus and conducts regular observing and astrophotography sessions. All students are invited to visit the Space Sciences Building, see the exhibits on display there, and consult faculty members about career plans or choice of courses.
The purpose of the major in Astronomy is to provide in-depth knowledge and education about the nature of the universe. Astronomy relies heavily on preparation in physics and mathematics. Consequently, many courses in these fields are included as prerequisites. In preparation for the major, students normally elect the introductory physics sequence PHYS 1112–2213–2214 or 1116–2217–2218 and the complementary pathway in mathematics, MATH 1110–1220–2210–2220 or 1910–1920–2930–2940 (or equivalent). Students who anticipate undertaking graduate study are urged to elect the honors physics sequence PHYS 1116–2217–2218–3318–3327 if possible. We recommend, but do not require, that prospective astronomy majors take at least one of the following courses: ASTRO 2211, ASTRO 2212, ASTRO 2233, ASTRO 2290. Students are also urged to acquire computer literacy. ASTRO 3334 is designed to give students hands-on experience with the methods of analysis, visualization, and simulation needed in astrophysical research. Acceptance to the major is first considered after completion of three semesters of introductory physics and mathematics and in general requires a GPA of 3.2 in physics and mathematics courses.
The major requirements stress the importance of building a strong preparation in physical science. The following upper-level courses are normally required:
PHYS 3314 or 3318, 3316, 3323 or 3327, 3341 and 4443
AEP 3210–3220 (or equivalent, e.g., MATH 4200 and 4220)
ASTRO 4410, 4431, and 4432
With permission of the major advisor, students interested in planetary studies may substitute appropriate advanced courses or may pursue an independent major under the program in the Science of Earth Systems. Majors are encouraged to supplement the above courses with any astronomy, physics, or other appropriate courses at or above the 3000 level. Advanced seniors can enroll in astronomy graduate courses with the permission of the instructor. Students are also encouraged to work with faculty members on independent study projects under the course ASTRO 4940 or to apply to a variety of programs at Cornell, Arecibo, and elsewhere that offer undergraduates summer employment as research assistants. Nearly all undergraduate majors and concentrators become involved in research projects in the junior and senior years.
Students whose interest in astronomy is sparked somewhat late in their undergraduate career are encouraged to discuss possible paths with the director of undergraduate studies in Astronomy.
Honors. A student may be granted honors in Astronomy upon the recommendation of the Astronomy Advisors Committee of the Astronomy faculty. Typical requirements for graduating with honors are a minimum GPA of 3.5 over the past four semesters and grades of A– or better in ASTRO 4410, 4431, and 4432.
Double majors. A double major in Astronomy and another subject is possible in many circumstances. However, the set of courses used to fulfill the requirements for each major must be completely independent.
Minor. The minor in Astronomy for other majors normally requires 12 credits, at least 8 of which must be at the 3000 level or above. We recommend, but do not require, that sophomores planning to concentrate in Astronomy take at least one of the following courses: ASTRO 2211, ASTRO 2212, ASTRO 2233, ASTRO 2290.
All courses in astronomy, except ASTRO 1109, may be used to fulfill the science distribution requirement in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The biological sciences (“biology”) major is distinguished from other life sciences majors by its focus on basic, as opposed to applied, aspects of biology. All biology majors take courses in genetics, evolutionary biology, and biochemistry—subjects fundamental to understanding questions spanning the full spectrum of biology in the age of genomics.
In addition to taking these core courses, each student completes a Program of Study (“concentration”) that affords the opportunity for acquiring a more detailed knowledge of particular subject areas: Animal Physiology, Biochemistry, Computational Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics and Development, Insect Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology, Microbiology, Neurobiology and Behavior, Nutrition, Plant Biology, and Systematics and Biotic Diversity. Alternatively, students may choose to explore three or more of these areas in the General Biology Program of Study.
The continuing rapid advances in biology are built on an ever-greater integration with the physical sciences and mathematics. Thus, the biology major is designed to provide students with a strong foundation not only in core areas of modern biology, but also in chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
Students work with faculty, staff, and student advisors in selecting their Program of Study and in choosing the course options that each offers. The Office of Undergraduate Biology (OUB) in 216 Stimson Hall oversees advising for biology majors, and also coordinates the extensive undergraduate biology research program, including the biology research honors program, and the Biology Scholars Program.
The biology major is very popular among students of both the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences. It provides excellent preparation not only for various advanced degrees in science, but also for health careers, because so many of its requirements are also requirements for medical, dental, or veterinary programs. For more details about the biology major and minor see the section in this catalog on biological sciences or visit http://www.biology.cornell.edu.
Because the department offers many courses with overlapping content, students must choose their courses carefully to ensure that they will receive credit for each course they take. Listed below are courses that have similar content. Students will receive credit for only one of the courses in each group.
BIOG 1101 & 1103, 1105, 1107, 1110
BIOG 1102 & 1104, 1106, 1108, 1109
BIOBM 3300, 3310 & 3320, 3330, NS 3200
BIOSM 3640, 3750
BIOSM 3760, BIOEE 3730
K. Vogel, director of undergraduate studies, College of Arts and Sciences; S. K. Obendorf, advising coordinator, College of Human Ecology; B. Chabot, advising coordinator, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; E. Adkins-Regan, B. Bedford, W. Bemis, K. Berggren, R. Boyd, N. Breen, J. T. Brenna, D. Brown, R. Canfield, S. Ceci, B. Chabot, C. C. Chu, W. Crepet, J. Davis, P. Dear, R. Depue, G. W. Feigenson, J. Fortune, C. Geisler, W. Ghiorse, C. Goodale, C. Greene, D. Gurak, J. Haas, A. Hajek, L. Harrington, A. Hedge, S. Hilgartner, T. J. Hinrichs, B. Johnson, B. Knuth, A. Lemley, C. Leuenberger, D. Levitsky, B. Lewenstein, B. Lust, M. Lynch, K. McComas, S. McCouch, A. Netravali, S. K. Obendorf, P. Parra, A. Parrot, D. Pelletier, M. Pfeffer, T. Pinch, A. G. Power, R. Prentice, S. Pritchard, W. Provine, J. V. Reppy, S. Robertson, M. Rossiter, S. Seth, R. Stedman, R. Stoltzfus, J. Tantillo, J. Thies, V. Utermohlen, K. Vogel, R. Wayne, E. Wethington, T. Whitlow, S. Wolf. Emeritus: D. Baks, D. Bates, U. Bronfenbrenner, C. Eberhard, H. C. Howland, K. A. R. Kennedy, J. Fessenden MacDonald, J. Mueller, D. Pimentel, J. M. Stycos
The Biology & Society major is suited for students who wish to combine training in biology with perspectives from the social sciences and humanities on the social, political, and ethical aspects of modern biology. In addition to providing a foundation in biology, Biology & Society students gain a background in the social dimensions of modern biology and in the biological dimensions of contemporary social issues.
The Biology & Society major, which involves faculty from throughout the university, is offered by the Department of Science and Technology Studies. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are eligible for the major. The major is coordinated for students in all colleges through the Biology & Society Office. Students can get information, specific course requirements, and application procedures for the major from the Biology & Society office in 306 Rockefeller Hall, 255-6047.
Because the major is multidisciplinary, students must attain a basic understanding of the several disciplines it comprises. The curriculum includes courses in ethics; statistics; history, philosophy, and social studies of science and biology; and basic biology (e.g., genetics and development; biochemistry and molecular-cell biology; ecology; evolutionary biology), as well as integrative courses offered through Biology & Society. Majors are required to take a core course and must develop a theme, an intellectually coherent grouping of courses representative of their special interest in Biology & Society. Recommended themes in the Biology & Society major include biology, behavior, and society; biology and human population; biology and public policy; environment and society; and health and society. Students may also develop their own individually tailored themes (which in recent years have included topics such as biotechnology and society and agriculture, environment, and society). In consultation with their faculty advisor, students select courses that meet the foundation and core course requirements so as to build a coherent theme. Sample curricula for the recommended themes and for several student-developed themes are available in the Biology & Society office.
Because of the interdisciplinary nature and flexibility of the Biology & Society major, we do not allow students to triple major.
Faculty members are available (according to posted office hours or by appointment) in the Biology & Society offices, 306 Rockefeller Hall, to answer questions and to provide assistance.
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. 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 and Human Ecology 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. 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?, in their freshman or sophomore year. Human Ecology students should also consult the current Human Ecology guide and meet with the college advising coordinator, Nancy Breen, 205 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, 255-1928.
Human Ecology students should also consult the current Human Ecology guide and meet with the college advising coordinator, Nancy Breen, 205 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, 255-1928. S. Kay Obendorf, 182 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, 255-4719.
No single course may satisfy more than one major requirement. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
1. Basic courses
a. BIOG 1101–1104 or 1105–1106 or 1107–1108 or BIOSM 1110 (prerequisite for admission to Biology & Society) or two entry-level biology courses.
b. College calculus (one course):* MATH 1106, 1110, 1120 or any higher-level calculus.
c. Recommended but not required: General chemistry (one-year sequence) (prerequisite to biochemistry and other chemistry courses): CHEM 1560, 2070–2080, or 2150–2160.
2. 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.
These courses must be above the 1000 level, at least 3 credit hours, and taken for a letter grade.
a. Ethics: one course; BSOC 2051 (also STS 2051) or BSOC 2061 (also STS 2061, PHIL 2460).
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; and science communication.
c. Biology foundation (breadth requirement): three courses; one each from three of the following subject areas: biochemistry, molecular and cell biology (BIOBM 3300 or 3310 or 3330 or NS 3200); ecology (BIOEE 2610, BIOSM 3640, BIOSM 3750); genetics and development (BIOGD 2800 or 2810 or 2820 or PLBR 2250 or NTRES 2830); evolutionary biology (BIOEE 2780); animal behavior (BIONB 2210, BIOSM 3290); neurobiology (BIONB 2220); anatomy and physiology (BIOAP 3110 or NS 3410); biological diversity (BIOPL 2410 or BIOMI 2900 or BIOEE 3730 or 2740 or 4500 or 4700 and 4701 or 4750 or 4760 or BIOSM 3080 or BIOSM 3210 or ENTOM 2120 or PLPA 3010 or 3090 or BIOSM 3100 or 3740 or 3770 or 4490); nutrition (NS 1150 or NS 1220).
d. Biology foundation (Depth requirement): one biology course for which one of the above (2c) is a prerequisite.**
e. Statistics: one course selected from MATH 1710, BTRY 3010, AEM 2100, SOC 3010, PSYCH 3500, ECON 3190, PAM 2100, ILRST 2100 or 2120.
3. Core Course: (one course) Should be completed by end of junior year.
BSOC 3011 Life Sciences and Society (also STS 3011); or STS 2861 Science and Human Nature (also PHIL 2860).
4. Theme (five courses that correspond to the theme selected by the student). These courses can be above the 1000 level, at least 3 credit hours, and taken for a letter grade. Choose these courses as follows:
a. 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.
b. 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.
c. Senior seminar (one course taken senior year). Courses change yearly.
* 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 306 Rockefeller Hall.
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. Applications and information on faculty research, scholarly activities, and undergraduate opportunities are available in the Biology & Society office, 306 Rockefeller Hall.
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, 306 Rockefeller Hall. Biology & Society majors in the College of Human Ecology must be selected by an honors committee within their college. The honors program is available to Biology & Society majors from the College of Arts & Sciences, Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Human Ecology. 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 advisors. 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. BSOC 4991/4992 is now cross-listed with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as ALS 4991/4992 and the College of Human Ecology as HE 4990. Students wishing to receive CALS credit can sign up for ALS 4991/4992 and those wishing to receive Human Ecology credit must sign up for HE 4990. They must attend the honors seminar during the fall semester. More information on the honors program is available in the Biology & Society Office, 306 Rockefeller Hall, 255-6047.
People to contact for Biology & Society honors information:
In Arts and Sciences: Kathleen Vogel, director of undergraduate studies, kmv8@cornell.edu
In Agriculture and Life Sciences: Brian Chabot, faculty representative to CALS Honors Committee, bfc1@cornell.edu
In Human Ecology: S. Kay Obendorf, advising coordinator, CHE, sko3@cornell.edu
Further Information
Professor Kathleen Vogel, director of undergraduate studies, kmv8@cornell.edu
Professor Brian Chabot, advising coordinator, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, bfc1@cornell.edu
S. Kay Obendorf, advising coordinator, College of Human Ecology, sko3@cornell.edu
Susan Sullivan, Biology & Society Advising Office, 306 Rockefeller Hall, 255-6047, sfc1@cornell.edu
web site: http://www.sts.cornell.edu
Consult the John S. Knight Institute web site for times, instructors, and descriptions. Web site: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/Knight_institute/index.html.
A. Ethics (one course)
B. Social Sciences/Humanities Foundation (two courses, one from any two areas)
1. History of Science
2. Philosophy of Science
3. Sociology of Science
4. Politics of Science
5. Science Communication
C. Biology foundation (breadth requirement): Three courses: one from three of the following subject areas:
1. Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology
2. Ecology
3. Genetics and Development
4. Evolutionary Biology
5. Animal Behavior
6. Neurobiology
7. Physiology and Anatomy
8. Biological Diversity
9. Nutrition
D. Biology foundation (depth requirement): one course for which one of the above breadth requirement courses (2C) is a prerequisite.
E. Statistics(one course)
A. Natural Science Issues/Biology Elective (two courses). Select from the following list of BSOC–approved natural science issues courses or choose course(s) with intro biology as a prerequisite.
Examples of biology electives
B. Humanities/Social Science elective (two courses)
Courses listed earlier as social science/humanities foundation courses (2B) are particularly appropriate as social science/humanities electives. However, a single course cannot be used to meet both requirements. Examples of recommended social science or humanities electives are listed below. A more complete list is available in 306 Rockefeller Hall.
Examples of social science electives
Examples of humanities electives
C. Senior Seminars
If students do not complete the second semester of the honors project, they must change the first semester to independent study to clear the “R” and receive a grade. Otherwise, the “R” will remain on their record and prevent them from graduating.
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
See “Department of Romance Studies.”
The Center for Applied Mathematics administers a broadly based interdepartmental graduate program that provides opportunities for study and research over a wide range of the mathematical sciences. This program is based on a solid foundation in analysis, algebra, and methods of applied mathematics. The remainder of the graduate student’s program is designed by the student and his or her Special Committee. For detailed information on opportunities for graduate study in applied mathematics, students should contact the director of graduate studies of the Center for Applied Mathematics, 657 Frank H. T. Rhodes Hall.
There is no special undergraduate degree program in applied mathematics. Undergraduate students interested in an application-oriented program in mathematics may select an appropriate program in the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Computer Science, or some department of the College of Engineering.
A listing of selected graduate courses in applied mathematics can be found in the description of the center under “Interdisciplinary Centers, Programs, and Studies.”
See “Interdisciplinary Centers, Programs, and Studies.”
B. A. Baird, chair (122 Baker Laboratory, 255-4175); D. B. Collum, associate chair; P. J. Chirik, director of undergraduate studies; H. D. Abruña, B. A. Baird, R. A. Cerione, G. Chan, P. Chen, P. J. Chirik, G. W. Coates, D. B. Collum, B. R. Crane, H. F. Davis, S. DeBeer George, W. R. Dichtel, F. J. DiSalvo, S. E. Ealick, G. S. Ezra, J. H. Freed, B. Ganem, M. A. Hines, R. Hoffmann, S. Lee, H. Lin, D. R. Lorey, J. A. Marohn, J. Njardarson, J. Park, P. Peterson, T. Ruttledge, D. Y. Sogah, J. Terry, D. A. Usher, B. Widom, P. T. Wolczanski, D. B. Zax
The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology offers a full range of courses in physical, organic, inorganic, analytical, theoretical, bioorganic, and biophysical chemistry. In addition to their teaching interests, chemistry and chemical biology faculty members have active research programs. The link between teaching and research is a vital one in a continuously evolving scientific subject; it ensures that students will be provided with the most advanced information and perspectives and affords opportunities for students to participate in research. For additional information about the department and course offerings, see the department course web page (http://www.chem.cornell.edu).
To fit the widely varying needs of our undergraduate majors, the department offers two different tracks that both lead to the same undergraduate degree:
Standard Major—The standard major provides a comprehensive background in all fields of chemistry. Most students who complete the standard major go on to graduate study in chemistry or to medical school, although some students proceed directly to a position in the chemical industry. With additional independent research (which is not required), the standard chemistry major is fully accredited by the American Chemical Society.
Alternative Major—The alternative major offers a flexible program of study that is primarily designed for students who intend to double major in another field. For example, students majoring in biology can complete the alternative major with little additional class work. This program might also be attractive for students interested in law (especially patent law), as a double major in government or economics plus chemistry is quite feasible. This program is not suited to further graduate work in chemistry. With few exceptions, students in the alternative major are not chosen to participate in the honors program in chemistry. The alternative major is not accredited by the American Chemical Society.
Either version of the major can be completed in three years of study. Most students, however, complete all of the requirements in their first three years with the exception of CHEM 4100, Inorganic Chemistry, which is usually taken in the fall semester of the senior year. The typical chemistry course sequence is:
first year: general chemistry and mathematics
second year: organic chemistry, analytical and organic laboratories, and physics
third year: physical chemistry lectures and laboratories
fourth year: inorganic chemistry
Admission to the chemistry major requires the satisfactory completion of a number of introductory courses which, when taken together, demonstrate an ability to complete the major. These courses include (1) CHEM 2150–2160 or 2070–2080 (CHEM 2090 or 1560 may be substituted for 2070 but 1560 is not recommended); (2) CHEM 3000; (3) PHYS 2207 or 1112 or 1116; and (4) MATH 1110 or 1910. Second-semester sophomores (or beyond) who have completed all but one of these requirements may be admitted to the major provided that they have a plan for completing the major on schedule.
The following courses must be completed for the standard major:
General chemistry: CHEM 2070 + 2080 or CHEM 2150 + 2160. (CHEM 2090 or 1560 may be substituted for CHEM 2070, but 1560 is not recommended).
Organic chemistry: CHEM 3570 + 3580 or CHEM 3590 + 3600
Physical chemistry: CHEM 3890 + 3900
Inorganic chemistry: CHEM 4100
Laboratory chemistry: CHEM 3000 + 3010 + 3020 + 3030
Physics: (PHYS 2207 or 1112 or 1116) + (PHYS 2208 or 2213).
Mathematics: MATH 1110 + 1120 + 2130 or MATH 1110 + 1220 + 2210 + 2220 or MATH 1910 + 1920 + 2930
Most standard majors also perform independent research at some point in their academic career, either during the semester or in the summer. Many students take advanced courses to complement this program.
The following courses must be completed for the alternative major:
General chemistry: CHEM 2070 + 2080 or CHEM 2150 + 2160. (CHEM 2090 or 1560 may be substituted for CHEM 2070, but 1560 is not recommended)
Organic chemistry: CHEM 1570 (CHEM 3570 + 3580 or CHEM 3590 + 3600 may be substituted)
Physical chemistry: CHEM 2870 (CHEM 3890 + 3900 may be substituted)
Inorganic chemistry: CHEM 4100
Laboratory chemistry: CHEM 2510 + 2900 + 3000 (CHEM 3010 may be substituted for CHEM 2510; CHEM 3030 may be substituted for CHEM 2900).
Physics: (PHYS 2207 or 1112 or 1116) + (PHYS 2208 or 2213)
Mathematics: MATH 1110 + 1120 or MATH 1110 + 1220 or MATH 1910 + 1920
One additional 3- or 4-credit advanced chemistry course at the 3000 level or above. (CHEM 3580, 3600 or 3900 can be used to satisfy this requirement.)
Three additional courses, of 3 or more credits each, that form a cohesive unit and are not at the introductory level. These three courses must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies.
The three additional courses may be in another field of study, such as biochemistry, physics, biology, materials science, economics, government, or education. Many students who double major use courses from their second major to satisfy this requirement.
Like the standard majors, many alternative majors perform independent research, either in the chemistry department or with a member of the Chemistry field.
Any student who completes the requirements for a standard major in chemistry with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher shall be awarded a degree with honors (cum laude).
In addition, senior chemistry majors who have superior grades in chemistry and related subjects and who have had good performance in at least 8 credits of undergraduate research (or the equivalent) in chemistry or a related field (e.g., biochemistry) may be nominated for the honors program. To ensure that the nomination process runs smoothly, all students who are interested in the honors program should discuss this possibility with their advisor early in the fall semester of the senior year. Admission to the honors program is by invitation only. Students completing the alternative major are only eligible for the honors program in exceptional cases.
Students in the honors program participate in the honors seminar (CHEM 4980) and write a senior thesis. The successful completion of the honors program leads to the degree of bachelor of arts with honors or high honors in chemistry.
Chemistry majors who wish to become teachers will be interested to know that Cornell University offers a certification program for teachers of secondary (grades 7–12) science. Interested students apply to the program during their sophomore or junior years. If accepted, students integrate some course work in education with the rest of their undergraduate studies. All chemistry majors who enter this program will remain in the College of Arts and Sciences to complete the major.
After earning the bachelor’s degree, certification students enter the graduate field of education to complete a fifth year of study at Cornell. Following this fifth year, students are eligible for a master’s degree from Cornell and a teaching certificate from New York State. For additional information, contact the Department of Education, 255-2207.
Students registered for laboratory courses who do not appear at the first meeting of the laboratory will forfeit their place in that laboratory but are not automatically dropped from the course.
Students and members of the teaching staff are required to wear safety goggles and lab aprons in all chemistry laboratories. Closed-toed footwear is required (no sandals). Students are reminded to take their goggles and lab aprons to the first laboratory session. Those who fail to cooperate with the safety program will be asked to leave the laboratories.
Students in organic and analytical labs are required to pay for glassware and any other items broken or missing from their laboratory desks at the close of each semester. Students who fail to inventory their desks at the appointed time in the presence of their instructor are charged a $20 fee in addition to charges for any breakage.
Note: Class meeting times are accurate at the time of publication. If changes occur, the department will provide new information as soon as possible.
Preliminary examinations for all courses may be given in the evening.
Because the department offers several courses with overlapping content, students should select courses carefully to meet the needs of their academic programs and to ensure credit for each course they take. Listed below are groups of courses with largely similar content. In general, students may receive credit for only one course in each group.
CHEM 1560, 2070, 2090, 2160
CHEM 2080, 2150
CHEM 1570, 3570
X. Xu, acting director (123 McGraw Hall, 255-4741), R. Bush, A. Carlson, J. Chen, Z. Chen, S. Cochran, S. Divo, E. Gunn, P. Katzenstein, F. Logevall, T. Lowi, A. Mertha. Affiliated faculty: M. Evangelista, J. Kirshner, J. V. Koschmann, T. Lyons, V. Nee, E. Sanders, M. Shin, E. Tagliacozzo, K. Taylor, X. Xu.
China and Asia–Pacific Studies (CAPS) offers a unique approach to the study of China’s language, history, politics, society, and foreign relations by providing students with experience both on- and off-campus, including three years in Ithaca, one semester in Washington, D.C., and one semester in Beijing.
web site: http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/caps
Students are required to take one of the introductory courses, CAPS 2827 (GOVT 2827) or CAPS 2570 (HIST 2571), during their first two years at Cornell, but they may declare the CAPS major before taking either of these or any other CAPS courses. The other required courses are:
• All of the following language courses: CHIN 1101–1102, 2201–2202, and 3301–3302 or CHIN 3306 (CAPS 3060) or CHIN 1109–1110 for heritage learners or the equivalent for FALCON students (all in Ithaca or Washington before senior year).
• Two 4000-level (or above) Chinese courses in Beijing and Ithaca.
• Two of the following lecture courses: CAPS 3857/GOVT 3857, CAPS 3140/HIST 3140, CAPS 3520/HIST 3520, and CAPS 4690/ECON 4690.
• All of the following seminars: CAPS 3000 and CAPS 5000 (during fall of junior year at Cornell in Washington), CAPS 3010 and CAPS 3020 (during fall of senior year at Peking University), and CAPS 4000 (during spring of senior year in Ithaca).
Students interested in the CAPS major should speak to the program director to arrange for a major advisor.
CAPS majors hold externships in government, business, law, the media, museums, research institutions, nongovernmental organizations, or other organizations during their semesters in Washington, D.C., and Beijing. They are encouraged to coordinate the two experiences.
To become a candidate for honors, a CAPS major must maintain a grade average of B+ and have approval for a senior essay proposal from a faculty advisor. During senior year, a CAPS honors student completes the research and writing of a senior essay by taking two tutorials, CAPS 4010 in Beijing and CAPS 4020 in Ithaca.
FALCON Program (Chinese)
See Department of Asian Studies.
C. Brittain, chair, F. M. Ahl, K. Bowes, T. Brennan, K. Clinton, G. Fine, K. Fisher, M. Fontaine (director of undergraduate studies), D. Mankin, S. Manning, A. Nussbaum, H. Pelliccia, P. Pucci, H. R. Rawlings III, E. Rebillard (director of graduate studies), A. Ruppel, J. Rusten, B. Strauss.
The Department of Classics at Cornell is one of the oldest in the country. It offers both the traditional core training in the languages, literature, philosophy, art, and history of ancient Greece and Rome, and also newer approaches developed from the comparative study of Mediterranean civilizations, peace studies, and feminist and literary theory. The broad range of instruction includes courses offered by professors with appointments in the Departments of History, Philosophy, Comparative Literature, History of Art, Linguistics, and Near Eastern Studies, and in the Programs of Archaeology, Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies.
The department offers a wide variety of classical civilization courses in English translation on such subjects as Greek mythology, ancient mystery religions, early Christianity, and Greek and Roman society; ancient epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, satire, novels, and love-poetry; Periclean Athens, Republican Rome, the Roman Empire, and Plato, Aristotle, and Hellenistic philosophy. These courses are designed to introduce aspects of classical antiquity to the students with very divergent primary interests. Courses in art, archaeology, and dendrochronology also have wide appeal. These courses make use of the university’s large collections of ancient coins and of reproductions of sculptures, inscriptions, and other ancient objects. For example, since 1976 over 500 Cornell students have worked in the Aegean Dendrochronology Project’s laboratory, measuring the annual rings on thousands of samples of wood and charcoal, and using the rings to date structures as old as 7000 bc. In the summers selected students have participated in collecting trips around the eastern end of the Mediterranean (see web site at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/dendro). Students who wish to gain first-hand archaeological experience may also join one of several summer Cornell-sponsored field projects in Greece and Turkey.
The study of language is a vital part of classics. Offerings range from 1000-level classes designed to further the understanding of English through the study of the Latin and Greek sources of much of its vocabulary, to courses in linguistics on the morphology and syntax of the ancient languages, comparative grammar, and Indo-European (the reconstructed source of the family of languages that includes Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, and most modern European languages).
The core function of the department is the study of ancient Greek and Latin. Elementary Greek and Latin are taught in both two-semester courses and intensive summer courses. (For students whose Latin is a bit rusty, the department also offers a rapid, one-semester review class.) Students with a more advanced knowledge of Greek or Latin can choose from a wide selection of courses, from intermediate language classes at the 2000 level, which refresh and broaden knowledge of syntax and vocabulary, to graduate and faculty reading groups. All of these courses concentrate on exciting literary texts, whether the poems of Catullus and Virgil, or the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon, at the 2000 level, or, in the advanced reading groups, the latest papyrological discoveries, such as the “new” fragments of Empedocles’ cosmic poem or the “new” epigrams of Posidippus.
The primary purpose of language instruction is to make possible the study at first hand of the extraordinary range of powerful and challenging ideas embodied in Greek and Latin texts. The department offers undergraduate and graduate seminars on literary, linguistic, historical, and philosophical topics, studied through the Greek and Latin works of authors from Homer (probably from the eighth century bce) to Boethius (sixth century ce), and occasionally from later writers such as Dante, Petrarch, or Milton. The department strives to adapt its program to the needs of individual students from all disciplines.
The major in Classics offers four tracks, which are Greek, Latin, classics, and classical civilization. Only classes passed with a C– or better may be applied to the classics major.
The classics track requires: (1) six courses in Greek and Latin numbered 2101 or above; (2) either CLASS 2675/HIST 2650 or one term of CLASS 2681/HIST 2670–CLASS 2682/HIST 2671, and (3) two courses in other related subjects selected in consultation with the student’s departmental advisor (see below). Classics majors are required to take a minimum of two 3000-level courses in one language and one 3000-level course in the other.
Students who are considering graduate study in classics are strongly advised to complete the classics major.
The Greek track requires: (1) GREEK 1105; (2) five courses in Greek numbered 2101 or above; (3) CLASS 2675/HIST 2650; and (4) two courses in other related subjects selected in consultation with the student’s departmental advisor (see below). The courses in Greek must include at least three at the 3000 level.
The Latin track requires: (1) LATIN 1205 or 2201; (2) five courses in Latin numbered 2202 or above; (3) one term of CLASS 2681/HIST 2670–CLASS 2682/HIST 2671; and (4) two courses in other related subjects selected in consultation with the student’s departmental advisor (see below). The courses in Latin must include at least three at the 3000 level.
The classical civilization track requires: (1) either (a) two 2000-level courses in either ancient Greek or Latin, or (b) one course at the 2000 level in ancient Greek and Latin; (2) either (a): CLASS 2601 or 2603 and one term of CLASS 2681/HIST 2670–CLASS 2682/HIST 2671, or (b): CLASS 2612 and CLASS 2675/HIST 2650; (3) one course at the 2000 level in ancient Greek or Roman material culture; and (4) six additional courses in classical civilization, classical archaeology, ancient history, ancient philosophy, ancient Greek or Latin (at 2000 level or above), or related subjects (this last may number up to two, selected in consultation with the student’s departmental advisor).
Classics is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the study of Mediterranean civilizations from the 15th century bce to the sixth century ce. Subjects in the field include Greek and Latin language, literature, and linguistics; ancient philosophy, history, archaeology, and art history; papyrology, epigraphy, and numismatics. In addition to the required courses in language and literature, the majors include a requirement for related courses intended to give breadth and exposure to the other disciplines within the field and to enrich the student’s study of classical languages and literature. Since the influence of the Greek and Roman world extended far beyond antiquity, a related course may focus on some aspect of the classical tradition in a later period. Students select related courses in consultation with their departmental advisors or the director of undergraduate studies.
Candidates for the degree of bachelor of arts with honors in classics, Greek, Latin, or classical civilization must fulfill the requirements of the appropriate major and complete the two-semester honors course, CLASS 4721–4722. (Credit for the honors course may be included in the credits required for the major.) Candidates for honors must have a cumulative average grade of 3.0 and an average of 3.5 in their major. Students choose an honors advisor by the end of their sixth semester, in consultation with the departmental honors committee or the DUS. By the second week of their seventh semester, they submit an outline of their proposed research to their advisor and the committee. The thesis is written in the second semester of the course, under the supervision of the student’s honors advisor. The level of honors is determined by the committee, in consultation with students’ advisors. Copies of successful honors theses are filed with the department. Further details about this program are provided in the brochure Guidelines for Honors in Classics, available in the department office, 120 Goldwin Smith Hall, or on the department web page: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/classics/honors.asp.
Independent study at the 3000 level may be undertaken by undergraduates upon completion of one semester of work at the 3000 level in the relevant field and only with the permission of the director of undergraduate studies.
Cornell is associated with four programs that provide opportunities for summer, semester, or yearlong study abroad in Greece and Italy. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens offers a summer program for graduate students and qualified undergraduates; College Year in Athens offers semester-long courses (consult Cornell Abroad for details). The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome provides semester-long courses in Latin, Greek, ancient history, art, archaeology, and Italian; the American Academy in Rome offers both full-year and summer programs for qualified graduate students. The Department of Classics awards several travel grants each year for graduate students from the Townsend Memorial Fund; undergraduates are eligible for the Caplan Travel Fellowships (see “Caplan Fellowships,” below). Detailed information on these programs is available in the department office, 120 Goldwin Smith Hall.
The Department of Classics has at its disposal resources to assist students who wish to enroll in intensive Latin or Greek in the Cornell summer session. These courses are designed to enable students to enter second-year Latin or Greek the following fall. Preference is given to undergraduate majors in classics and other students needing Latin or Greek for completion of their majors or graduate programs; dyslexic students are accorded additional preference. Two different kinds of support are available: (1) The Kanders–Townsend Prize Fellowship provides a stipend to cover up to $4,600 in living expenses and full tuition for either GREEK 1103 or LATIN 1203, and is open only to freshman or sophomore classics majors (or potential classics majors) who have already begun one classical language and wish to start the other in the summer. (2) Classics department tuition support is open to Cornell undergraduate and graduate students and provides some level of tuition support, up to the full amount; no stipend for living expenses is offered. Applications are due to the chair of the Department of Classics by March 31. See also “Caplan Fellowships,” below.
Placement of first-year undergraduates in Greek and Latin courses is determined by examinations given by the Department of Classics during orientation week. For details concerning these examinations, contact the director of undergraduate studies.
Ancient Greek: Option 1 is satisfied by taking GREEK 2101 or above. Option 2 is satisfied by taking either (a) GREEK 1101, 1102, and 1105 or (b) GREEK 1103 and 1105. (GREEK 1103 counts as two courses. Although credits for 1103 and 1105 add up to only 9, this sequence does satisfy Option 2 of the college’s language requirement.)
Modern Greek: Option 1 is satisfied by taking GREEK 2144. Option 2 is satisfied by taking GREEK 1141, 1142 and 1143.
Latin: Option 1 is satisfied by taking LATIN 2201 or above. Option 2 is satisfied by taking either (a) LATIN 1201, 1202, and 1205 or (b) LATIN 1203 and 1205. (LATIN 1203 counts as two courses. Although credits for 1203 and 1205 add up to only 9, this sequence does satisfy Option 2 of the college’s language requirement.) The sequence LATIN 1204–1205 does not satisfy Option 2. Students can place into LATIN 2201 with an A– or better in LATIN 1202, 1203 or 1204. Upon completing 2201, they satisfy Option 1. LATIN 1204 overlaps with LATIN 1202 therefore cannot be taken (or counted toward the degree) after completing LATIN 1202 or 1203.
The department offers first-year writing seminars on a wide range of classical and medieval topics. Consult John S. Knight Writing Seminar Program brochures for times, instructors, and descriptions.
The Harry Caplan Travel Fellowships are awarded annually to one or two outstanding juniors by the College of Arts and Sciences for summer travel or projects in Europe or the Near East. Interested juniors should consult the director of undergraduate studies.
M. Christiansen (psychology) and Jeff Hancock (information science), directors. G. Gay, J. Hancock (communication); C. Cardie, R. Constable, J. Halpern, D. Huttenlocher, T. Joachims, L. Lee, B. Selman, R. Zabih (computer science); G. Evans, A. Hedge (design and environmental analysis); K. Basu, L. Blume, D. Easley (economics); J. Dunn, R. Ripple, D. Schrader (education); S. Wicker (electrical and computer engineering); M. Belmonte, C. Brainerd, M. Casasola, S. Ceci, B. Koslowski, B. Lust, V. Reyna, S. Robertson, Q. Wang, E. Wethington, W. Williams (human development); K. O’Connor, J. Russo, M. Thomas-Hunt (Johnson Graduate School of Management); J. Bowers, A. Cohn, M. Diesing, W. Harbert, S. McConnell-Ginet, A. Miller-Ockhuizen, M. Rooth, C. Rosen, Y. Shirai, M. Wagner, J. Whitman, D. Zec (linguistics); A. Nerode, R. Shore (mathematics); H. Lipson, F. Valero-Cuevas (mechanical and aerospace engineering); R. Harris-Warrick, H. Howland, R. Hoy, C. Linster, H. K. Reeve (neurobiology and behavior); R. Boyd, M. Eklund, C. Ginet, H. Hodes, D. Pereboom, S. Shoemaker, B. Weatherson (philosophy); T. Cleland, J. Cutting, R. Darlington, T. DeVoogd, D. Dunning, S. Edelman, M. Ferguson, D. Field, B. Finlay, T. Gilovich, M. Goldstein, B. Halpern, A. Isen, R. Johnston, C. Krumhansl, U. Neisser, D. Pizarro, E. Adkins Regan (psychology); M. Macy (sociology). R. Canfield, S. Hertz (associate members).
Cognitive Science comprises a number of disciplines that are linked by a major concern with fundamental capacities of the mind, such as perception, memory, reasoning, language, the organization of motor action, and their neural correlates. In the College of Arts and Sciences these disciplines are represented in the departments of Computer Science, Economics, Linguistics, Mathematics, Neurobiology and Behavior, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology. Elsewhere in the university they are represented in the departments of Mechanical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (College of Engineering); the departments of Design and Environmental Analysis and Human Development (College of Human Ecology); the departments of Communication and Education (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences); the Information Science Program, and the Johnson Graduate School of Management.
The issues addressed in Cognitive Science arise at several levels. At the broadest level are problems of characterizing such basic notions as “mind,” “knowledge,” “information,” and “meaning.” At a more specific level are questions regarding the abstract operating principles of individual components of the mind, such as those underlying visual perception, language ability, and understanding of concepts. These principles concern the organization and behavior of the components and how they are biologically represented in the brain. At the most specific level are questions about the properties of the elementary computational structures and processes that constitute these components.
Important insights into issues of these kinds have been achieved in recent years as a result of the various Cognitive Science disciplines converging in their theoretical and methodological approaches. It is this convergence, in fact, that warrants grouping the disciplines together under the single term “Cognitive Science.” Even greater progress can be expected in the future as a consequence of increasing cooperation among the disciplines.
An interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Cognitive Science is available to Cornell University undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students from other colleges who seek such a minor should discuss such possibilities with the Cognitive Science office, which will provide information and contacts concerning such minors.
The undergraduate minor in Cognitive Science is designed to enable students to engage in a structured program directly related to the scientific study of cognition and the mind. The minor provides a framework for the design of structured, supervised programs of study in this growing interdisciplinary field. Such programs of study serve as complements to course work in a single discipline as represented by an individual department. It is considered crucial that students gain a strong background in their major, independent of their work in the minor. Independent majors and college scholars may also apply. Colleges vary in their procedures for formal recognition of this minor (contact the Cognitive Science office for details). The Cognitive Science Program faculty have designed five structured “tracks” that offer students different ways of satisfying the minor. In addition, students are always able to construct their own programs of study subject to approval by their minor advisor. The courses listed under each track are program suggestions. The student should consult his or her Cognitive Science advisor to develop a more customized curriculum. In some cases, students may want to combine or cross tracks.
In general, it is expected that students in the minor will take COGST 1101 or COGST 2140 as their introductory course requirement; either COGST 4120, COGST 4160, COGST 4500, or COGST 4700 as their lab course requirement; and three courses at the 3000 and 4000 level in at least two departments (or certain suitable 2000-level courses by petition). Courses are to be chosen by student and advisor to provide a coherent program. Even though only five courses are required to complete the minor, we assume students interested in Cognitive Science will often end up taking more. An independent research project (e.g., COGST 4700 if this is not used to satisfy the lab requirement) and a research workshop (COGST 4710) are encouraged. Please note: minor modifications to this outline may be made in extenuating circumstances by the advisor, in consultation with the program director.
The five typical tracks are as follows. Note that many of these courses have substantial prerequisites.
1. Perception and Cognition
This track focuses on psychological, computational, and neurobiological approaches to the interface between perception and cognition. Students will develop a grasp of the continuum between sensory impressions and complex thought.
BIONB 3260 The Visual System
BIONB 4330/COGST 4310/PSYCH 5310 Consciousness and Free Will
COGST 1101/CS 1710/LING 1170/PHIL 1910/PSYCH 1102 Introduction to Cognitive Science
COGST/PSYCH 2140 Cognitive Psychology
COGST/PSYCH 3420 Human Perception: Applications to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display
COGST/PSYCH 4160 Modeling Perception and Cognition
COGST 4500/HD 4370/LING 4500/PSYCH 4370 Lab Course: Language Development
COGST 4650/CS 3920/PSYCH 4650 Topics in High-Level Vision
PSYCH 3050 Visual Perception
PSYCH 3160 Auditory Perception
PSYCH 4120 Laboratory in Cognition and Perception
PSYCH 4180 Psychology of Music
2. Language and Cognition
This track focuses on the representation, processing, and acquisition and learning of language, as well as its role in cognition and culture. Students will acquire skills and knowledge in formal and applied linguistic theory, psycholinguistic experimentation, and computational modeling techniques.
COGST 1101/CS 1101/LING 1170/PHIL 1910/PSYCH 1102 Introduction to Cognitive Science
COGST/PSYCH 2140 Cognitive Psychology
COGST/LING/PSYCH 2150 Psychology of Language
COGST/PSYCH 4270 Evolution of Language
COGST/LING/PSYCH 4280 Connectionist Psycholinguistics
COGST 4340/HD 4240 Current Topics in Cognitive Development
COGST/HD 4360/LING 4436/PSYCH 4360 Language Development
COGST 4500/HD 4370/LING 4500/PSYCH 4370 Lab Course: Language Development
CS 4110 Programming Languages and Logics
LING 3301–3302 Introduction to Phonetics
LING 3303 Introduction to Syntax
LING 3304 Introduction to Semantics Pragmatics
LING 4403 Syntax I, II
LING 4421–4422 Semantics I and II
PHIL 3320 Philosophy of Language
3. Cognition and Information Processing
This track focuses on how the mind (or a computer) can encode, represent, and store information. Students will develop an understanding of concepts, categories, memory, and the nature of information itself.
COGST 1101/CS 1101/LING 1170/PHIL 1910/PSYCH 1102 Introduction to Cognitive Science
COGST/PSYCH 2140 Cognitive Psychology
COGST/PSYCH 4140 Comparative Cognition
COGST 2340/HD 3340 The Growth of the Mind
COGST/HD 4320 Cognitive, Social, and Developmental Aspects of Scientific Reasoning
COGST 4500/HD 4370/LING 4500/PSYCH 4370 Lab Course: Language Development
CS 2110 Computers and Programming
CS 4700 Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
CS 4701 Practicum in Artificial Intelligence
PSYCH 4120 Laboratory in Cognition and Perception
PSYCH 4130 Information Processing: Conscious and Nonconscious
PSYCH 4150 Concepts, Categories, and Word Meanings
PSYCH 4170 The Origins of Thought and Knowledge
4. Cognitive Neuroscience
This track focuses on neurobiological and computational approaches to understanding how perception and cognition emerge in the human brain. Students will acquire knowledge of what neural structures subserve what perceptual/cognitive processes, and how they interact.
COGST 1101/CS 1101/LING 1170/PHIL 1910/PSYCH 1102 Introduction to Cognitive Science
COGST/PSYCH 2140 Cognitive Psychology
COGST/HD 2200 The Human Brain and Mind
COGST/BIONB/PSYCH 3300 Introduction to Computational Neuroscience
PSYCH 3320/BIONB 3280 Biopsychology of Learning and Memory
PSYCH/BIONB 3960 Introduction to Sensory Systems
PSYCH 4250 Cognitive Neuroscience
5. Independent Study
With approval from the Cognitive Science undergraduate curriculum committee, a student and advisor in the Cognitive Science program can arrange their own unique collection of courses that do not belong to the above categories for satisfying the minor requirements.
COGST 4700 Undergraduate Research in Cognitive Studies
COGST 4710 Cognitive Studies Research Workshop
A Cognitive Science undergraduate laboratory and computer facility (201 Uris Hall) is available for all students in a Cognitive Science minor. This facility will help link resources from different laboratories across the Cornell campus as well as providing a central location for developing and conducting experimental research in Cognitive Science.
Students who complete the minor requirements will have their minor in Cognitive Science officially represented on their transcript. In addition, students who have made substantial progress toward completing the requirements for the minor will be eligible for enrollment in the graduate courses in Cognitive Science during their senior year.
Minor Application Procedures. Initial inquiries concerning the undergraduate concentration should be made to the Cognitive Science Program coordinator, Julie Simmons-Lynch, cogst@cornell.edu, 255-6431, who will provide application materials.
To formally initiate the minor in Cognitive Science, a student must gain approval for a selection of courses from a minor advisor (one of the program faculty). The courses selected must form a coherent cluster that makes sense to both the advisor and the student. To be admitted to the minor, the student must submit this plan of study to the Cognitive Science undergraduate faculty committee for final approval.
In addition to assisting in and approving the student’s selection of courses, the minor advisor serves as a general source of information about the field of Cognitive Science, relevant resources around the university, and job and graduate school opportunities. Often, the advisor can help the student develop independent research experience.
Independent Research. The minor encourages each student to be involved in independent research that bears on research issues in Cognitive Science, if possible. COGST 4700 is available for this purpose. It is recommended that students report on their research activities in an annual undergraduate forum. The Undergraduate Minor Committee is committed to helping students find an appropriate research placement when needed.
The Committee for Undergraduate Minor in Cognitive Science consists of: Bart Selman, Computer Science, 255–5643, 4144 Upson Hall, selman@cs.cornell.edu; Draga Zec, linguistics, 255–0728, 217 Morrill Hall, dz17@cornell.edu; Morten Christiansen, psychology, 255–3570, 2380 Uris Hall, mhc27@cornell.edu. The current director of undergraduate studies is Draga Zec.
Entering graduate students, as well as advanced undergraduates, who are interested in cognition and in the cognitive sciences are advised to take the proseminar course COGST 6501 Introduction to Cognitive Science [not offered 2009–2010] in the fall semester. Enrolling in this 4-credit version of COGST 1101 involves a weekly section meeting with the instructor and will satisfy the introductory course requirement.
Graduate students minoring in Cognitive Science will take additional courses recommended by their graduate committee to complete their course requirements.
For more information, consult the program office (278G Uris Hall, 255-6431, cogst@cornell.edu) or the director of graduate studies, Morten Christiansen (255–3570, mhc27@cornell.edu).
The following courses and seminars are generally for graduate students only. However, some may be appropriate for advanced undergraduates. The director of the minor must approve an undergraduate’s use of any of these for satisfying the minor requirements.
K. Gabard, director (55 Goldwin Smith Hall, 255-5792)
The College Scholar Program is described in the introductory section of Arts and Sciences.
N. Saccamano, chair (247 Goldwin Smith Hall), N. Melas, director of undergraduate studies (247 Goldwin Smith Hall); J. Monroe, director of graduate studies (247 Goldwin Smith Hall); F. Ahl, A. Banerjee, C. Carmichael, D. Castillo, C. Chase, W. Cohen, J. Culler, B. de Bary, L. Dubreuil, L. Ferri, P. Hohendahl, G. Holst-Warhaft, W. J. Kennedy, D. LaCapra, P. Liu, B. Maxwell, T. McNulty, N. Melas, J. Monroe, T. Murray, N. Saccamano, N. Sakai, W. Sayers. Emeritus: D. Grossvogel, W. Holdheim, E. Rosenberg, L. Waugh. Also cooperating: G. Arching, C. Boyce Davies, T. Campbell, M. I. Dadi, P. Gilgen, E. Hanson, R. Mas, B. Massumi, P. McBride, C. Robics, D. Rubenstein, A. Schwarz, D. Schwarz, D. Starr, S. Toorawa, G. Waite, A. Weiner, H. Yan.
The Department of Comparative Literature provides a broad range of courses in European and non-European literature as well as visual and media studies. Courses stress significant authors, themes, problems, styles, genres, historical periods, and theoretical perspectives. In cooperation with related departments in the humanities, the departmental offerings reflect current interdisciplinary approaches to literary study: hermeneutics, semiotics, deconstruction, cultural criticism, Marxism, reception aesthetics, feminism, and psychoanalysis.
The Department of Comparative Literature provides a broad range of courses in European as well as non-European literatures. Courses devoted to literary studies variously stress significant authors, themes, problems, genres, historical periods, and theoretical perspectives. The Department also offers an array of courses in visual and media studies and enables the study of literature in relation to the history and theory of film, video, and other arts, as well as media. In cooperation with related departments in the humanities, the department encourages the interdisciplinary study of literature—in conjunction with anthropology, history, philosophy, sexuality studies, psychology, sociology, and so forth. The course offerings reflect current theoretical approaches to literature, media, and the arts—hermeneutics, semiotics, deconstruction, cultural criticism, Marxism, postcolonialism, reception aesthetics, feminism, and psychoanalysis.
All majors in Comparative Literature are expected to have completed 10 courses, half of which must be devoted to the study of works in cultures other than English in their original languages.
Five of these courses must be taken in the Department of Comparative Literature. One of these must be a Core Course, to be taken in the junior or the senior year. The designated core courses change each semester (for 2009–2010, COML 4220 [fall], COML 4020 [spring].
Students must earn a minimum grade of C for a course to be counted toward the major. If elected, an honors essay will also count as one of these required five courses.
An honors essay (COML 4930 [fall], COML 4940 [spring]) of roughly 50 pages is optional. It is to be written during the senior year under the direction of a faculty member, preferably from within the department, who has agreed to work in close cooperation with the student. Students are urged to begin research on their thesis topic during the summer preceding their senior year.
Students who elect to do a double major with another literature department may count up to three courses from that major toward their requirements in Comparative Literature.
The department encourages students to study abroad in pursuit of their cultural and linguistic interests, and the number of courses that may be counted toward the major will be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor and with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies.
The major enables students to pursue this commitment to a comparative study that includes a substantial non-English component by offering two tracks.
A. Comparative Literary Studies. This track is designed for students who wish to place greater emphasis on literary study in their course work. Students who select this track are required to complete:
1. Five courses in Comparative Literature at the 2000 level and above.
2. Five courses in literature or other areas of the humanities at the 2000 or higher level, to be taken in one or more foreign literature departments. Texts must be read in the original language. A student may offer one advanced-level foreign language course (conversation, composition, etc.) toward fulfilling this requirement.
B. Literary, Visual, and Media Studies. This track is designed for students who wish to pursue their comparative study of literature and theory by integrating rigorous work on film, video, or other arts and media. Students who select this track are required to complete:
1. Four courses in literary study at the 2000 or higher level offered by the Department of Comparative Literature or other humanities departments or programs.
2. Six courses in visual arts or media studies at the 2000 or higher level offered by the Department of Comparative Literature or other humanities departments or programs.
The following guidelines might be used to determine whether a course in Literary, Visual, and Media Studies may be counted toward the five courses in non-English cultural study required of all majors. Where the media involve a large component of speech or writing (such as film, video, or hypertext), the student would need to work with this material in the original foreign language. Where text or speech in a foreign language is peripheral in a course that focuses on visual material (such as art or architecture) from non-English cultures, the student would need to draw on primary and secondary materials in a foreign language for oral reports, papers, and so forth. Because of the flexibility and interdisciplinary range of this track, students who select it should work closely with their faculty advisor to organize a coherent plan of study and to determine, with the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, which courses satisfy the foreign language requirement of the major.
A student who completes the requirements for the major with a minimum grade point average of B+ is eligible for the degree of bachelor of arts with honors in Comparative Literature. The department bases its decision on the students achieving grades of at least B+ on the senior essay, in course work for the major, and in their overall academic performance at Cornell.
Most 1000-level courses may be used toward satisfying the first-year writing seminar requirements. See “John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines” for a full description of the first-year seminar program.
E. Tardos, chair; G. Bailey, K. Bala, D. Bindel, K. Birman, C. Cardie, R. L. Constable, D. Fan, P. Francis, J. Gehrke, C. Gomes, D. Greenberg, D. Gries, J. Halpern, J. E. Hopcroft, D. Huttenlocher, D. James, T. Joachims, J. Kleinberg, R. Kleinberg, C. Koch, D. Kozen, L. Lee, S. Marschner, A. Myers, R. Pass, F. B. Schneider, B. Selman, D. Shmoys, E. G. Sirer, N. Snavely, R. Teitelbaum, C. Van Loan, H. Weatherspoon, R. Zabih
The Department of Computer Science is affiliated with both the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering. Students in either college may major in Computer Science. For details, visit our web site at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad.
CS majors take courses covering algorithms, data structures, logic, programming languages, systems, and theory. Electives include artificial intelligence, computer graphics, computer vision, cryptography, databases, networks, and scientific computing. Requirements include:
• MATH 1110, 1120 (or 1220) and 2210 or (MATH 1910, 1920, and 2940)
• two semesters of introductory computer programming (CS 1110 and CS 2110 or CS 1112, 1130, and 2110). CS 1114 is an honors-level substitute for CS 1112.
• a five-course computer science core (CS 2800, 3110, 3410, or 3420; 4410, and 4820)
• three 4000+ level computer science electives (CS 4999 not allowed; CS 3220 and CS 3810 allowed). If CS 2800 was taken before Spring 2009, CS 3810 or CS 4810 must be either one of these electives or one of the technical electives (see below).
• a computer science project course (CS 4121, 4321, 4411, 4450, 4621, 4701, 5150, 5410, or 6670)
• three 3000+ level courses (only one of ENGRD 2700 or MATH 2930 may be counted) that are technical in nature, as determined by the major.
• a three-course “external specialization” in a topic area other than computer science, all numbered 3000 level or greater
• one of BTRY 4080, ECE 3100, ECON 3190, ENGRD 2700, MATH 4710. CS majors in the Engineering College can use ECE 3100 as a substitute for ENGRD 2700 in satisfying the engineering distribution requirements.
• an elective requirement consisting of a single 3+ credit course or a combination of courses coming to 3+ credits total. Roughly speaking, all academic courses (inside or outside of CS) count. No PE courses, courses numbered 10xx, or ROTC courses below the 3000 level are allowed.
All the major electives described above must be courses of at least 3 credits, with the exception of the CS project course, which is at least 2 credits, or as otherwise specified.
Additionally, students’ course selections must satisfy the requirements of at least one “vector” or CS-centric specialization, defined by the department. The set of vectors at the time of this writing include artificial intelligence, computational science and engineering, data-intensive computing, graphics, human-language technologies, network science, programming languages, security and trustworthy systems, software engineering/code warrior, systems, theory, and a broad “Renaissance” vector. See http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad for the requirements of each vector.
The program is broad and rigorous, but it is structured in a way that supports in-depth study of outside areas. Intelligent course selection can set the stage for graduate study and employment in any technical area and any professional area such as business, law, or medicine. With the advisor, the Computer Science major is expected to put together a coherent program of study that supports career objectives and is true to the aims of liberal education.
All potential affiliates are reviewed on a case-by-case basis relative to the following criteria:
• a grade of C or better in all CS courses and MATH courses
• a GPA of 2.5 or better in CS 2110 and 2800.
• a GPA of 2.5 or better in MATH 1120 (or 1220 or 1920) and CS 2800.
Courses used in the affiliation GPA computations may be repeated if the original course grade was below a C. The most recent grade will be used for all repeated courses. Qualifying courses must be taken at Cornell.
Departmental honors in Computer Science is granted to students who have maintained a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 3.5 and completed a set of coherent courses and research activities that satisfy the following requirements:
• at least one CS course (at least 3 credit hours) at or above the 5000 level with a grade of A– or better; no seminars.
• at least two 3-credit semesters of CS 4999 (Independent Research) with a CS faculty member, with grades of A– or better each semester.
Latin Designations (appended to the degree), awarded by the field of Computer Science for all who qualify as stated above, are based on the final cumulative GPA, as follows:
• cum laude, 3.50 or above
• magna cum laude, 3.75 or above
• summa cum laude, 4.00 or above
Note: Honors courses may not be used to satisfy the CS 4000+ elective requirement, the CS project requirement, the technical electives, or the 3+ credit elective. See the CS undergraduate web site for more information on eligibility: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/ugrad.
A minor in Computing in the Arts with an emphasis on computer science is available both to Computer Science majors and to students majoring in other subjects. For more information, see p. 521.
For complete course descriptions, see “Computer Science” under “Computing and Information Science (CIS).”
The computer plays a role in almost every aspect of human life, and its influence and potential now extend routinely not only to technical and commercial pursuits but also into the realms of the imaginative and the aesthetic. The Computing in the Arts minor offers students opportunities to use computers to realize works of art, to study the perception of artistic phenomena, and to think about new, computer-influenced paradigms and metaphors for the experiences of making and appreciating art. Faculty from several departments in the college offer courses toward the minor, drawing on disciplines in the arts, the social sciences, the humanities, and the physical sciences. Currently, the minor is offered in five tracks: computer science, dance, film, music, and psychology, each described in more detail below. Students may minor in the same area as their major, or in a different area.
It is likely that additional tracks in other disciplines will be added to the minor, indeed possible that this will have occurred after the publication deadline for this year’s Courses of Study but in time to take effect in the 2009–2010 academic year. The director and area representatives listed below will always have the latest information.
Graeme Bailey
Students should meet with the track representative in their chosen discipline for initial advising about the minor. For 2009–2010, these representatives are Graeme Bailey (computer science track), Kevin Ernste (music track), Allen Fogelsanger (dance track), Marilyn Rivchin (film track), and Carol Krumhansl (psychology track).
Regardless of which track they choose, all students in the minor are required to take the core course, Computing in the Arts (CS 1610, cross-listed as CIS 1610, DANCE 1540, ENGRI 1610, FILM 1750, MUSIC 1465, and PSYCH 1650). This course combines fundamental background in cognitive modeling, statistics, programming, and algorithmic thinking, as preparation for more specialized work; hence, though it is not a formal prerequisite to other courses, it should be taken as early as possible in the student’s program. For students who have already gained an equivalent background through other courses, however, it may be waived by permission of the director.
In addition to the core course, each student chooses another five courses satisfying the following requirements:
1. At least one must entail a significant computing component, regardless of its home department (marked * in the lists below).
2. At least two must entail a significant artistic component (marked † in the lists below).
3. For students majoring in a field offering a track, none of the courses from that track may be double-counted as also satisfying major requirements.
The goal is to encourage the development of reasonable depth within one area, without neglecting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Hence, rather than choosing courses at random from the lists below or focusing too narrowly on one particular corner of the field, each student should work actively with an advisor from his or her minor in building an appropriate program.
Computer Science track. In addition to the core course, CS 1610, any five of the following. Note that some of these courses have CS prerequisites.
†ART 1700 Visual Imaging in the Electronic Age (also ARCH 4508, CIS 1620, ENGRI 1620)
*†CIS 3000 Introduction to Computer Game Design
*CS 2110 Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
*CS 4620 Introduction to Computer Graphics
*CS 4700 Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
*CS 4740 Introduction to Natural Language Processing
*CS 4780 Machine Learning
*CS 5640 Computer Animation
*CS 5642 Advanced Animation
*CS 5780 Empirical Methods in Machine Learning and Data Mining
*INFO 3450 Human–Computer Interaction Design
*INFO 4400 Advanced Human–Computer Interaction Design
INFO 4500 Language and Technology
Up to two courses from another track.
Danceequirement.
†DANCE 2430/VISST 2430 Hip-Hop, Hollywood, and Home Movies
†DANCE 2500/VISST 2711 Beginning Dance Composition
†DANCE 3500 Intermediate Dance Composition I
†DANCE 3510 Intermediate Dance Composition II
†*DANCE 3550 Techno Soma Kinesics
†DANCE 3660/THETR 3620 Lighting Design Studio I
*DANCE 3560/MUSIC 3441/THETR 3690 Interactive Performance Technology
†DANCE 3570 Media Arts Studio
*DANCE 3680/MUSIC 3431/THETR 3680 Sound Design and Digital Audio
†DANCE 4500 Advanced Dance Composition I
†DANCE 4510 Advanced Dance Composition II
†*DANCE 4550 Techno Soma Kinesics II
†DANCE 4660/THETR 4620 Lighting Design Studio II
†*MUSIC 3421 Scoring the Moving Image
†PSYCH 3050/VISST 3305 Visual Perception
*THETR 3650 Automated Lighting and Control
Up to two courses from another track.
Film track. In addition to the core course, FILM 1750, any five of the following. Note that some of these courses have FILM pre- and/or corequisites.
[†ART 1700 Visual Imaging in the Electronic Age]
[†ART 2702 Digital Video and Sound]
*ART 2703/CS 5640 Computer Animation
*CS 5642 Advanced Computer Animation
FILM 3250 Animation: History and Practice
†FILM 3770 Introduction to 16mm and Digital Filmmaking
†FILM 4220 Cinematography
†FILM 4770 Intermediate Film and Video Projects: Documentary and Experimental Workshop
†FILM 4930 Advanced Film and Video Projects
*THETR 3680 Sound Design and Digital Audio
†*THETR 3690 Digital Performance
Up to two courses from another track.
Music track. In addition to the core course, MUSIC 1465, any five of the following. Note that some of these courses have MUSIC prerequisites.
*†CIS 3000 Introduction to Computer Game Design
†*MUSIC 1421 Introduction to Computer Music
MUSIC 2111/PHYS 1204 Physics of Musical Sound
†*MUSIC 2421 Computers in Music Performance
†MUSIC 3111/3112/3113 Jazz Improvisation (any two of these 2-credit courses)
†*MUSIC 3421 Scoring the Moving Image
*MUSIC 3431/THETR 3680 Sound Design and Digital Audio
*†MUSIC 3441/THETR 3690 Interactive Performance Technology
†MUSIC 4101 Counterpoint
†MUSIC 4103 Topics in Post-Tonal Theory and Analysis
†MUSIC 4111 Composition
†MUSIC 4122 Orchestration
Up to two courses from another track.
Psychology track. In addition to the core course, PSYCH 1650, any five of the following. Note that some of these courses have PSYCH prerequisites.
†ART 1700 Visual Imaging in the Electronic Age (also ARCH 4508, CIS/CS/ENGRI 1620)
*CS 4620 Introduction to Computer Graphics
*INFO 2140/PSYCH 2140 Cognitive Psychology
†*MUSIC 1421 Introduction to Digital Music
†MUSIC 4181/PSYCH 4180 Psychology of Music
PSYCH 2050 Perception
†PSYCH 3050 Visual Perception
PSYCH 3160 Auditory Perception
*PSYCH 3420 Human Perception: Applications to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display
Up to two courses from another track.
See “Department of Russian.”
See “Department of Theatre, Film, and Dance.”
See “Department of German Studies.”
L. D. Brown, chair; Arthur T. DeGaetano, associate chair (CALS); director of undergraduate studies, J. L. Cisne (Science of Earth Systems); M. W. Wysocki (Atmospheric Sciences), R. W. Allmendinger, W. D. Allmon, C. Andronicos, L. M. Cathles, J. L. Cisne, A. T. DeGaetano, L. A. Derry, P. J. Gierasch, M. Goman, C. H. Greene, D. L. Hysell, T. E. Jordan, R. W. Kay, S. Mahlburg Kay, R. Lohman, N. Mahowald, B. Monger, A. Moore, J. Phipps Morgan, M. Pritchard, S. J. Riha, W. M. White, D. S. Wilks
Offered by the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Contact: 2124 Snee Hall, 255-5466, http://www.eas.cornell.edu
The Earth Sciences have never been more critical to society than they are today. Global warming, dwindling energy resources, inadequate water supplies, political strife over strategic minerals, and megadisasters threatened by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami, and hurricanes: these are but a few of the headlines that appear with increasing frequency. The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell is a global leader in research directed toward understanding the fundamental processes that have shaped our planet, and is committed to providing Cornell students with the earth literacy needed to serve as informed citizens and wise stewards of the Earth. EAS faculty members and graduate students carry out frontier research on both basic and applied aspects of subjects as diverse as satellite monitoring of volcanic activity, the deep structure of the Andes and Tibetan Plateau, the nature of the earth’s ionosphere, and the impact of aerosols on global climate.
The Science of Earth Systems (SES) major is the undergraduate program offered by EAS to Cornell students in the Colleges of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students in this program can pursue education and research that prepares them to compete for careers or graduate study at leading institutions in this country and abroad. Students may chose to focus on one of a number of disciplinary specialties, such as geophysics or tectonics, or develop the broad expertise needed to understand the interactions between the diverse elements of earth and life in the past, present, and future. By analyzing the complex relations among the ocean, solid earth, atmosphere, and biosphere, students can help meet society’s growing demand for energy, minerals, and clean water as well as contribute to mitigating the negative impacts related to global warming, rising sea level, natural hazards, and decreasing biodiversity.
The SES program is unique in that it incorporates the fundamentals of Earth Science with the emergence of a new and more complete approach that encompasses all components of the earth system—air, life, rock, and water—to gain a new and more comprehensive understanding of the world as we know it.
To achieve a complete understanding of these important issues, students must have a desire to take a very hands-on approach. An abundance of opportunities exist for geological, oceanographic, and meteorological research in the field and for nationwide and international travel, as well as paid research experience. Students have worked with faculty members in the Andes, the Aleutians, the Rocky Mountains, the Atacama Desert, the Caribbean, Tibet, and Hawaii, and have spent a semester at sea in the Woods Hole Ocean Studies Program. Students are also able to probe the ionosphere of Earth and the surface of Mars by utilizing techniques in remote sensing.
The SES major provides a strong preparation for graduate school in any one of the earth sciences, such as atmospheric sciences, geological sciences, geophysics, geochemistry, oceanography, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. Students seeking employment with the B.A. or B.S. degree will have many options in a wide variety of careers related to energy, the environment, and critical resources in both the private sector and government. Students with the strong science background provided by the SES major are also highly valued by graduate programs in environmental law, public affairs, economics, and public policy.
Requirements for the Science of Earth Systems major
1. Basic Math and Sciences
This part of the SES curriculum builds a strong and diverse knowledge of fundamental science and mathematics, providing the student with the basic tools needed in upper-level science classes.
a. MATH 1110–1120 (or MATH 1910–1920)
b. PHYS 1112–2213 (or PHYS 2207–2208)
c. CHEM 2070–2080, or CHEM 2090–2080, or CHEM 2070–1570
d. BIOLOGY—three options:
i. one year of biology, choosing from the introductory biology sequences of courses: BIOG 1101/1103-1102/1104, or 1105/1106, or BIOG 1109/1110
ii. one semester from the introductory biology sequences of courses (listed in option 1) and EAS/BIOEE 1540 or EAS 1700
iii. students may substitute (with written permission of their advisor) one semester of biology with an additional semester of chemistry, math, or physics.
2. The required introductory course in earth science, EAS 2200 The Earth System.
3. SES Core Courses: The core courses emphasize the interconnectedness of the Earth system, and are founded on the most modern views of the planet as an interactive and ever-changing system. Each crosses the traditional boundaries of disciplinary science. Three courses selected from the following four core courses are required for the major.
EAS 3010 Evolution of the Earth System
EAS 3030 Biogeochemistry
EAS 3040 Interior of the Earth
EAS 3050 Climate Dynamics
4. Concentration Courses: The concentration(s) requirement is achieved by four intermediate to advanced-level courses (3000 level and up) that build on the core courses and have prerequisites in the required basic sciences and/or mathematics courses. Note that additional basic math and science courses may be required to complete the concentration(s) courses, depending upon the student’s choice of concentration(s). The concentration(s) courses build depth and provide the student with a specific expertise in some facet of Earth system science. Four concentration(s)s are defined for the major: geological sciences, biogeochemistry, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences. Other concentration(s)s can be tailored to a student’s interests in concert with the student’s advisor and approval of the curriculum committee. The concentration(s) should be chosen during the junior year or before in consultation with the student’s advisor and the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
5. Field/Observation/Laboratory Experience: Exposure to the basic observations of earth science, whether directly in the field, or indirectly by various techniques of remote sensing or in the laboratory, is necessary to understand fully the chosen area of concentration. Means of satisfying this requirement generally include 3 credits of course work. Possibilities for fulfilling the field/observation requirement include the following:
Courses in the Hawaii Environmental Semester program;
Courses given by the Shoals Marine Laboratory;
EAS 2500 Meteorological Observations and Instruments;
EAS 3520 Synoptic Meteorology I;
EAS 4170 Field Mapping in Argentina;
EAS 4910 and/or 4920 Undergraduate Research, with appropriate choice of project;
Field courses taught by another college or university (3-credit minimum).
For more information contact John Cisne, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, john-cisne@cornell.edu, and visit the web site: http://www.eas.cornell.edu.
Honors. An honors program is offered by the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences for superior students. Candidates for honors must maintain an overall 3.0 GPA, a cumulative average of 3.5 in the major, and complete an honors thesis (usually through EAS 4910 and/or 4920). Students interested in applying should contact the director of undergraduate studies during the second semester of the junior year or early in the first semester of the senior year.
140 Uris Hall
Director: D. X. Warner. Academic: D. Boucher, A. Carlson, J. Chen, Z. Chen, S. G. Cochran, B. de Bary, S. Divo, G. Fields, M. Fiskejo, E. Gunn, T. J. Hinrichs, K. Hirano, J. Kanemistu, P. J. Katzenstein, J. V. Koschmann, J. M. Law, P. Liu, T. P. Lyons, S. Martin, D. McKee, R. McNeal, A. Mertha, H. Miyazaki, V. Nee, A. Pan, L. Paterson, A. Riles, B. Rusk, N. Sakai, P. S. Sangren, M. Shin, R. J. Sukle, K. Taylor, H. Wan, Q. Wang, J. Whitman, X. Xu, H. Yan, L. Zheng. Language: E. Akamatsu, M. Chapman, J. Choi, W. S. George, H. Hong, S. Ichikawa, H. Jeong, Y. Katagiri, S. Lai, N. Larson, F. Li, X. Li, C. Liao, F. L. Mehta, W. Shao, M. Song, M. Suzuki, Q. Teng, L. Xu, Y. Yamasaki. Emeritus: R. Barker, K. W. Brazell, T. C. Campbell, E. H. Jorden, T. L. Mei, C. Peterson, V. Shue, R. J. Smith, M. W. Young
Cornell’s East Asia Program, charged with fostering knowledge of the histories, cultures, and contemporary affairs of East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea), serves as a cross-campus clearinghouse for information and is a focal unit for all of the university’s East Asia–related students, faculty, community outreach, and public activities. Courses are offered through departments in the humanities and social sciences, business, city and regional planning, international and comparative labor relations, and rural sociology. A minor in East Asian Studies is offered in the Department of Asian Studies, and students enrolled in the minor are considered members of the East Asia Program. The program also offers a number of East Asia–related activities throughout the year, designed to promote awareness and enjoyment of East Asian cultures on the Cornell campus. Recognized as a National Resource Center (NRC) by the United States Department of Education, the Program is nationally renowned as one of the country’s premier center for teaching and research on East Asia and in promoting advanced foreign language training in Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Japanese; areal and international knowledge in the liberal arts and applied disciplines focused on East Asia. In addition, EAP was recently awarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grant by US/ED. Together with the NRC funding, the FLAS fellowship program supports graduate students who wish to acquire a high level of competence in languages critical to the national needs of the United States and a fuller understanding of the areas, regions, or countries in which that language is used.
K. Basu, chair; T. Mitra, director of graduate studies; T. Lyons, director of undergraduate studies; T. Bar, L. Barseghyan, D. Benjamin, J. Berry, G. Besharov, L. Blume, R. Burkhauser, S. Coate, D. Easley, R. Ehrenberg, L. Falkson, G. Fields, A. Guerdjikova, G. Hay, Y. Hong, R. Kanbur, N. Kiefer, T. Lyons, M. Majumdar, K. Mertens, T. Mitra, F. Molinari, T. O’Donoghue, U. Possen, A. Razin, D. Sahn, K. Shell, V. Tsyrennikov, H. Y. Wan, Jr., J. Wissink. Emeritus: T. E. Davis, W. Isard, A. Kahn, P. D. McClelland, R. E. Schuler, G. Staller, E. Thorbecke, J. Vanek
The study of economics provides an under-standing of the way economies operate and an insight into public issues. The department offers a broad range of undergraduate courses in such fields as money and banking; international and comparative economics; econometrics; theory; history; growth and development; and the organization, performance, and control of industry.
ECON 1110 and 1120 and MATH 1110 (or equivalents) are required, all with grades of C or better; MATH 1120 (or equivalent) is recommended.
ECON 3010 with a grade of C or better substitutes for 1110; ECON 3020 with a grade of C or better substitutes for 1120.
Eight courses listed by the Department of Economics at the 3000 level or above, or approved by the student’s major advisor, all with grades of C– or better. (S–U grade option is not allowed.)
These eight courses must include:
1. ECON 3130 and 3140
2. ECON 3210, or ECON 3190 and 3200 (ECON 3130, 3140, 3210 or 3190, 3200 should be completed before senior year.)
3. at least three courses from the following: ECON 3180, 3200, 3220–3990
ECON 3010 with a grade of B or better substitutes for both 1110 and 3130; ECON 3020 with a grade of B or better substitutes for both 1120 and 3140.
If ECON 3210 is applied toward the major, neither 3190 nor 3200 can be applied.
ECON 4980 and 4990 cannot be counted toward the eight-course requirement.
If ECON 3130 is applied to the major, ECON 3010 cannot be.
If ECON 3140 is applied to the major, ECON 3020 cannot be.
If both ECON 3670 and ECON 3680 are taken, only one can be applied to the major.
An honors program is currently being offered. Students should consult the director of undergraduate studies before May of their junior year for more information.
Students planning graduate work in economics should select ECON 3190–3200 rather than 3210 and should consider including some of the following courses in their majors:
ECON 3670 (Game Theoretic Methods) or ECON 3680 (Game Theory)
ECON 4160 (Intertemporal Economics)
ECON 4190 (Economic Decisions under Uncertainty)
Students planning careers in business management should consider including some of the following courses in their majors:
ECON 3330 (Financial Economics)
ECON 3510 or 3520 (Industrial Organization)
ECON 3580 (Behavioral Economics)
ECON 3610–3620 (International Trade and Finance)
ECON 4430 (Compensation, Incentives, and Productivity)
In addition to completing the economics major, such students should also consider courses in accounting and subjects such as finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, business administration, and business law. Courses in these subjects are offered by the Department of Applied Economics and Management, the School of Hotel Administration, and the Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Students planning to attend law school should consider including some of the following courses in their majors:
ECON 3510 or 3520 (Industrial Organization)
ECON 3610–3620 (International Trade and Finance)
ECON 4040 (Economics and the Law)
In addition to completing the economics major, such students should inquire at Career Services, College of Arts and Sciences, concerning recommended courses offered by other departments.
In regard to ECON 1110, 3010, and 3130, college credit applies as follows:
a. If 3010 is taken and a grade of B or better is earned, it alone can only receive college credit.
b. If 3010 is not taken, either or both 1110 and 3130 can receive college credit.
c. If 3010 is taken and a grade of less than B is earned, only 3010 and 3130 can receive college credit.
In regard to ECON 1120, 3020, and 3140, college credit applies as follows:
a. If 3020 is taken and a grade of B or better is earned, it alone can only receive college credit.
b. If 3020 is not taken, either or both 1120 and 3140 can receive college credit.
c. If 3020 is taken and a grade of less than B is earned, only 3020 and 3140 can receive college credit.
E. Hanson, chair; D. Fried, director of undergraduate studies and honors (255-3492); A. Galloway, director of graduate studies (255-7989); J. Adams, E. Anker, K. Attell, F. Bogel, L. Bogel, C. Boyce-Davies, J. Braddock, M. P. Brady, L. Brown, J. Carlacio, C. Caruth, C. Chase, E. Cheyfitz, M. Cobb, B. Correll, J. Culler, S. Davis, L. Donaldson, G. Farred, D. Fried, A. Fulton, R. Gilbert, K. Gottschalk, T. Hill, M. Hite, W. Jones, J. Juffer, R. Kalas, M. Koch, J. Lennon, P. Lorenz, J. Mann, B. Maxwell, K. McClane, M. McCoy, M. K. McCullough, S. Mohanty, R. Morgan, T. Murray, R. Parker, E. Quinonez, M. Raskolnikov, C. Ruff, N. Saccamano, R. Saloman, S. Samuels, P. Sawyer, D. Schwarz, H. Shaw, L. VanClief-Stefanon, S. Vaughn, H. Viramontes, S. Wong, D. Woubshet, S. Zacher, J, Zigarovich. Emeriti: M. H. Abrams, B. Adams, J. Bishop, J. Blackall, D. Eddy, R. Elias, L. Fakundiny, L. Herrin, M. Jacobus, P. Janowitz, C. Kaske, A. Lurie, P. Marcus, D. McCall, J. McConkey, D. Mermin, S. Parrish, M. Radzinowicz, E. Rosenberg, S. Siegel, S. C. Strout, W. Wetherbee.
The Department of English offers a wide range of courses in English, American, and Anglophone literature as well as in creative writing, expository writing, and film analysis. Literature courses focus variously on close reading of texts, study of particular authors and genres, questions of critical theory and method, and the relationship of literary works to their historical contexts and to other disciplines. Writing courses typically employ the workshop method in which students develop their skills by responding to criticism of their work by their classmates as well as their instructors. Many students supplement their formal course work in English by attending public lectures and poetry readings sponsored by the department or by writing for campus literary magazines. The department seeks not only to foster critical analysis and lucid writing but also to teach students to think about the nature of language and to be alert to both the rigors and the pleasures of reading texts of diverse inspiration.
As part of the university-wide First-Year Writing Seminars program administered by the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, the department offers many one-semester courses dealing with various forms of writing (e.g., narrative, autobiographical, and expository), with the study of specific areas in English and American literature, and with the relation of literature to culture. Students may apply any of these courses to their first-year writing seminar requirement. Detailed course descriptions may be found in the first-year writing seminars program listings, available from college registrars in August for the fall semester and in November for the spring semester.
Freshmen interested in majoring in English are encouraged to take at least one of the department’s 2000-level first-year writing seminars: ENGL 2700 The Reading of Fiction, ENGL 2710 The Reading of Poetry, and ENGL 2720 Introduction to Drama. These courses are open to all second-semester freshmen. They are also open, as space permits, to first-semester freshmen with scores of 700 or above on the CEEB College Placement Tests in English composition or literature, or 5 on the CEEB Advanced Placement Examination in English, as well as to students who have completed another first-year writing seminar.
For students majoring in fields other than English, the department provides a variety of courses at all levels. A number of courses at the 2000 level are open to qualified freshmen, and all are open to sophomores. Courses at the 3000 level are open to all sophomores, juniors, and seniors; they are also open to freshmen who have received the instructor’s prior permission. The suitability of courses at the 4000 level for nonmajors depends in part on the course topics, which are subject to change from year to year. Permission of the instructor is sometimes required; prior consultation is always strongly advised.
Students who major in English develop their own programs of study in consultation with their major advisors. Some choose to focus on a particular historical period or literary genre or to combine sustained work in creative writing with the study of literature. Others pursue interests in such areas as women’s literature, African–American literature, literature and the visual arts, or critical theory.
The department recommends that students prepare themselves for the English major by taking one or more of its preparatory courses, such as ENGL 2700 The Reading of Fiction, ENGL 2710 The Reading of Poetry, or ENGL 2720 Introduction to Drama. (The “ENGL” prefix identifies courses sponsored by the Department of English, all of which appear in the English section of Courses of Study or the department’s supplementary lists of courses; it also identifies courses sponsored and taught by other academic units and cross-listed with English.) These courses concentrate on the skills basic to the English major and to much other academic work—responsive, sensitive reading and lucid, strong writing. As first-year writing seminars, any one of them will satisfy one half of the College of Arts and Science’s first-year writing requirement. ENGL 2800, 2810, 2880, and 2890 are also suitable preparations for the major and are open to students who have completed their first-year writing seminar requirement. ENGL 2010 and 2020, which together constitute a two-semester survey of major British writers, though not required, are strongly recommended for majors and prospective majors. ENGL 2010 and 2020 (unlike ENGL 2800, 2810, 2880, and 2890) are also “approved for the major” in the special sense of that phrase explained below.
To graduate with a major in English, a student must complete with a grade of C or better 10 courses (40 credit hours) approved for the English major. All ENGL courses numbered 3000 and above are approved for the major. In addition, with the exception of first-year writing seminars (ENGL 2700, 2710, and 2720), 2000-level courses in creative and expository writing (ENGL 2800, 2810, 2880, and 2890), and courses designated for nonmajors, all 2000-level ENGL courses are also approved for the major. Courses used to meet requirements for the English major may also be used to meet the distribution requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences. Many of these courses may be used to meet the college’s “historical breadth” requirement as well.
Of the 40 credits required to complete the major, 12 credits (three courses) must be from courses in which 50 percent or more of the material consists of literature originally written in English before 1800; 8 credits (two courses) must be gateway courses (2000 through 2050); 8 credits (two courses) must be at the 4000 level or above; and another 12 credits (three courses) must form an intellectually coherent “concentration.” The 4000-level and pre-1800 requirements may be satisfied only with ENGL courses, and ENGL 4930–4940, the Honors Essay Tutorial, may not be used to satisfy either one. Courses that satisfy the pre-1800 requirement are so designated in Courses of Study. Many English majors use ENGL 2010 or ENGL 2030 to begin meeting this requirement since these courses provide an overview of earlier periods of British and American literatures and so enable students to make more informed choices of additional pre-1800 courses. ENGL 2020 does not qualify as a pre-1800 course. Neither do courses offered by other departments unless they are cross-listed with English. Advanced courses in foreign literature may not be used to fulfill the pre-1800 requirement, but they may be used for English major credit provided they are included within the 12-credit limit described below. The three-course concentration requirement may be satisfied with any courses approved for the major. The department’s “Guide to the English Major” suggests areas of concentration and offers examples of courses that fall within those areas, but majors define their own concentrations in consultation with their advisors.
As many as 12 credits in appropriate courses offered by departments and programs other than English may be used to satisfy English major requirements. Courses in literature and creative writing offered by academic units representing neighboring or allied disciplines (German Studies, Romance Studies, Russian, Asian Studies, Classics, Comparative Literature, Africana Studies, the Society for the Humanities, American Studies, Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Religious Studies, Asian American Studies, American Indian Studies, Latino Studies, and Theatre, Film, and Dance) are routinely counted toward the 40 hours of major credit provided they are appropriate for juniors or seniors, as are most courses at the 3000 level and above. English majors who are double majors may exercise this option even if all 12 credits are applied to their second major. All English majors are urged to take courses in which they read foreign works of literature in the original language, and for that reason 2000-level literature courses for which qualification is a prerequisite (as well as more advanced foreign literature courses) may be counted toward the English major. Credit from other non–ENGL courses may be included within the 12 credits of nondepartmental courses approved for the major only when the student is able to demonstrate to the advisor’s satisfaction their relevance to his or her individual program of study.
Few students know from the moment they decide to pursue a major in English exactly what they wish to study. Moreover, it is natural for interests to change in the course of time. The effort of creating or discovering a coherent pattern in the courses selected is itself a valuable part of a literary (as well as a liberal) education, and English majors are expected to discuss their overall program of study when seeking their advisors’ approval of courses each semester. While the Department leaves a great deal to the discretion of its individual majors and their academic advisers, it expects them to choose courses with an eye to breadth and variety on the one hand and focus and coherence on the other.
Students with a special interest in developing their skills as writers of verse or prose will find a variety of workshop courses in expository and creative writing. As a rule a student may not enroll in more than one such course in any given semester, although exceptions are sometimes allowed where one of these is ENGL 2880 or 2890.
A number of English majors do part of their course work at a foreign institution, usually during their junior year; some spend a single semester away from campus, others an entire year. The Cornell Abroad office has information on a variety of programs at universities around the world. Many English majors study abroad in the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries, but some choose other locations. As long as they continue to meet all College and Department requirements or can complete them upon returning to Cornell, studying abroad poses no serious problems. Students spending their entire junior year abroad will be challenged to complete the Department’s Honors program since they will be unable to take the required Honors seminar in the junior year and should plan to take it in the spring semester of their sophomore year. Otherwise they will have to take it when they return as seniors. Students must make arrangements with the chair of the Honors Committee before leaving campus.
Credit for literature courses taken abroad can in most instances be applied to the 40-hour minimum for the English major, and to requirements like the concentration and pre-1800 requirements. Approval of requests to apply credit for study abroad to the English major is granted by the DUS rather than the academic advisor, however, and students must confer with the DUS in advance of going abroad as well as on their return. The first conference includes a review of catalogue descriptions of courses the student expects to take while abroad (along with a few alternatives), the second a presentation of transcripts or equivalent documentation of successful completion of the work proposed, together with papers and exams.
No more than 16 credits per year, or 8 credits per semester, of non-Cornell credit may be applied to the English major. This restriction applies to study abroad even when that study is conducted under Cornell auspices.
Second-semester sophomores who have done superior work in English and related subjects are encouraged to seek admission to the departmental program leading to the degree of bachelor of arts with honors in English. Following an interview with the chair of the Honors Committee, qualified students will be admitted provisionally to the program. During their junior year these students complete at least one honors seminar (ENGL 4910 or 4920) and are encouraged to take an additional 4000-level English course in the area of their thesis topic. On the basis of work in these and other English courses, a provisional honors candidate must select a thesis topic and secure a thesis advisor by the end of the junior year. A student who has been accepted by a thesis advisor becomes a candidate for honors rather than a provisional candidate.
During the senior year, each candidate for honors in English enrolls in a yearlong tutorial (ENGL 4930–4940) with the faculty member chosen as thesis advisor. The year’s work culminates in the submission of a substantial scholarly or critical essay to be judged by at least two members of the faculty. More information about the Honors Program may be found in a leaflet available in the English offices.
Students usually begin their work in Creative Writing with ENGL 2800 or 2810, and only after completion of the First-Year Writing Seminar requirement. Please note that either ENGL 2800 or ENGL 2810 is the recommended prerequisite for 3000-level creative writing courses. ENGL 2800 and 2810 may satisfy a distribution requirement in your college (please check with your college advisor). ENGL 3820–3830, 3840–3850, and 4800–4810 are approved for the English major.
These courses have no prerequisites and are open to freshmen and nonmajors as well as majors and prospective majors.
These courses are required for English majors, but recommended for all others.
Courses at the 3000 level are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors and to others with the permission of the instructor.
Courses at the 4000 level are open to juniors and seniors and to others by permission of instructor unless other prerequisites are noted.
Permission of the instructor is a prerequisite for admission to courses numbered in the 6000s. These are intended primarily for graduate students, although qualified undergraduates are sometimes admitted. Undergraduates seeking admission to a 6000-level course should consult the instructor. The list of courses given below is illustrative only; a definitive list, together with course descriptions and class meeting times, is published in a separate department brochure before course enrollment each semester.
Fall
Spring
Sydney Van Morgan, coordinator
Students from any college may choose an undergraduate minor in European studies to complement any major. The purpose of the minor is to provide a coherent structure for students with an interest in interdisciplinary study in the field of European studies.
The minor has three tracks: European politics, economics, and society; modern European history; and European culture. The requirements for the minor are:
1. Competence in at least one modern European language, Romance, Germanic, or Slavic (i.e., completion of a fifth-semester course or equivalent with a grade of at least B–, or demonstration of an advanced level of competence in an oral proficiency interview test where available).
2. Completion of interdisciplinary core course: GOVT/SOC 3413 Modern European Society and Politics.
Under certain conditions, students may be permitted to substitute other courses for those listed above.
3. Completion of one course in modern (post-1789) European history.
4. Three additional courses in any of the three areas, which may include a senior seminar (4000 level).
a. Courses in European and comparative politics; anthropology; sociology, feminist, gender and sexuality (FGSS) studies; and related courses in the School of Hotel Administration, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
b. Courses in modern European history (post-1789).
c. Courses in (post-1789) English and European literatures, comparative literature, semiotics, FGSS, fine arts, architecture, music, philosophy, and film and theatre arts.
Only two courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both the major and the minor. Courses satisfying the breadth and distribution requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences, however, be applied to the minor. Students interested in conducting research in Europe may apply for the Frederic Conger Wood or Susan R. Tarrow undergraduate research fellowship in their junior year. All minors are encouraged to participate in the Language House Program, the Model European Union simulation, and study abroad. Courses taken abroad may be applied to the minor if they are approved for Cornell credit. Undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences can major in European Studies through the independent major or the College Scholar Program.
For a complete list of relevant courses and seminars, departmental advisors, and any further information, contact Sydney Van Morgan, coordinator of the European Studies minor, at the Cornell Institute for European Studies, 120 Uris Hall, 255–7592, sydney.vanmorgan@cornell.edu, http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/Europe.
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
Core faculty: A. Basu, S. Bem, L. Benería, D. Castillo, I. DeVault, S. Feldman, M. Fernandez, J. Fortune, J. E. Gainor, D. Ghosh, E. Hanson, M. Hite, C. Howie, J. Juffer, M. Katzenstein, P. Liu, K. Long, K. March, S. Martin, K. McCullough, M. B. Norton, J. Peraino, M. Raskolnikov, S. Samuels, D. Schrader, S. Seth, A. Villarejo, S. Warner, R. Weil, D. Woubshet
Cross-listing faculty: A. Alexandridis, E. Baptist, J. Bernstock, F. Blau, L. Bogel, C. Boyce-Davies, J. Byfield, T. Carroll, D. Chang, K. Cohen, B. Correll, M. Evangelista, Z. Fahmy, M. Greenberg, S. Haenni, K. Haines-Eitzen, P. Hyams, C. Lazzaro, T. Loos, S. Mettler, A. Parrot, R. Prentice, S. Pritchard, M. Rossiter, N. Russell, N. Sakai, N. Salvato, S. Sangren, R. Savin-Williams, N. Sethi, A. M. Smith, M. C. Vallois, L. Van Buskirk, M. Warner, M. Washington, S. Wong
The Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program (FGSS) is an interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences that seeks to deepen our understanding of gender and sexuality. Since its founding in 1972 as Women’s Studies, the Program has integrated the study of gender with complex structures of power and inequality including race, sexuality, class, and nation. Over the past several decades, the curriculum has also increasingly broadened its scope theoretically and methodologically to encompass cultural, historical, literary, scientific, and quantitative analysis. Students find that these innovative methods and theories enhance their lifelong personal and intellectual growth, as well as their professional development insofar as they prepare students for future study or work in a wide variety of fields: law, medicine, social policy, art, psychology, literature, and so on.
The Program is built around several assumptions about the study of gender and sexuality. First, understandings of sex, sexuality, and gender are neither universal nor immutable; to study them is to gain a fuller understanding of human behavior, culture and society across times and places as well as to gain a sense of how these social constructions shape us as individuals. Second, gender and sexuality are best understood when examined in relation to one another by learning about women and men of different economic classes, sexual orientations, and cultural and racial backgrounds. Third, even the most current knowledge derived from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences is not as impartial, objective, or neutral but instead emerges out of particular historical and political contexts. Students, as a consequence, transfer the critical and analytical skills they acquire in FGSS courses to other courses and activities beyond Cornell.
Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies offers an undergraduate major, an undergraduate minor, and a graduate minor. Undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences who wish to major in FGSS may apply directly to the program. Undergraduate students in other colleges at Cornell will need to work out special arrangements and should speak to FGSS’s director of undergraduate studies (DUS).
1. Prerequisite courses: Before applying to the major, the student must complete any two FGSS courses with a grade of B– or better. For FGSS courses that are cross-listed with another department, students may register through FGSS or the cross-listing department. Suggested entry-level courses include any FGSS course at the 2000 level, especially 2010 and 2020, both of which are required for completion of the major. FGSS courses at the 2000 level or above may count as both prerequisites and as part of the FGSS major. First-year writing seminars may count as prerequisites but not as part of the major.
2.Required course work:
a. A minimum of 36 credits in FGSS courses with a grade of C– or higher is required for the major. For FGSS courses that are cross-listed, students may register through FGSS or the cross-listing department.
b. These 36 credits must include the following three courses:
FGSS 2010 Introduction to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
FGSS 2020 Introduction to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Theories
FGSS 4000 Senior Seminar in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
c. The 36 credits must also include at least one FGSS course with a significant focus on each of the following three categories: (Note: Although a given course may satisfy one, two, or even three of these categories, a given student must take at least two courses to fulfill this requirement):
• LBG studies
• Intersecting structures of oppression: race, ethnicity, and/or class
• Global perspectives: Africa, Asia, Latin America, or Middle East, by itself or in a comparative or transnational framework. Students may choose from the list in the course catalog or at the FGSS office.
A student with a double major may count up to three FGSS courses toward the FGSS major that she/he is simultaneously counting toward a second major.
The Honors Program: To graduate with honors, a student majoring in FGSS must complete a senior thesis under the supervision of an FGSS faculty member and defend that thesis orally before an honors committee. To be eligible, a student must have at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA in all course work and a 3.3 GPA in all courses applying to their FGSS major. Students interested in the honors program should consult the DUS late in the spring semester of their junior year, or very early in the fall semester of their senior year.
Undergraduate students in any college at Cornell may minor in Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies in conjunction with a major defined elsewhere in the university. The minor consists of five FGSS courses with a grade of C– or higher, through FGSS or the cross-listing department that are completed with a grade of C– or above, none of which may be counted toward the student’s non–FGSS major. An exception to this rule may be made for students in the contract colleges, who may petition the FGSS DUS to count one course from their major toward the FGSS minor. First-year writing seminars may not be included within the five required courses. Students wishing to minor in FGSS should see the DUS. The five courses required for the FGSS Undergraduate Minor must include:
FGSS 2010 Introduction to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
FGSS 2020 Introduction to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Theories
Any FGSS course that satisfies at least one of the three categories required for a major as defined above.
Any two additional FGSS courses of the student’s choice.
FGSS serves as home to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) Studies Program, which offers an undergraduate minor as well as a graduate minor. The undergraduate minor consists of four courses. For a complete listing of all courses that will fulfill this minor please see the LGBT Studies portion of this catalog.
For description, see ENGL 4751.
See “Department of Theatre, Film, and Dance.”
For information about the requirements for writing seminars and descriptions of seminar offerings, see the John S. Knight Institute web site: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute.
See “Romance Studies.”
L. Adelson; C. Alm (Swedish); B. Buettner, associate language program director; P. Gilgen; A. Groos; P. U. Hohendahl; C. Hosea (Dutch); G. Lischke, language program director and director of undergraduate studies; G. Matthias; D. McBride; P. McBride, acting director of graduate studies; A. Schwarz, department chair; G. Waite. Emeritus: D. Bathrick, H. Deinert.
The Department of German Studies offers students a wide range of opportunities to explore the literature and culture of German-speaking countries, whether as part of their general education, a major in German Studies, a double major, or a German minor involving another discipline, or as preparation for graduate school or an international professional career. Courses are offered in German as well as in English; subjects range from medieval to contemporary literature and from film and visual culture to intellectual history, music, history of psychology, and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies.
The course offerings in German begin with GERST 1210–1220, 1230 (introductory language level). Students then continue with intermediate-level courses, which provide further grounding in the language and in German literature and cultural studies. GERST 2060 provides instruction for German in the culture of business, leading to certification. On the advanced level (3000 level or above), we offer thematically oriented courses that include intensive language work (3000–3200); literature and culture study courses in German, including the senior seminar; and seminars of interdisciplinary interest taught in English. Addressing a broad spectrum of topics in German culture, our courses appeal to German majors and other qualified students alike.
The department’s offerings in English begin with a series of first-year writing seminars introducing various aspects of German literature (e.g., the fairy tale and Romantic consciousness or 20th-century writers such as Kafka, Hesse, Mann, Brecht), theorists such as Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, issues in mass culture and modernity, problems of German national identity/ies, and cinema and society. Courses in German and English at the 3000 and 4000 levels explore such topics as the Faust legend, aesthetics from Kant to Heidegger, city topographies, Freud and his legacy, opera from Mozart to Strauss, the German novel, literature and philosophy, political theory and cinema, the Frankfurt School, migration and globalization, and feminist theory. It may be possible to arrange a German section for courses taught in English, either informally or formally (for credit). Students are encouraged to discuss this possibility with instructors.
Courses in German:
Introductory level: GERST 1210–1220, after completion, placement into GERST 1230 or 2000
Intermediate level: GERST 2000, 2020, 2040, and 2060
Advanced level: GERST 3010, 3020, 3060, 3070, 3080, 3100, and 4100
Courses taught in German that are numbered 3000 through 3200 focus on intensive language study; courses taught in German that are numbered 3210 through 3500 focus on studying literature and other forms of cultural expression.
Courses in German or English: further 3000- and 4000-level literature and culture courses (see course descriptions)
Students with an AP score of 4 or better are automatically granted 3 credits in German. Students with an AP score of 4 or better, an LPG score of 65 or higher, or an SAT II score of 690 or higher must take the CASE exam for placement in courses above GERST 2000. Students coming to Cornell with advanced standing in German and/or another subject are encouraged to consider a double major and to discuss the options with the director of undergraduate studies as early as possible.
The Certificate in German Language Study is issued to recognize substantial language study beyond the GERST 2000 level in the Department of German Studies. Students are awarded the certificate after passing three German Studies courses held in German with a grade of B or above. Two of these courses must be at the 3000 level or above. No more than two of the three courses can be taken with the S–U option. Applications for the language certificate may be picked up in the Department of German Studies (183 Goldwin Smith Hall) in February.
Internships
The department works with the USA–Interns program to provide summer internships to qualified students with German companies and agencies. Interested students should contact the language program director, Gunhild Lischke (gl15@cornell.edu, G75 Goldwin Smith Hall, 255-0725), early in the fall semester.
The department offers two options for the major: German literature and culture, and German area studies. The latter is a more broadly defined sequence that includes work in related disciplines. The course of study in either major is designed to give students proficiency in reading, speaking, and writing in German, to acquaint them with German culture, and to help them develop skills in reading, analyzing, and discussing German texts in relevant disciplines with those goals in mind. The department also encourages study abroad. For both majors, there is a wide variety of courses co-sponsored with other departments (Comparative Literature; Government; History; Music; Theatre, Film, and Dance; Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies).
The department encourages double majors and makes every effort to accommodate prospective majors with a late start in German. Students interested in a major should consult the director of undergraduate studies, Gunhild Lischke, G75 Goldwin Smith Hall.
The undergraduate minor in German Studies is intended for students enrolled in any of the seven undergraduate colleges at Cornell who wish to gain a broad understanding of the culture, literature, and society of German-speaking countries while they are refining their language competence. The minor is designed to provide for breadth while permitting flexibility to emphasize areas of interest in German studies.
To declare the minor, students must have attained competence in German at the GERST 2000 level. Students must complete a minimum of four courses at the 2000 level and above selected from the offerings of the German Studies Department. At least one of these courses must be taught in German at the 3000 level or higher. One of the four courses may be from another department as long as it has a substantial German component. No more than one course per semester taken as part of a study abroad program may be counted toward the minor. GERST 4510–4520 Independent Study may not be counted at all.
Interested students in the German Minor should consult with the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies, Gunhild Lischke, G75 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Students in this major select courses from the Department of German Studies and may use them to pursue individual interests in literature, film and visual culture, theater and performing arts, music, intellectual and political history, and gender studies, for example. Please consult with the director of undergraduate studies.
Admission: By the end of their sophomore year, prospective majors should have successfully completed GERST 2020, 2040, or 2060.
To complete the major, a student must:
1. Demonstrate competence in the German language by successful completion of two 3000-level courses with intensive language work (GERST 3000–3200) or the equivalent.
2. Complete six courses in the Department of German Studies at the 3000 level or above. One of these must be GERST 4100 Senior Seminar.
3. Select a faculty advisor from the department.
Students select courses from the Department of German Studies as well as courses with a substantial German component from other departments, such as Comparative Literature; Government; History; Music; Theatre, Film, and Dance; and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Admission: By the end of their sophomore year, prospective majors should have successfully completed GERST 2020, 2040, or 2060.
To complete the major, a student must:
1. Demonstrate competence in the German language by successful completion of two 3000-level courses with intensive language work (GERST 3000–3200) or the equivalent.
2. Complete six courses with a substantial German component at the 3000 level or above. Three of these must be in the Department of German Studies, including GERST 4100 Senior Seminar.
3. Select a committee of one or more faculty advisors to help formulate a coherent program of study. One of the advisors must be from the Department of German Studies.
Honors in German Studies are awarded for excellence in the major, which includes overall grade point average and completion of the honors thesis. Students are awarded either honors (cum laude), high honors (magna cum laude), or the highest honors (summa cum laude) in the program based on the honors advisors’ evaluation of the level and the quality of the work completed toward the honors degree. The honors distinction will be noted on the student’s official transcript and will also be indicated on the student’s diploma.
Prerequisites for admission. Students must have upperclass standing, an overall GPA of a B or higher, and a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major. Students must first consult with the director of undergraduate studies in German Studies regarding eligibility for the honors program.
Procedure. Students who wish to be considered for honors ideally should apply to the director of undergraduate studies no later than the second term of the junior year. Students who are off campus in their junior year must apply by the third week of classes in the first semester of their senior year. Students should secure the consent of a faculty member to serve as the director of both the reading course (GERST 4530) and the writing of a thesis (GERST 4540). With the help of their thesis advisor, students choose an area of special interest and identify at least one other faculty member who is willing to serve on the honors committee. An oral thesis defense concludes the process.
The Department of German Studies strongly supports study abroad as an opportunity for students to live and study in the German cultural context. The experience of living abroad promotes enduring personal growth, provides new intellectual perspectives through cultural immersion, and opens up academic and professional opportunities.
Students interested in studying abroad are encouraged to consider the Berlin Consortium, of which Cornell is a member. The program is run in conjunction with the Free University of Berlin and is of very high caliber. Six weeks of an intensive language practicum held at the Berlin Consortium center are followed by one or two semesters of study at the university. Participants enroll in regular courses at the university. Assistance in finding internships between semesters may be available to students staying for an entire academic year. Four semesters of German language study are prerequisite for participating in the program; ideally the last of these courses should be at the 3000 level.
Students interested in this or other study abroad options in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland should consult the language program director, Gunhild Lischke (G75 Goldwin Smith Hall, 255-0725, gl15@cornell.edu).
Consult the John S. Knight Institute brochure for course times, instructors, and descriptions.
Note: For complete descriptions of courses numbered 6000 or above consult the appropriate instructor.
M. Evangelista, chair; R. Bensel, assoc. chair; C. Way, director of graduate studies; I. Kramnick, director of undergraduate studies; C. Anderson, S. Buck-Morss, V. Bunce, A. Carlson, P. Enns, J. Frank, R. Herring, M. Jones-Correa, M. Katzenstein, P. Katzenstein, J. Kirshner, S. Kreps, T. J. Lowi, S. Martin, A. Mertha, S. Mettler, K. Morrison, Y. Orlov, D. Patel, T. Pepinsky, K. Roberts, D. Rubenstein, E. Sanders, M. Shefter, A. M. Smith, S. G. Tarrow, N. T. Uphoff, N. van de Walle, J. Weeks, T. Zittel.
Web site: falcon.arts.cornell.edu/Govt
“Government” is what Cornell calls a department that elsewhere might be termed political science. The focus of this discipline is power applied to public purposes. Some faculty concentrate on purposes, some on applications. Some engage in the close reading of great texts of political philosophy, while others analyze the behavior of power-wielders and publics in this and other societies. Government is divided into four subfields: U.S. politics, comparative politics (other nations), political theory (philosophy), and international relations (transactions between nations).
To be admitted to the major, a student must pass two Cornell government courses.
To complete the major, a student must:
1. pass two of the introductory government courses (GOVT 1111, 1313, 1615, 1817);
2. pass an additional course in one of the remaining subfields (American government, comparative government, political theory, or international relations). This course may be any course offered in the government department, including introductory courses, upper-level courses or seminars but must be a minimum of 3 credits. Students are strongly advised to take at least one course in each of the four subfields;
3. accumulate an additional 28 credits of government course work at the 3000 level or above;
4. complete at least one seminar-style course in government that may be applied toward the 28 credits. These courses include those numbered 4000.XX to which students are admitted by application only; or other 4000-level GOVT courses in which no more than 15 students are enrolled.
5. accumulate 11 credits in upper-level courses in related fields (e.g., anthropology, economics, history, science and technology studies, psychology, and sociology). Upper-level courses are usually courses numbered at the 3000 level or above (2000-level courses are not considered upper-level). Students should consult with their major advisor to choose appropriate courses. All choices of related courses must be approved by the major advisor or the director of undergraduate studies;
6. all courses used to fulfill a government major must be passed with a letter grade. No S–U grades accepted.
To summarize, a total of 10 government courses and three additional courses (11 credits) of upper-level related courses are required to complete the major. For more information about the government major, please visit our web site: falcon.arts.cornell.edu/Govt.
Cornell in Washington Program. Government majors may apply to the Cornell in Washington program to take courses and undertake a closely supervised externship during a fall or spring semester.
European Studies Minor. Government majors may elect to group some of their required and optional courses in the area of European studies, drawing from a wide variety of courses in relevant departments. Students are invited to consult Professors P. Katzenstein and S. G. Tarrow for advice on course selection and foreign study programs.
Model European Community Simulation. Undergraduates with an interest in the European Union, public affairs, or debating may participate in an annual European Union simulation held, on an alternating basis, in April at SUNY Brockport or in January in Brussels. The simulation provides an opportunity for participants, representing politicians from the members states, to discuss issues and resolutions of current concern to the European Union.
To prepare for the simulation, a 2-credit course is offered by the Department of Government each year (GOVT 4313 or 4323). Participation in the simulation is open only to those who register for this course. Anyone interested in participating or finding out more information should contact the Institute for European Studies at 120 Uris Hall, 255-7592.
International Relations Minor. See the description under “Special Programs and Interdisciplinary Studies.”
Honors. please visit falcon.arts.cornell.edu/Govt.
First-Year Writing Seminars. Consult the John S. Knight Institute brochure for times, instructors, and descriptions.
Major Seminars. Fall or spring. 4 credits. These seminars, emphasizing important controversies in the discipline, cap the majors’ experience. Thus preference in admission is given to majors over nonmajors and seniors over juniors. Topics and instructors change each semester. For more information, please visit “Guide to the Undergraduate Major in Government” on falcon.arts.cornell.edu/GOV/ugrad_brochure.html#seminars.
Course Subfields. Courses in the Department of Government are broken down into four subfields: American government, political theory, international relations, and comparative government. To determine in which category (or subfield) the following courses fall, please note the two-letter reference at the end of the descriptions. The key is as follows: AM = American, PT = theory, IR = international relations, and CO = comparative.
See “Department of Classics.”
See “Department of Near Eastern Studies.”
See “Department of Near Eastern Studies.”
See “Department of Near Eastern Studies.”
B. Strauss, chair; T. R. Travers, director of graduate studies; R. Craib, director of undergraduate studies; E. Baptist, V. Caron, H. Case, D. Chang, J. Chen, Z. Chen, S. Cochran, D. Corpis, P. Dear, O. Falk, M. C. Garcia, D. Ghosh, S. Greene, T. J. Hinrichs, K. Hirano, I. Hull, P. Hyams, S. Kaplan, D. Lacapra, F. Logevall, T. Loos, D. Magaziner, R. Moore, J. Najemy, M. B. Norton, J. Parmenter, R. Polenberg, W. Provine, H. Rawlings, E. Rebillard, C. Robcis, A. Sachs, B. Strauss, E. Tagliacozzo, T. R. Travers, C. Verhoeven, M. Washington, R. Weil, J. Weiss. Emeritus: D. Baugh, S. Blumin, J. John, M. Kammen, W. LaFeber, C. Peterson, W. Pinter, J. Silbey, F. Somkin, B. Tierney
The popularity of history among Cornell students is due to its usefulness as preparation for graduate, professional, or law school and for any career that requires critical thinking and good writing; the reputation of the faculty for scholarship, teaching, and advising; and most of all, the intrinsic interest of the discipline. A wide variety of introductory and advanced courses is offered. The department is particularly strong in ancient, medieval, and modern European history; in American, Latin American, and Asian history; and in the history of science.
Students who pass the AP American and/or European History exam with a score of 4 or 5 have two options: (1) use the AP credits to fulfill the Arts and Sciences course credit requirements for graduation, or (2) take introductory American and/or European history courses.
To complete the history major, a student must fulfill the requirements listed below:
Entry requirement: completion of two history courses excluding first-year writing seminars.
1. Take nine history department courses (for either 3 or 4 credits each), completing all of them with a grade of C or better. (Courses taken for entry may count toward fulfilling the major.)
2. Of the total nine courses:
a. four must be in courses designated as outside U.S. history and
b. three must be in courses designated as history before 1800.
(Courses that count toward the Arts and Sciences historical breadth requirement do not necessarily count toward the history major.)
Courses used to fulfill requirement (1) above may also be used to fulfill requirement (2), in respect both to (a) and (b) if applicable. A course in American history before 1800 may be used to fulfill requirement (2b). A course before 1800 in a field other than American history can be used toward fulfillment of both requirements (2a) and (2b).
A list of those courses that fulfill the “outside U.S.” and “pre-1800” requirements is maintained by the history department. Only courses from that list fulfill these requirements.
3. Two of the nine courses must be seminars, of which one must be a 4000-level seminar. Starting fall 2008, HIST 4000, 4001, and 4002 may not be used to fulfill the 4000-level seminar requirement.
The history department offers an honors program for students who wish to research and write a thesis during their senior year. In addition to writing the thesis, honors students must maintain a 3.5 average in their history courses, take HIST 4000 Honors Proseminar during their junior year plus an additional 4000-level seminar, preferably during their junior year, and complete 10 courses in history (for 3 or 4 credits each). During the second semester of the sophomore year or early in the junior year, interested students should speak to a faculty member or faculty advisor about the honors program.
Before the beginning of the senior year, the candidate presents, in conversation or in writing, a thesis proposal to an appropriate member of the faculty. The faculty member who approves the proposal ordinarily becomes the thesis supervisor. If for any reason it is necessary to change supervisors, this arrangement should be confirmed no later than the fourth week after the beginning of the candidate’s senior year.
Honors candidates should register in HIST 4001, a seminar course in honors research. Any exceptions to this must be approved by the Honors Committee. HIST 4001 is a 4-credit course that permits honors candidates to conduct research and to begin writing the honors essay in a seminar environment. At the end of the first semester of the senior year, as part of the requirements for HIST 4001, the student submits to the supervisor a 10- to 15-page overview, or, alternatively, a preliminary draft of some part of the thesis along with an outline of the whole to the instructor of 4001 and to the student’s supervisor. HIST 4002 is a 4-credit seminar course that permits honors candidates to complete the honors essay and to demonstrate their understanding of the ways in which the themes explored in the thesis fit into a larger historical context.
The completed thesis is evaluated by three readers, including the supervisor and a first reader selected by the student, in consultation with his or her supervisor.
The text of the honors essay may not exceed 60 pages except by permission of the chair of the Honors Committee and the student’s supervisor. Three copies are due during the third or fourth week of April. In May, each honors candidate is given an oral exam administered by the supervisor; exam focuses on the essay as well as the specific subfield of history in which the student has conducted research (e.g., Periclean Athens, 17th-century science, 19th-century American politics).
To qualify for a bachelor of arts degree with honors in history, a student must (1) sustain at least a 3.5 cumulative average in all history courses and (2) earn at least a cum laude grade on the honors essay and on the oral exam.
Note: History majors who wish both to study abroad (or in Cornell-in-Washington) and to enter the honors program should consult their advisors or the DUS as soon as possible after declaring a major. The department requires honors students to enroll in HIST 4000 before writing a thesis in their senior year, and only in exceptional cases are students allowed to enroll simultaneously in 4000 and 4001 (the first term of thesis-writing). So planning ahead is essential, especially if you intend to spend a full year abroad.
Cornell in Washington Program. History majors may apply to the Cornell in Washington program to take courses and undertake a closely supervised externship during a fall or spring semester.
Category Key: Courses in History are broken into different categories. To determine which category(s) a course falls in, please note the reference at the end of each course description. The key is as follows: AF = African History, AM = American History, AS = Asian History, CO = Comparative History, EA = Ancient European History, ER = Renaissance and Medieval History, EM = Modern European History, HS = History of Science, LA = Latin American History, NE = Near Eastern History, and HR = Honors, Reading, and Research.
S. Samuels, chair; A. Alexandridis, J. E. Bernstock, M. I. Dadi, M. Fernández, C. Finley, S. Hassan, C. Lazzaro, K. McGowan, L. L. Meixner, A. Pan, J. Rickard, C. Robinson
The Department of the History of Art provides a broad range of introductory and advanced courses in art of Europe and the Americas, East and Southeast Asia, Africa, Native American art and Indigenous Studies from antiquity to the present.
Department majors acquire a broad understanding of the history of art in several chronological and geographical areas: ancient, medieval, Renaissance, modern (Europe and the Americas), Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Latin America, and Africa. Additionally, majors practice a range of art historical methods and interpretive strategies, including connoisseurship, dendrochronology, feminism, iconography, semiotics, critical theory, and social history. Majors are encouraged to locate the history of art within allied humanities fields and the applied arts by taking courses in history, literature, history of architecture, and fine arts. The study of foreign languages is strongly encouraged.
Prospective majors should consult the director of undergraduate studies. Students wishing to declare a major in the history of art should have completed any two courses above the 1000 level at Cornell in the department by the end of their sophomore year and have received a grade of B or above in both. Courses must be taken for a letter grade and must be at least a B– to count toward the major. These courses count toward the total 44 credits. The major in the history of art requires 44 credits, 30 at the 3000 level or above. The core requirements are: proseminar; another seminar at the 4000 level or above; two courses on art from the following time periods: Ancient Europe, Medieval/Islamic, or Renaissance/Baroque (one course per time period); two courses on art from the three following geographical areas: Africa, Asia, or Latin America (one course per region); and two courses on modern/contemporary art in Europe and North America, including art from outside the Anglo-American tradition. In addition to the 44 credits, majors are required to take two courses, approved by their advisors, in areas related to the history of art.
To become a candidate for the degree of bachelor of arts with honors in the history of art, a student must have a cumulative average of A– for all courses taken in the department and B+ in all arts and sciences courses. Application to write an honors thesis should be made to the director of undergraduate studies during the second semester of the junior year. Students are advised to enroll in ARTH 4997 Honors Research at this time. The application must include a summary of the proposed project, an endorsement by a faculty sponsor, and a copy of the student’s transcript. In the senior year the honors candidate will include ARTH 4998 and 4999 in his or her course load. These courses address the research and writing of the senior thesis under the direction of the student’s project advisor.
1000-level courses are first-year writing seminars.
2000-level courses are introductions to the major subdivisions of Western art and art outside the West.
3000-level courses are intermediary courses addressing more specialized topics or epochs.
4000-level courses are seminars primarily for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.
6000-level courses are seminars primarily for graduate students.
For first-year writing seminar offerings in the history of art, consult the John S. Knight Institute brochure for times, instructors, and descriptions. These courses may not be used to satisfy the distribution requirement or the major.
Courses at the 4000 to 6000 level are open to juniors and seniors, majors, and graduate students unless otherwise stated. All seminars involve the writing and presentation of research papers. Enrollment is limited to 15 students. Students may repeat courses that cover a different topic each semester.
J. Haas, nutritional sciences, director (220 Savage Hall, 255–2665); A. Clark (molecular biology and genetics); P. Cassano (nutritional sciences); B. Finlay (psychology); J. Fortune (physiology/women’s studies), E. Frongillo (nutritional sciences), R. Johnston (psychology), K. A. R. Kennedy (ecology and systematics/anthropology), D. Levitsky (nutritional sciences), D. L. Pelletier (nutritional sciences), W. Provine (ecology and systematics/history), S. Robertson (human development), R. Savin-Williams (human development), M. Small (anthropology)
Human biology integrates the methods and theories of many disciplines, such as biological anthropology, nutrition, neurobiology, physiology, psychology, demography, ecology, genetics, and paleontology into a comprehensive study of biological diversity in Homo sapiens. A central focus of this interdisciplinary approach to the study of the human organism is an understanding of evolutionary processes that explain our biological variation through space and time. The curriculum of study seeks to educate future biological scientists to address the concerns of a society that is becoming more demanding of the scientific community to place its specialized biological knowledge in a broad context. The human biology curriculum is of particular relevance to undergraduate students in premedical and predentistry programs, biological anthropology, nutrition, human development, ecology and evolutionary biology, psychology, physiology, genetics, and the health-related sciences. It serves to bring together students who have a common interest in humankind as defined from these diverse fields and to provide a forum for student–faculty interaction on various topics relating to human evolution and biological diversity. Human biology is not a major but a curriculum of study that provides majors in various departments and colleges with a program for selecting elective courses that deal with the biology of the human species. Students after their freshman year may develop a program of study in human biology while majoring in any one of a number of different departmental fields.
The requirements for a program of study in human biology are designed to ensure sufficient background in physical sciences and mathematics to enable the student to pursue a wide range of interests in the fields of modern biological sciences, anthropology, and fields related to the evolution and biological diversity of the human species. Adjustments may be made in these requirements, depending on the student’s academic background and affiliation with colleges and schools within the university.
The basic requirements are one year of introductory biology (BIOG 1101–1103 plus 1102–1104 or 1105–1106 or BIOG 1107–1108 offered during the eight-week Cornell Summer Session); one year of general chemistry (CHEM 2070–2080 or 2150–2160); one course of college mathematics (MATH 1110, 1106, or 1105 or equivalent); one course in genetics (BIOGD 2800, 2810, or 2820); one course in biochemistry (BIOBM 3300, 3310, 3320, or 3330 or NS 3200). It is recommended that students planning graduate study in biological anthropology, psychology, and related fields in the medical and nutritional sciences take a course in statistics. Students should consult their faculty advisor in human biology for help in selecting appropriate courses.
Elective courses should be taken that enable the student to acquire breadth in the subject matter of human biology outside of their departmental major. Therefore only 6 of the 15 human biology elective credits may also fulfill requirements for the major. Courses should be selected that also provide sufficient exposure to the integration of basic anatomical and physiological sciences with the behavior of individuals and groups within the context of evolutionary theory and ecology. The courses listed below are representative of the offerings in human biology and are included to assist the student in organizing a curriculum of study. They are organized into three groups that reflect the three levels of integration noted above: (1) human anatomy and physiology, (2) human behavior, and (3) human evolution and ecology. Students should choose at least one course from each of these areas of integration. It is anticipated that the student will include in a program of study at least one of the laboratory courses offered. It is expected that a student will take a minimum of 15 credits from among these courses.
There is no foreign language requirement for human biology beyond what is dictated by specific departments and colleges. The requirements for the human biology curriculum are set alongside requirements of the undergraduate majors as these are defined by different departments. Students with independent majors may design their own programs of study under the guidelines provided by their college. Although a student may indicate an interest in human biology in the freshman year and be able to obtain early guidance from a faculty advisor representing the curriculum of study, it is more usual for students to establish their course programs in the first semester of the junior year. The student may request one of the faculty advisors in his or her department who is listed as faculty in human biology to be their principal advisor, or he or she may have an advisor in the department of the major and seek the advice of a human biology faculty advisor in matters pertaining to satisfaction of the requirements. In certain cases a faculty advisor may represent both the major and the curriculum of study in human biology.
See “Department of Linguistics” and “Russian.”
J. Finlay, director, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, 255-5004.
The Independent Major Program is described in the introductory section of “College of Arts and Sciences.”
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
363 Uris Hall
http://www.inequality.cornell.edu
254–8674
The study of inequality lies at the heart of current debates about segregation, affirmative action, the “glass ceiling,” globalization, and any number of other contemporary policy issues. In recent years, public and scholarly interest in issues of inequality has intensified, not merely because of historic increases in income inequality in the United States and other advanced industrial countries, but also because inequalities of race, ethnicity, and gender are evolving in equally dramatic and complicated ways.
The inequality minor allows undergraduate students to supplement their studies for their major with a coherent program of courses oriented toward the study of inequality. Although Cornell University is a leading center of scholarship on poverty and inequality, this strength is necessarily distributed across many departments and colleges; an interdisciplinary minor thus allows students to combine these resources into an integrated program of study. The institutional home for the inequality minor is the Center for the Study of Inequality (located at 363 Uris Hall and at http://www.inequality.cornell.edu).
The inequality minor is appropriate for students interested in government service, policy work, and related jobs in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as students who wish to pursue post-graduate education in such fields as public policy, economics, government, law, history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, literature, and philosophy. In many of these fields, the study of inequality is becoming increasingly central and fundamental, and the inequality minor can therefore provide students with a valuable and unique foundation for further study.
The inequality minor is an interdisciplinary program that should be completed in conjunction with a major. The minor is open to students enrolled in any of the seven Cornell undergraduate colleges. When the requirements of the minor are met, a certification is recorded on a student’s academic record.
The inequality minor exposes students to a breadth of approaches, methods, and topic areas while also allowing them to tailor a program to their particular interests. The requirements are as follows:
The required overview course may be selected from any of the eight courses listed below. When possible, the overview course should be completed early in the program, as it serves to define the field and to expose students to areas and topics that might be explored in future course work.
• Income Distribution (ILRLE 4410)
• Inequality, Diversity, and Justice (CRP/SOC 2930, GOVT 2935, PHIL 1930)
• Social Inequality (SOC 2208 and DSOC 2090)
• Comparative Social Inequalities (DSOC 3700 and SOC 3710)
• Organizations and Social Inequality (ILROB 6260)
• Racial and Ethnic Differentiation (PAM/SOC 3370)
(DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
This 3-credit course introduces students to current controversies in the study of inequality while facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue between concentrators and faculty members at Cornell University. Students are exposed to research on inequality under way at Cornell presented by guest lecturers and also participate in debates on pressing inequality-relevant issues (e.g., welfare reform, school vouchers, immigration policy, affirmative action).
In addition to the overview course and core course, students must select four electives from the list of qualified courses. This list can be viewed on the web site for the Center for the Study of Inequality, http://www.inequality.cornell.edu. Although students may tailor their programs to match their interests, the electives and overview course must be distributed across at least three departments (thereby ensuring breadth in the analytic approaches that are represented).
The Center for the Study of Inequality (CSI) hosts occasional lectures and symposia, and minors are expected to attend them when possible. These events will be announced via e-mail and are also listed on the center web site, http://www.inequality.cornell.edu.
The web site for the Center for the Study of Inequality, http://www.inequality.cornell.edu, provides current information on the Inequality Minor. For students considering the minor, it may be useful to schedule a meeting with the assistant to the director (inequality@cornell.edu).
The inequality minor allows students considerable flexibility in devising programs that reflect their interests. As examples of possible programs, we have listed below sample tracks, each comprising a different set of possible electives. The first program listed below is a general track that provides an overview of the field, while the remaining nine programs are more specialized and focus on particular issues within the field. This sampling of programs is obviously illustrative and does not cover the entire wide range of interests that may be addressed within the minor.
As a global economy takes hold, there has been increasing concern that economic inequalities will grow apace, especially North–South inequalities between rich and poor countries. The countervailing “optimistic view” is that between-country disparities will in the long run wither away and render inequality an entirely internal, within-country affair. These and related lines of argumentation can be explored in courses that address such topics as trends in income inequality, theories of economic development, emerging patterns of international migration, and globalization and gender.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives (choose any four):
International Development (DSOC 2050, SOC 2206)
Economic Development (ECON 3710)
Labor Markets and Income Distribution in Developing Countries (ILRIC 4350)
Contemporary Controversies in the Global Economy (AEM 2000)
Environmental Aspects of International Urban Planning (CRP 4530/6830)
Gender and Globalization (CRP 3650, FGSS 3600)
Education, Inequality, and Development (DSOC 3050)
Sex and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (ANTHR 3421/6421, FGSS 3210/6310)
Rural Areas in Metropolitan Society (DSOC 3360)
Gender and International Development (CRP/FGSS 6140)
In the modern period, inequalities generated in the market and through other social institutions are typically regarded as excessive, and the state is seen as the main tool for redistribution, discrimination abatement, equalization of life chances, and related forms of amelioration. The social policy and inequality track explores the role of the state in generating and reducing inequalities of various kinds.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives (choose any four):
Organizations and Social Inequality (ILROB 6260)
Employment Discrimination and the Law (ILRCB 6840)
Human Resource Economics and Public Policy (ILRHR 3600)
Economics of the Public Sector (PAM 2040)
Introduction to Policy Analysis (PAM 2300)
Introduction to Public Policy (GOVT 3071)
Urban Politics (GOVT 3111)
Evolving Families: Challenges to Family Policy (PAM 3360)
Low-Income Families: Qualitative and Policy Perspectives (PAM 3350)
Risk and Opportunity Factors in Childhood and Adolescence (HD 3530)
Social Policy and Social Welfare (CRP 4480/5480)
Policy Analysis: Welfare Theory, Agriculture, and Trade (AEM 6300, ECON 4300)
Economic Analysis of the Welfare State (ECON 4600, ILRLE 6420)
Health and Social Behavior (HD 4570, SOC 4570)
Public Policy and the African–American Urban Community (ASRC 4605)
Beliefs, Attitudes, and Ideologies (PSYCH 4890/6890)
Research on Education Reform and Human Resource Policy (ILRHR 6601)
Charges of social injustice are often charges of excessive inequality. What are the political, philosophical, and legal debates that are relevant to such judgements? Under what conditions should rich countries assist poor ones? At what point should governments step in and redistribute income? When should parents pass on their wealth to their children? The ethics of inequality track examines the conditions under which inequalities might be deemed legitimate or illegitimate, evaluates prevailing inequalities and social policy as against this yardstick, and explores the larger role of values in popular and scholarly judgments about inequality.
1. Overview Course: Inequality, Diversity, and Justice (CRP/GOVT/SOC 2930, PHIL 1930)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives:
Values in Law, Economics, and Industrial Relations (ILRCB 6070)
Contemporary Moral Issues (PHIL 1450)
Global Thinking (GOVT 2947)
Modern Political Philosophy (PHIL 3460)
Feminism and Philosophy (FGSS/PHIL 2490)
Select courses in consultation with advisor (see list of electives below).
Over the past century, rich countries have of course become yet richer, while less developed countries remain burdened with massive poverty. The courses listed below examine the sources and causes of world poverty, the rise of global anti-inequality social movements, and the types of policy interventions that might stimulate economic development and reduce poverty.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives (choose any four):
Economic Development (ECON 3710)
Issues in African Development (CRP 4770/6770)
Labor Markets and Income Distribution in Developing Countries (ILRIC 4350)
Health and Survival Inequalities (DSOC/FGSS/SOC 4100)
Applied Economic Development (ECON 3720)
Low-Income Families: Qualitative and Policy Perspectives (PAM 3350)
Gender and International Development (FGSS/CRP 6140)
Economics of Hunger and Malnutrition (ECON 4740, NS 4570)
The history of modern society may be seen in large part as a history of anti-inequality social movements (e.g., the Enlightenment, socialism, the union movement, the civil rights movement, feminism) interspersed with occasional inequality-inducing reactions (e.g., the post-socialist transition). The social movements track examines the causes, effects, and likely future of such social movements and the reactions they spawn.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives (choose any four):
Utopia in Theory and Practice (SOC 1150)
Social Movements (SOC 2800)
Social Movements in American Politics (AMST 3020, GOVT 3021)
States and Social Movements (GOVT 6603, SOC 6600)
Comparative Labor Movements in Latin America (ILRIC 6310)
Union Organizing (ILRCB 4000)
Theories of Industrial Relations Systems (ILRCB 6060)
Revitalizing the Labor Movement: A Comparative Perspective (GOVT 6413, ILRIC 6320)
Prisons (GOVT 3141)
In the contemporary period, the study of inequality has increasingly turned on the study of formal education, as schools have become the main institutional locus for training and credentialing workers and for signaling potential employers about (putative) worker quality. The inequality and education track examines educational institutions and how they are organized, how they generate equality and inequality, and how possible institutional changes (e.g., vouchers, required testing) might affect the reproduction of inequalities.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB.PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives (choose any four):
Social and Political Context of American Education (EDUC 2710, SOC 2710/5710)
Education, Inequality, and Development (DSOC 3050)
Schooling, Racial Inequality, and Public Policy in America (SOC 3570)
Research on Education Reform and Human Resource Policy (ILRHR 6601)
Education, Technology, and Productivity (ILRHR 6950)
Education Innovation in Africa and the Diaspora (ASRC 4601, EDUC 4590)
Education and Development in Africa (ASRC 6600)
This program of study examines the many forms of racial and ethnic inequality as revealed across different times and places. When race and ethnicity are examined from an explicitly comparative perspective, it becomes possible to identify regularities and better understand the forces of competition, conflict, and subordination among ethnic and racial groups. The courses listed below address such issues as the causes of discrimination, the implications of residential segregation for inequality, the sources of ethnic and racial differences in income, the effects of anti-inequality reform efforts (e.g., affirmative action), and the possible futures of ethnic and racial stratification.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives (choose any four):
Introduction to American Studies: New Approaches to Understanding American Diversity, the 20th Century (AAS/AMST 1110)
Racial and Ethnic Politics (AMST/GOVT/LSP 3191)
Health and Survival Inequalities DSOC/FGSS/SOC 4100)
Sociology of Health and Ethnic Minorities (DSOC/LSP 2200)
Prisons (GOVT/AMST 3141)
Racial and Ethnic Differentiation (PAM/SOC 3370)
Ethnicity and Identity Politics: An Anthropological Perspective (AAS 4790, ANTHR 4749)
Political Identity: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism (GOVT 6101)
Immigration and a Changing America (DSOC 2750)
Introduction to American Studies (AMST 1101)
Population Dynamics (DSOC 2010, SOC 2202)
Race and Ethnicity (SOC 1104)
Strangers and Citizens: Immigration and Labor in U.S. History (ILRCB 3020)
African–American Social and Political Thought (ASRC 2601)
African–American Women: 20th Century (AMST/FGSS/HIST 2120)
African–American Social History, 1865 to 1910: The Rural and Urban Experience (HIST 3750, ILRCB 3850)
African–American Social History, 1910 to The Present: Race, Work, and the City (HIST 3760, ILRCB 3860)
African–American Women in Slavery and Freedom (AMST/HIST 3030, FGSS 3070)
Public Policy and the African–American Urban Community (ASRC 4605)
Politics and Social Change in Southern Africa (ASRC 4603)
Afro–American Historiography (AMST/HIST 6101)
Latinos in the United States (DSOC/SOC 2650, LSP 2010)
Latinos in the United States: Colonial Period to 1898 (AMST 2599, HIST/LSP 2600)
Latinos in the United States: 1898 to the Present (AMST/HIST/LSP 2610)
Introduction to Asian American Studies (AAS 1100)
Introduction to Asian American History (AAS 2130, AMST/HIST 2640)
Asians in the Americas: A Comparative Perspective (AAS 3030, ANTHR 3703)
Introduction to American Indian Studies (AIS 1100)
Although workers in modern labor markets are often analytically treated as independent individuals, they of course typically belong to families that pool the labor supply of their members, consume goods jointly, and serve in some circumstances as units of collective production. It might therefore be asked how the modern labor market has adapted to and evolved in the context of the family (and, obversely, how the family has responded to the market). The courses within this track explore such issues as the causes and consequences of the intrafamilial division of labor, the effects of marriage and family structure on careers, and the transmission of socioeconomic advantage from one generation to the next.
1. Overview Course (choose any one)
2. Controversies About Inequality (DSOC/ILROB/PAM/SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950)
3. Possible Electives:
Work and Family in Comparative Perspective (SOC 2203)
Families and the Life Course (HD/SOC 2500)
Work-Family Policies in Comparative Perspective (PAM 3320)
Economics of Family Policy (PAM 6050)
Politics and Culture (GOVT 3633, SOC 2480)
Cultural Sociology (SOC 6300)
C. Cardie, director; J. Abowd, W. Y. Arms, G. Bailey, K. Bala, L. Blume, R. Caruana, R. Constable, D. Easley, S. Edelman, E. Friedman, G. Gay, J. Gehrke, T. Gillespie, P. Ginsparg, C. Gomes, J. Halpern, J. Hancock, A. Hedge, D. Huttenlocher, T. Joachims, J. Kleinberg, C. Lagoze, L. Lee, A. Leiponen, B. Lust, M. Macy, P. Martin, T. Pinch, R. Prentice, M. Rooth, B. Selman, P. Sengers, D. Shmoys, M. Spivey, D. Strang, E. Tardos, E. Wagner, S. Wicker, D. Williamson, C. Yuan
Information Science (IS) is an interdisciplinary field that explores the design and use of information systems in a social context: the field studies the creation, representation, organization, application, and analysis of information in digital form. The focus of Information Science is on systems and their use rather than on the computing and communication technologies that underlie and sustain them. Moreover, Information Science examines the social, cultural, economic, historical, legal, and political contexts in which information systems are employed, both to inform the design of such systems and to understand their impact on individuals, social groups, and institutions.
Courses in the Information Science (IS) major are assigned to three area-based tracks:
Human-Centered Systems This area examines the relationship between humans and information, drawing from human–computer interaction and cognitive science.
Information Systems This area examines the computer science problems of representing, organizing, storing, manipulating, and accessing digital information.
Social Systems This area studies the cultural, economic, historical, legal, political, and social contexts in which digital information is a major factor.
Students must complete a set of 11 core courses: one introductory course, four courses in mathematics and statistics, and two courses from each of the three IS area-based tracks. Students must also obtain depth in two tracks—a primary and a secondary track—that together best represent their interests. In particular, completion of the major requires four advanced courses from the selected primary track and three advanced courses from the secondary track.
Core (11 courses)
1. Introductory (one course):
INFO 1300 Introductory Design and Programming for the Web
Note: INFO 1301 and 1302 (no longer offered) may count together in place of 1300.
2. Math and Statistics (four courses):
MATH 1110 Calculus I
either MATH 2310 Linear Algebra with Applications or MATH 2210 Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
either INFO 2950 Mathematical Methods for Information Science or CS 2800 Discrete Structures
One of the following:
MATH 1710 Statistical Theory and Application in the Real World
HADM 2201 Hospitality Quantitative Analysis
AEM 2100 Introductory Statistics
PAM 2100 Introduction to Statistics
ENGRD 2700 Basic Engineering Probability and Statistics
BTRY 3010 Statistical Methods I
SOC 3010 Evaluating Statistical Evidence
CEE 3040 Uncertainty Analysis in Engineering
ILRST 3120 Applied Regression Methods
ECON 3190 Introduction to Statistics and Probability
PSYCH 3500 Statistics and Research Design
3. Human-Centered Systems (two courses):
INFO 2140 Cognitive Psychology
INFO 2450 Communication and Technology
4. Information Systems (two courses):
CS 2110 Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures*
*CS 2110 is an intermediate programming course that requires prior knowledge of Java. Students who have not learned Java can take CS 1130 after completing INFO 1300 and 2300 or they can take CS 1110.
INFO 2300 Intermediate Design and Programming for the Web
5. Social Systems (two courses):
either ECON 3010 Microeconomics or ECON 3130 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
one of the following: INFO 2921 Inventing an Information Society, INFO 3200 New Media and Society, INFO 3551 Computers: From the 17th Century to the Dotcom Boom, INFO 3561 Computing Cultures
Where options in the core courses exist, the choice will depend on the student’s interests and planned advanced courses for the selected primary and secondary tracks.
Students must complete four advanced courses in their primary track and three advanced courses in their secondary track, selected from those listed below.
All courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade. Students must earn a C- or better in all courses used for the major.
Courses taken to satisfy the core course requirements may not be used to fulfill the track requirements.
Additional information on Information Science courses can be found below and in the “Computing and Information Science (CIS)” section of Courses of Study. Course information for all other courses in the major can be found in the relevant departments (e.g., AEM, CS, STS).
Human-Centered Systems
PSYCH 3420 Human Perception: Applications to Computer Graphics, Art, and Visual Display*
INFO 3450 Human–Computer Interaction Design
PSYCH 3470 Psychology of Visual Communications
INFO 3650 Technology and Collaboration
PSYCH 3800 Social Cognition*
PSYCH 4160 Modeling Perception and Cognition
INFO 4400 Advanced Human–Computer Interaction Design
INFO 4450 Seminar in Computer-Mediated Communication
INFO 4500 Language and Technology
DEA 4700 Applied Ergonomic Methods
* Students who take PSYCH 3420 may also count its prerequisite, PSYCH 2050, toward the Human-Centered Systems primary or secondary track requirements. Similarly, students who take PSYCH 3800 may also count PSYCH 2800 toward the Human-Centered Systems primary or secondary track requirements. At most, one of PSYCH 2050 or PSYCH 2800 can be counted toward the primary or secondary track requirements.
Information Systems
INFO 3300 Data-Driven Web Applications
CS 4190 Computer Networks
LING 4424 Computational Linguistics
INFO 4300 Information Retrieval
INFO 4310 Web Information Systems
CS 4320 Introduction to Database Systems
CS 4620 Introduction to Computer Graphics
CS 4700 Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
LING 4474 Introduction to Natural Language Processing
ORIE 4740 Statistical Data Mining
CS 4780 Machine Learning
ORIE 4800 Information Technology
CS 5150 Software Engineering
CS 5430 System Security
INFO 5300 Architecture of Large-Scale Information Systems
CS 5780 Empirical Methods in Machine Learning and Data Mining
Social Systems
INFO 2040 Networks
SOC 3040 Social Networks and Social Processes
INFO 3200 New Media and Society*
AEM 3220 Internet Strategy
INFO 3490 Media Technologies
INFO 3551 Computers: From the 17th Century to the Dotcom Boom
INFO 3561 Computing Cultures
INFO 3660 History and Theory of Digital Art
ECON 3680 Game Theory*
INFO 3871 The Automatic Lifestyle: Consumer Culture and Technology
STS 4111 Knowledge, Technology, and Property
ECON 4190 Economic Decisions under Uncertainty
INFO 4290 Copyright in a Digital Age
INFO 4350 Seminar on Applications of Information Science
ORIE 4350 Introduction to Game Theory*
INFO 4144 Responsive Environments
SOC 4150 Internet and Society*
INFO 4470 Social and Economic Data
INFO 4850 Computational Methods for Complex Networks
ECON 4760/4770 Decision Theory I and II
HADM 4489 The Law of the Internet and E-Commerce
INFO 5150 Culture, Law, and Politics of the Internet
*Only one of ORIE 4350 and ECON 3680 may be taken for IS credit. Only one of INFO 3200 and SOC 4150 may be taken for IS credit.
All potential affiliates are reviewed on a case-by-case basis relative to the following criteria:
• Completion of four core courses, one in each of the core course areas listed above (i.e., Math and Statistics, Human-Centered systems, Information Systems, and Social Systems). Courses must be taken for a letter grade.
• A grade of C or better in each of the completed core courses with an overall GPA for these courses of 2.5 or more.
Courses used in the affiliation GPA computations may be repeated if the original course grade was below a C. The most recent grade will be used for all repeated courses. Qualifying courses must be taken at Cornell.
To qualify for departmental honors, students must apply by the end of their seventh semester and meet the GPA requirement:
• a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 3.5
OR
• a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 3.0 in addition to contributions to the Information Science Program through research or other means, as detailed in their application.
Students intending to pursue honors must complete the following course work in addition to their IS major courses:
• Three additional credit hours of IS course work at or above the 5000 level; (graded courses only; no seminars or 2-credit project courses)
• Six credit hours of INFO 4900 Independent Study and Research with one or more IS faculty members, spread over at least two semesters and with grades of A– or better; it is expected that the INFO 4900 research will result in a project report.
Latin designations (appended to the degree) are based on final cumulative GPA, as follows:
• cum laude, 3.50 or above
• magna cum laude, 3.75 or above
• summa cum laude, 4.00 or above
A minor in Information Science is also available to students in the College of Arts and Sciences, CALS, AAP (Architecture and Planning students only), Engineering, Human Ecology, Hotel, and ILR. The minor has been designed to ensure that students have substantial grounding in all three tracks: Human-Centered Systems, Information Systems, and Social Systems. Detailed information about the minor can be found in the CIS section of . Students are also referred to http://www.infosci.cornell.edu/ugrad for the most up-to-date description of the minor and its requirements.
For complete course descriptions, see the Information Science listings under Computing and Information Science (CIS).
Office: 190B Uris Hall, 255-7645, http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/initiatives/itc.asp, D. R. Lee (AEM), director
The International Relations (IR) minor is an interdisciplinary program for undergraduate students enrolled in any of the seven undergraduate colleges at Cornell. The IR minor provides a structured yet flexible program that enables undergraduates to take advantage of the vast resources available at the university for studying the politics, economics, history, languages, and cultures of the countries and regions of the world.
Graduates of the program have gone on to pursue further education in fields such as political science and anthropology and to successful careers in international law, economics, agriculture, trade, finance, international development, and government service, among others. They have gone on to work in international and nongovernmental organizations, in cross-cultural affairs, in journalism, and in education.
The International Relations minor is not a major or a department, but rather a program offering a selection of courses reaching across colleges and departments. Students pursue the IR minor in addition to their regular degree. Students concentrating in international relations have majored in fields ranging from anthropology, city and regional planning, communications, economics, government, and history to natural resources, industrial and labor relations, and computer science. International course work and language study add a global and cross-cultural dimension to those majors. Some students even design an independent major in some aspect of international relations or comparative social or cultural studies. Spending a semester or year of study abroad can contribute to meeting the course requirements of the IR minor, including the language requirement.
These requirements are designed to expose students to a broad range of perspectives in international relations while allowing them to tailor their course selections to specific interests. Courses throughout the university are grouped into four subject areas:
1. International Economics and Development
2. World Politics and Foreign Policy
3. Transnational Processes and Policies
4. Cultural Studies
Within these four subject areas, courses are also divided into “core” and “elective” categories. Altogether, students must complete eight courses from the four groups according to one of two options. Option A emphasizes the politics and economics of international relations. Option B puts greater stress on culture. In choosing either option, students should ensure that they acquire familiarity with more than one geographic region or country. All courses used to fulfill the minor requirements must be taken for a letter grade. Courses can count both toward a major and the International Relations minor.
Option A: One core course from each of Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4; one elective from each of Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4
Option B: One core course from each of Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4; one elective from either Group 1 or Group 2; one elective from each of Groups 3 and 4; one additional elective from either Group 3 or Group 4
Before pre-registration a course list for the following semester (as well as lists for the current and previous semesters) can be obtained from the administrative coordinator in 190B Uris Hall, as well as from the web site. Note: These lists are not necessarily complete. Other courses throughout the university qualify for the IR minor by prior arrangement.
Students in the IR minor are expected to complete additional language study beyond the College of Arts and Sciences’ degree requirement (for those in Arts and Sciences). This study can be accomplished in one of two ways: (1) two years of one foreign language (proficiency plus one course that uses the language to explore some aspect of foreign culture); (2) two languages at proficiency.
Students in the IR minor are encouraged to study abroad to bring a practical dimension to their expertise in international issues. Those who choose this option will find the requirements for the concentration highly compatible with courses taken abroad. Students are encouraged to contact the administrative coordinator before departure.
Transcripts will reflect successful completion of the requirements for the minor. In addition, students will receive a special certificate and a letter of confirmation signed by the director of the IR Minor and the director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies.
To obtain course lists, to enroll and for all further information, please contact the IR administrative coordinator, Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, 190B Uris Hall, 255-7645; irc@is.cornell.edu.
Core course options (one from each group) and selected electives are listed below; other electives are possible. Most courses are offered one semester only. Offerings may change, so see the administrative coordinator, course roster, and IR web site for updates and further details.
Group 1: International Economics and Development
Core:
AEM/ECON 2300 International Trade and Finance
AEM 4290 International Finance
AEM 4300 International Trade Policy
ECON 3610 International Trade Theory
ECON 3620 International Monetary Theory and Policy
Electives:
AEM 4350 Political Economy of the WTO and Globalization
AEM 4420 Emerging Markets
AEM/ECON 4640 Economics of Agricultural Development
ANTHR 3684 Africa in the Global Economy
CRP 3270 Regional Economic Impact Analysis
CRP 4170 Economic Development: Firms, Industries, and Regions
ECON 3710 Economic Development
ECON 4690 China’s Economy under Mao and Deng
GOVT 3303/ILRIC 3330 Politics of the Global North
GOVT 3393 Political Economy of Development
GOVT 3549 Capitalism, Competition, and Conflict
Group 2: World Politics and Foreign Policy
Core:
GOVT 1817 Introduction to International Relations
Electives:
AMST/HIST 3140 History of American Foreign Policy 1912–Present
ASIAN 2298/HIST 2890 The U.S.–Vietnam War
ASRC 3110 Government and Politics in Africa
ASRC 4600 Political and Social Change in Caribbean
GOVT 3313 Middle Eastern Politics
GOVT 3323 Modern European Politics
GOVT 3857 American Foreign Policy
GOVT 3867 The Causes of War
GOVT 4827 Unifying While Integrating: China and the World
HIST 2571 China Encounters the World
HIST 3710 World War II in Europe
HIST 4050 U.S.–Cuba Relations
NES 4672 Nationalisms in the Arab World
Group 3: Transnational Processes and Policies
Core:
GOVT/SOC 3937 Introduction to Peace Studies
GOVT 3957 New Forces in International Politics
Electives:
AEM 4450 Food Policy for Developing Countries
AEM/ECON 4640 Economics of Agricultural Development
CRP 3540 Introduction to Environmental Planning
CRP 3840 Green Cities
CRP 4530 Environmental Aspect of International Urban Planning
DSOC 2050/SOC 2206 International Development
DSOC 2750 Immigration and a Changing America
DSOC 3240 Environment and Society
FDSC/IARD 4020 Agriculture in the Developing Nations I
HD 4830 Early Care and Education in Global Perspective
IARD 3000 Perspectives in International Agricultural and Rural Development
IARD 4940 Special Topics in International Agriculture
ILRCB 3040 Seminar in American Labor and Social History
ILRHR 4690 Immigration and the American Labor Force
NTRES 3320 Ethics and the Environment
Group 4: Cultural Studies
Core:
ANTHR 1400 Introduction to Anthropology: The Comparison of Cultures
ANTHR 1420 Cultural Diversity and Contemporary Issues
Electives:
AAS 3030/ANTHR 3703 Asians in the Americas
AMST/ANTHR 3453 Anthropology of Colonialism
AMST/ANTHR/LSP 3777 The United States
AMST/ARTH 3605 U.S. Art from FDR to Reagan
AMST/HIST 1530 Introduction to American History
AMST/HIST 2110 Black Religious Traditions: Sacred and Secular
AMST/HIST 3450 Cultural and Intellectual Life of 19th-Century Americans
AMST/ILRCB 3060 Recent History of American Workers
ANTHR 2730 Cultures of Native North America
ANTHR 3421/FGSS 3210 Sex and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
ANTHR 3516 Power, Society, Culture in Southeast Asia
ANTHR 3535 Situation of China’s Minorities
ARKEO/JWST/NES 3665 Ancient Iraq II
ARTH 2350 Introduction to Art History: Islamic Art and Culture
ARTH 2400 Introduction to Art History: Renaissance and Baroque
ARTH 3202/CLASS 3740 Arts of the Roman Empire
ARTH 3510/ASRC 3501 Introduction of African Art
ASIAN 1191/HIST 1910 Introduction to Modern Asian History
ASIAN 2208 Introduction to Southeast Asia
ASIAN 2211 Introduction to Japan
ASIAN 2245/MUSIC 1341 Gamelan in Indonesian Culture
ASIAN 3385/HIST 3880 Vietnamese Histories
ASIAN 3397/HIST 3950 Premodern Southeast Asia
ASIAN 4494/HIST 4921 India: Nation and Narration, History, Literature
ASIAN 6601/HIST 4870 Seminar on Thailand
ASRC 2300 African Civilizations and Culture
ASRC 3300 African History: Earliest Times to 1800
ASRC 4601 Education Innovation in Africa and the Diaspora
ASRC 4606 Family and Society in Africa
CLASS 4625/HIST 4831/RELST 4625 Christianization/Roman World
COML 3620/ENGL 3250/HIST 3640 Culture of the Renaissance II
COML 3860 Literature and Film of South Asia
COML 4520 Renaissance Humanism
COML 4740 Topics in Modern European Intellectual History
COML 4960 Imagining the Mediterranean
ENGL 2740 Scottish Literature
ENGL 3330 The 18th-Century English Novel
ENGL 3490 Shakespeare and Europe
FGSS/HIST 2190 Women in South Asia
FGSS/SPAN 2460 Contemporary Narratives by Latina Writers
FILM 2930/NES 2793 Sophomore Seminar: Middle Eastern Cinema
FILM 3410/FREN 3360 French Film
FREN 2210 Introduction to Textual Analysis
FREN 2240 The French Experience
FREN 3210 Readings in Modern French Literature and Culture
FREN 3220 Readings in Early Modern French Literature and Culture
FREN 3700 The French Enlightenment and the Modern Citizen
HIST 1570 Introduction to Western Civilization
HIST 1950 Colonial Latin America
HIST 2910 Modern European Jewish History 1789 to 1948
HIST 3050 Britain, 1660 to 1815
HIST 3260 History of the British Empire
HIST 3490 Renaissance England, 1485 to 1660
HIST 3661 History of Southern Africa
HIST 4041 Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
HIST 4290/SPAN 4340 Cervantes’ Mediterranean World
HIST 4520 History of the New Europe
ITAL 2900 Perspectives in Italian Culture
ITAL 2970 Introduction to Italian Literature
ITAL 3040 Italy after the Renaissance
JWST/NES/RELST 2675 The Religions of Ancient Israel
KRLIT 4405 Readings in Korean Literature
LSP 2010/SOC 2650 Latinos in the United States
MUSIC 3614/NES 4947–4948 Middle Eastern Music Ensemble
NES 2747 Introduction to Art History: Islamic Art
RUSSL 3369 Dostoevsky
RUSSL 4499 The Avant-Garde in Russian Literature and the Arts
SOC 4780 Family and Society in Africa
SPAN 2140 The Spanish Difference: Readings in Modern Iberian Literatures
SPAN 2170 Early Hispanic Modernities
SPAN 2230 Perspectives on Spain
SPAN 3010 Hispanic Theater Production
THETR 3090 Modern Arabic Drama
See “Department of Romance Studies.”
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
D. Starr, director (modern Hebrew and Arabic Literature; Critical Theory, Middle Eastern Film), L. Adelson (German-Jewish Literature and Culture), R. Brann (Judeo-Islamic Studies), V. Caron (Modern French and European-Jewish History), M. Diesing (Yiddish Language and Linguistics), Z. Fahmy (Modern Middle Eastern History), K. Haines-Eitzen (Early Judaism and Early Christianity), R. Hoffmann (Holocaust Studies), P. Hohendahl (German Literature), P. Hyams (Medieval Jewish History), D. LaCapra (Holocaust Studies), M. Migiel (Italian Literature), C. Monroe (Near Eastern Mediterranean Studies; Nautical Archaeology), L. Monroe (Hebrew Bible Studies), D. I. Owen (Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology; Assyriology; Biblical History and Archaeology), R. Polenberg (American-Jewish History), E. Rebillard (Jews in the Roman Empire), N. Scharf (Hebrew Language), D. Schwarz (Anglo-Jewish Literature), G. Shapiro (Russian-Jewish Literature), S. Shoer (Hebrew Language), P. Stevens (curator), Emeritus: D. Bathrick, N. Furman, J. Porte, E. Rosenberg, Y. Szekely.
The Program of Jewish Studies was founded as an extension of the Department of Semitic Languages and Literatures, now the Department of Near Eastern Studies, in 1973 and attained status as an intercollegiate program in 1976.
The program has grown out of the conviction that Judaic civilization merits its own comprehensive and thorough treatment and that proper understanding of any culture is inconceivable without adequate knowledge of the language, literature, and history of the people that created it. Accordingly, the offerings in the areas of Jewish languages and literatures have been considerably expanded, and courses in ancient, medieval, and especially modern Jewish history and culture have been added to the program.
It is a broadly based, interdisciplinary program, bringing together faculty from various Cornell departments and colleges.
The Program of Jewish Studies supports teaching and research in the many areas of Jewish Studies. It is a secular, academic program, whose interests are diverse and cross-cultural. The program recognizes its special relationship to teaching and research in classical Judaica and Hebraica pursued by the members of the Department of Near Eastern Studies, with particular emphasis on the interrelationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
It presently enables students to obtain basic instruction and specialization in the fields of Semitic languages; the Hebrew Bible; medieval and modern Hebrew literature; ancient, medieval, and modern European and Middle Eastern Jewish history; and Holocaust studies. In some of these fields students may take courses on both graduate and undergraduate levels. Faculty throughout the university provide breadth to the program by offering courses in related areas of study.
For more information, please visit http://www.arts.cornell.edu/jwst/index.html.
The director of the John S. Knight Institute is Paul Lincoln Sawyer, professor in the Department of English. Katherine Gottschalk, senior lecturer in the Department of English, is the Walter C. Teagle Director of First-Year Writing Seminars. The institute’s offices are in 101 McGraw Hall, 255–4061.
T. Carrick (Writing Workshop), D. Evans (Writing Workshop), D. Faulkner (Writing Workshop), K. Hjortshoj (Writing in the Majors), J. Martin (Writing Workshop), J. Pierpont (Writing Workshop), E. Shapiro (Writing in the Majors).
The John S. Knight Institute helps to coordinate the teaching of writing in all undergraduate schools and colleges (the School of Industrial and Labor Relations; the School of Hotel Administration; and the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Architecture, Art, and Planning; Arts and Sciences; Engineering; and Human Ecology). The program administers writing seminars for first-year and upperclass students, discipline-based seminars in its Writing in the Majors Program, tutorial writing classes, and seminars in the teaching of writing. More than 30 academic departments and programs participate in the program.
For first-year students the Institute offers the First-Year Writing Seminars—more than 125 different courses in the humanities, social sciences, expressive arts, and sciences. Through introductory work in a particular field of study, seminars help students write good English expository prose—prose that, at its best, is characterized by clarity, coherence, intellectual force, and stylistic control. All seminars pursue this common aim through small classes and adherence to a program-wide set of guidelines:
• Seminars should require at least six—and at most nine—formal essays on new topics, totaling 25–30 pages of polished prose.
• No fewer than three of the six to nine required essays should go through a process of development under the instructor’s guidance (e.g., revision, peer review, responses to readings, conferences).
• All seminars should spend ample classroom time on work directly related to writing.
• Reading assignments in the course subject should be kept under ca. 75 pages per week to permit regular, concentrated work on writing.
• All students should meet in at least two individual conferences with the instructor.
Offerings change from semester to semester. Each semester’s First-Year Writing Seminars are described on the web at https://fws.arts.cornell.edu.
First-Year Writing Seminars aim to ensure that students will enjoy the benefits of small classes. Instead of pre-enrolling in their writing courses, students request placement in one of five writing seminars by filling out an electronic ballot in August for the fall semester and in November for the spring semester. Over 90 percent receive one of their top three choices. After placement by ballot, students may change their writing seminars via electronic add and drop. Writing seminars may be added only during the first two weeks of each semester.
The colleges and the schools served by the Institute accept First-Year Writing Seminars in fulfillment of their individual graduation requirements in categories referred to variously as “first-year writing,” “oral and written expression,” and the like. The Institute does not decide whether students may graduate: it makes courses available. Individual colleges and schools administer their own graduation requirements.
Currently, most undergraduate students are required to take two First-Year Writing Seminars. Architecture majors, however, need only one. Hotel students fulfill their requirement in one semester, through HADM 1165 in one semester plus one First-Year Writing Seminar in the other. Agriculture and Life Sciences students can take First-Year Writing Seminars or choose from among a variety of other courses to fulfill their requirement.
All students who score 5 on the Princeton Advanced Placement Examination in English receive 3 credits. Such credits are awarded automatically; no application to the John S. Knight Institute or the Department of English is necessary. How these credits may be applied to first-year writing or other distribution requirements depends on the student’s college and score. All students who score 5, except Architecture majors, may apply their 3 credits toward the writing requirements of their college. Of students who score 4, only Agriculture and Life Sciences students may apply their 3 credits toward the writing requirements of their college. Students should always consult their college registrars to be certain that they understand their writing requirements.
Students who have already taken a First-Year Writing Seminar, or who score 4 or 5 on the Princeton AP exam, or 700 or better on the English Composition or CEEB tests, may enroll, space permitting, in the following upper-level First-Year Writing Seminars: ENGL 2700, 2710, or 2720.
Although there are no exemptions from college writing requirements, some students may fulfill all or part of their college’s writing requirement through transfer credits or writing-course substitutions.
For work done at other institutions to be accepted as equivalent to First-Year Writing Seminars, students should demonstrate that they have done a reasonably equivalent amount of writing in a formal course (e.g., it is not sufficient to write one 30-page term paper.) Students in the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences must file an “application for transfer evaluation” to request writing credit for such courses; students in other colleges should consult their college registrars.
In unusual circumstances, upper-level students may petition to use a Cornell writing course other than a First-Year Writing Seminar to satisfy part of their writing requirement. The John S. Knight Institute must approve all such petitions in advance.
For information about the requirements for First-Year Writing Seminars and descriptions of seminar offerings, see the John S. Knight Institute web site at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute.
Helps students write with more confidence and skill in all disciplines. Open to Cornell sophomores, juniors, and seniors, ENGL 2880–2890 courses explore themes shaped by a genre or use of expository writing, by the common concerns of several disciplines, or by an interdisciplinary topic intimately related to the written medium. Although English department instructors make up roughly half the staff, the Knight Institute’s involvement enables the course to extend and diversify its offerings in separately defined, 16-member sections that appeal to the varied interests and needs of students in many areas of study. Students may choose among a variety of sections focusing on such themes as “Teens Gone Wild: The Invention of Adolescence,” “Free Speech in the 21st Century,” and “TV Nation: Television and Identity in America.” All staff are selected because their special interests and their training and experience in First-Year Writing Seminars promise original course design and superior performance.
Spanning the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, the Knight Institute’s upper-level, Writing in the Majors courses do not satisfy formal writing requirements, and faculty participation is entirely voluntary. While all Writing in the Majors courses include extensive writing, usually with guided revision, they also emphasize other forms of active, interactive learning essential to scholarship and careers in the disciplines. Writing in the Majors initiatives have included individual and collaborative research projects, collaborative writing, oral presentations, group oral exams, field studies, authentic student-designed laboratory experiments, debates, analytical and critical reading exercises, topical symposia, conversation groups, student-led discussions, poster sessions, and many kinds of informal writing, including online exchanges. Varying radically in design and size, from enrollments of fewer than 10 students to more than 300, Writing in the Majors courses over the past 20 years have involved collaboration with 150 faculty members and more than 250 graduate teaching assistants to enrich learning in 75 upper-level courses offered in 24 departments. Since 2007–2008, the Knight Institute has substantially increased the number of Writing in the Majors courses offered at the 2000 level. These courses are intended to provide students who are still in the early stages of their academic careers with opportunities to engage with disciplinary subject matter through writing.
Writing outreach has become an increasingly important feature of writing programs in various campuses. Cornell’s rich opportunities in service learning are formed on the assumption that learning by doing has a valid place in a university curriculum; they include volunteer activities and for-credit courses that span colleges and departments, as well as a concentration in Public Service Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Public Service Center. The courses listed below all concern writing as an interaction with community members outside Cornell, in the form of oral interviews, mentoring, or other collaborative work. For other writing courses with outreach components, see the First-Year Writing Seminar WRIT 1400 Common Ground: Cornell and Ithaca Students in Collaboration and ENGL 2890.106 Fieldwriting: Telling Community Stories, a section of ENGL 2890 Expository Writing. For opportunities to receive training and practice as a writing tutor working with Cornell undergrads, contact Tracy Hamler Carrick, director of the Writing Walk-In Service.
Each summer and fall, the institute offers instruction in the teaching of writing to new staff members in the First-Year Writing Seminars and other interested instructors. Teaching Writing, offered in the summer or fall, is primarily a course for graduate students. The program also sponsors a summer apprenticeship program for a limited number of graduate students, and a summer seminar for faculty members interested in the teaching of writing.
The John S. Knight Institute offers “An Introduction to Writing in the University” for first-year students (or transfer students needing writing credit) through the Writing Workshop. This course is designed for students who have had little training in composition or who have serious difficulty with writing assignments.
WRIT 1370 and 1380 are graded S–U only, and students receiving a grade of S are granted credit toward their college writing requirements. Students who think this course might be appropriate including non-native speakers of English scoring less than 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) should attend the assessment sessions offered by the Writing Workshop during orientation week each fall. The workshop also offers a Walk-In Service (see below) to help students work on writing assignments. The director is Joe Martin, senior lecturer in the Writing Workshop. The workshop offices are in 174 Rockefeller Hall, 255-6349.
Through the Writing Walk-In Service, the Writing Workshop offers tutoring assistance in writing to any student who needs help with a writing project. The Writing Walk-In Service has tutors available during the academic year in 174 Rockefeller Hall and North and West Campus residential areas. The director is Tracy Carrick. For information, contact the Writing Workshop, 174 Rockefeller Hall, 255–6349.
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
190 Uris Hall
Debra Ann Castillo, Romance Studies; Comparative Literature, Director, Latin American Studies; Lourdes Benería, City and Regional Planning; David Block, Library; Bruno Bosteels, Romance Studies; Maria Lorena Cook, ILR, Collective Bargaining; Law and History; Raymond Craib, History; Martin De Santos, Development Sociology; Maria Fernandez, History of Art; Gary Fields, International Labor Relations; Economics; Gustavo Flores-Macias, Development Sociology; Maria Antonia Garcés, Romance Studies; Maria Cristina García, History; Frederic Gleach, Anthropology; William W. Goldsmith, City and Regional Planning; Angela Gonzales, Development Sociology; John S. Henderson, Anthropology; Luz Horne, Romance Studies; Eduardo Iñigo-Elias, Laboratory of Ornithology; Steven Kyle, Applied Economics and Management; Cecilia Lawless, Romance Studies; Luis Morato-Peña, Romance Studies; Jura Oliveira, Romance Studies; Pilar Parra, Human Ecology, Nutritional Science; Edmundo Paz Soldán, Romance Studies; Pedro David Perez, Applied Economics and Management; Mary Kay Redmond, Romance Studies; Kenneth Roberts, Government; Eloy Rodriguez, Plant Biology; Jeannine Routier-Pucci, Romance Studies; Arturo Sanchez, City and Regional Planning; Vilma Santiago-Irizarry, Anthropology; Rebecca Stoltzfus, Nutrition; Monroe Weber-Shirk, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Stephen Younger, Human Ecology Nutritional Science.
Cornell’s Latin American Studies Program (LASP), founded in 1961, has become one of the nation’s premier Latin American centers. Today, as part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, LASP provides a focus for all activities on the Cornell campus oriented toward Latin America. Latin Americanists are active in most of Cornell’s colleges and schools, with diverse strengths including agricultural sciences, anthropology, art history, city and regional planning, government, history, labor relations, languages, literature and nutrition.
LASP’s mission is to stimulate learning about Latin America by supporting Cornell’s Latin America curriculum; nurturing faculty and student research; sponsoring events on and off campus; sponsoring visiting scholars from Latin America; and establishing relationships with universities and other institutions in Latin America. LASP offers a minor in Latin American Studies for undergraduate and graduate students, fellowships, summer programs, and more.
The undergraduate minor in Latin American Studies is earned with a minimum of 15 credits in Latin American Studies courses and with acquired facility in Spanish or Portuguese. Language facility is demonstrated by successful completion of SPAN 2190 or PORT 2190 or the equivalent. Course selections must represent at least three fields, including one at an advanced level. The complete list of approved courses is available at http://einaudi.cornell.edu/academics. This list includes all LATA courses and others across colleges and schools with at least 50 percent Latin American content.
434 Rockefeller Hall
The Latino Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Latino studies, with courses drawn from history, sociology, anthropology, literature, and language, but the program also cross-lists courses from other colleges.
• To complete the minor, students must take at least five courses (a minimum of 15 credits) in Latino Studies, including a core course, Latinos in the United States (DSOC 2650, LSP 2010, and SOC 2650), which is offered each spring semester.
• Students are required to include at least three courses from Groups I and II (one from each group, and another from either group). Of the three courses, two must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.
One elective course (see list below) can count toward the minor. Courses must be completed with a letter grade of C or above. Independent studies and first-year writing seminars do not count toward minor requirements. The list varies each semester in accordance with faculty schedules and visiting appointments.
LSP 2250 The United States–Mexico Border: History, Culture, Representation (also AMST/HIST 2250)
LSP 2400 Intro to Latina/o Literature (also AMST 2401, ENGL 2400)
LSP 2460 Contemporary Narratives by Latina Writers (also FGSS/SPAN 2460)
LSP 2480 Poetry of the Latina/o Experience (also SPAN 2480)
LSP 2600 Latinos in the United States: Colonial Period to 1898 (also AMST 2599, HIST 2600)
LSP 2610 Latinos in the United States: 1898 to the Present (also AMST/HIST 2610)
LSP 2640 Survey in U.S.–Latino Literature (also AMST 2641, ENGL 2640)
LSP 3930 Contemporary Latino Writers (also SPAN 3930)
LSP 3980 Latina/o Popular Culture (also AMST 3981, ENGL 3780)
LSP 4130 Classics of Latina/o Literature (also SPAN 4130)
LSP 4301 Queering Latinidad (also ENGL/AMST 4301)
LSP 4620 Senior Seminar in Latina/o Studies: Chicana Feminism in a Globalizing World (also ENGL 4620)
LSP 2010 Latinos in the United States (also DSOC/SOC 2650)
LSP 2200 Sociology of Health and Ethnic Minorities (also DSOC 2200)
LSP 2300 Latino Communities (also AMST/DSOC 2300)
LSP 2721 Anthropological Representation: Ethnographies on Latino Culture (also AMST/ANTHR 2721)
LSP 3180/ Politics of Community Development:
5180 Transnational Latinos and the U.S. City (also CRP 3180/5180)
LSP 3550 Latinos, Law, and Identity (also AMST/DSOC 3550)
LSP 3750 Comparative U.S. Racial and Ethnic Relations (also AMST/DSOC 3750)
LSP 3760/ Latino/Latin American Cities (also
6760 CRP 3760/6760)
LSP 3777 The United States (also AMST/ANTHR 3777)
LSP 3950/ Immigrant Entrepreneurship
6590 (also CRP 3111/6111)
LSP 4032 Immigration and Politics (also AMST/GOVT 4032)
LSP 4310/ Migrant Workers (also HIST
6310 4310/6310, ILRCB 4020)
LSP 4510 Multicultural Issues in Education (also AMST/EDUC 4510)
LSP 6101 Political Identity: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism (also GOVT 6101)
LSP 6424 Ethnoracial Identity in Anthropology, Language, and Law (also ANTHR/AMST 6424, LAW 7231)
LSP 6460 Latino Language, Ideology, and Practice (also ANTHR 6460)
LSP 1101 Research Strategies in Latino and Africana Studies (also ASRC 1900)
LSP 1110 American Diversity: The 20th Century (also AAS/AMST 1110, HIST 1610)
LSP 1301 Introduction to World Music I: Africa and the Americas (also MUSIC 1301)
LSP 2020 Spanish for English–Spanish Bilinguals (also SPAN 2000)
LSP 2410 Immigration and Ethnicity in 20th-Century United States (also AMST/HIST 2400)
LSP 3110 Social Movements (also AIS/DSOC 3110)
LSP 3191 Racial and Ethnic Politics in the United States (also AMST/GOVT 3191)
LSP 3551 Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art (also ARTH 3550, LATA 3680)
LSP 4050/6050 U.S.–Cuba Relations (also AMST/HIST/LATA 4050/6050)
LSP 4230 Borders (also COML 4230, SPAN 4900)
LSP 4850 Immigration: History, Theory, Practice (also AMST/HIST 4850)
LSP 4851 Refugees (also HIST/AMST 4851)
ART 2170 Art and the Multicultural Experience
Other elective courses will be determined each semester.
The Latino Studies Program at Cornell offers Latino Studies as a minor field in graduate studies. Graduate students select a faculty member from the field of Latino Studies to serve as a minor member on their special committee. Faculty expertise spans multiple fields, including anthropology, history, literature, law, sociology, government, education, planning, and human development, enabling students to develop programs that meet their specific interests.
Requirements: Students wishing to complete a graduate minor in Latino Studies need to formally register with the Latino Studies Program office, take an upper-level seminar as well as work intensively with a faculty member outside of their major field. Over the course of their study they will be expected to take two other Latino Studies graduate or advanced undergraduate courses outside of their major field. In lieu of available courses, the student and his or her minor field advisor might design a special project that culminates in a paper given at a conference or presented for publication. Each special project will require the approval of the director of graduate studies for the minor field.
http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/fields.php?id=MF
The Latino Studies Program library in 432 Rockefeller Hall serves Cornell students, faculty, staff, and the wider local community. The library maintains print and media material pertinent to U.S. Latino issues including a collection of books, research material, archives, and films. The library and conference room also provide meeting space for more than 25 Latino student organizations.
Co-directors: M. Lynch (science and technology studies), 302 Rockefeller Hall, 255-7294, mel27@cornell.edu, and R. Lieberwitz (ILR), 287A Ives Hall, 255-3289, rll5@cornell.edu
Advisers: G. Alexander (law), E. Anker (English), D. Dunning (psychology), M. Evangelista (government), C. Grumbach (Ethics & Public Life Program), G. Hay (law), S. Hilgartner (science and technology studies), P. Hyams (history), M. Karns ILR), M. Katzenstein (government), R. Miller (philosophy), M. B. Norton (history), D. Powers (Near East studies), A. Riles (law), V. Santiago-Irizarry (anthropology), Erin Taylor (Philosophy).
The Law and Society minor provides an opportunity for focused study of the interaction between law and society from an interdisciplinary perspective predominantly rooted in the social sciences and humanities: anthropology, comparative literature, economics, government, history, philosophy, psychology, science and technology studies, and sociology.
The Law and Society minor is open to all undergraduates. Though many of those who register for the minor have intentions of going on to law school or a law-related profession, Law and Society is not designed as a minor only for students interested in entering law school. The best candidates for the Law and Society minor are students interested in broader relations between legal institutions and historical and contemporary societies. This broader topic is, and should be, of interest to many students, regardless of whether they intend to enter the legal profession. A large selection of courses and on-campus events is available for completing the minor. The benefits of a student’s participation depend on the particular courses and events selected, and the effort and interest invested.
To allow sufficient time for a coherent program of study to be developed and completed, students who have an interest in the law and society minor are required to register before the start of the second semester of their junior year. Under extenuating circumstances, late registrations may be accepted at the discretion of the directors, but only if the registrant has a plan already formulated for completing the minor’s requirements. Late registrants can use the standard online registration form but should also submit the online completion plan at the time of registration. Information about, and forms required for, the law and society minor can be found at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/epl/lawsociety.htm. As part of the registration process, each student is assigned a law and society adviser who is available to provide guidance with course selection and help with other questions or concerns related to the student’s participation in the minor. The name and contact information of the assigned adviser are included in a welcome e-mail that is sent shortly after a student’s registration form is received.
Many students find access to and participation in law and society events a particularly beneficial component of the minor. Officially registered law and society students are notified of qualifying events (usually at least 10 per semester) and other information related to the concentration through an e-mail listserve and postings outside the Ethics and Public Life office. Between registration and graduation, students must attend a minimum of four events (signature on official sign-in sheets is the required proof of attendance for credit); students seeking a broader perspective are encouraged to attend as many events as they can.
Law and society is an interdisciplinary minor requiring students to successfully complete four courses (at least 12 credits) from the approved course list, earning a letter grade no lower than C+ in each (C– for appropriate courses completed before the spring 2008 semester). Students registering for law and society after the conclusion of the spring 2008 semester will be required to select one course each from four (out of five) different categories of study. At least two courses must fall outside the student’s major, and no more than two courses can be in the same subject area, the only exception being cross-listed courses, which may be counted in any of the departments listed. Appropriate courses taken before registering for the law and society minor can be counted toward the four-course requirement. There are no required courses, but past students have found GOVT 3131 and PSYCH 2650 particularly relevant. For the most current list of approved courses, please consult the Law and Society web page or contact the EPL office.
At the discretion of the law and society directors, permission may be granted to substitute an appropriate course that has been:
1. accepted from another educational institution toward the student’s degree program (one course maximum)
2. taken as part of a semester abroad program and approved by Cornell for course credit
3. recently added to the Cornell curriculum
The best evidence of a course’s appropriateness is the syllabus, which is often available online and can be submitted electronically to epl@cornell.edu for a determination. Petitions for course substitutions should be submitted before the student’s final semester and include identification of a course already approved that is closest in content to the course being petitioned for approval.
To facilitate tracking of courses taken and events attended, a printable student progress record is available on the Law and Society web page. By the end of the student’s next-to-last semester before graduation, the course and event information from the student progress record is to be submitted electronically using the online Completion Plan.
The law and society minor is administered by the Ethics and Public Life (EPL) office. For more information, consult http://www.arts.cornell.edu/epl/lawsociety.htm or contact the EPL administrative assistant at 218 Goldwin Smith Hall, epl@cornell.edu, 255-8515.
Lh2>LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER STUDIESS. Bem, B. Correll, I. DeVault, J. Frank, J. E. Gainor, S. Haenni, E. Hanson, C. Howie, I. V. Hull, P. Hyams, M. Katzenstein, P. Liu, T. Loos, K. March, C. A. Martin, K. McCullough, T. Murray, M. B. Norton, J. Peraino, M. Raskolnikov, N. Salvato, R. Savin-Williams, A. M. Smith, A. Villarejo, S. Warner, R. Weil
The field of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Studies is devoted to the interdisciplinary study of the social construction of sexuality. LGBT Studies is founded on the premise that the social organization of sexuality is best studied from the perspectives offered by those positions that have been excluded from established cultural norms.
In addition to offering a graduate minor, the field of LGBT Studies offers an undergraduate minor, which is administered under the auspices of Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (FGSS) and which consists of four courses from the list below. Although most of the courses in LGBT Studies (including those on men) generally fall under the aegis of FGSS and are hence crosslisted with it, not all of the courses in FGSS are sufficiently focused enough on the social construction of sexuality per se to be part of the LGBT Studies minor. In order to qualify for the minor, courses must devote a significant portion of their time to sexuality and to questioning the cultural and historical institution of exclusive heterosexuality. Students selecting their four courses from the LGBT Studies subset must identify their minor as either LGBT Studies or FGSS; they cannot double-count their credits and thereby use the same courses for both minors.
Students interested in the LGBT Studies minor should contact the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Studies Office in 391 Uris Hall.
ling.cornell.edu
J. Whitman, chair (209 Morrill Hall); M. Weiss, director of graduate studies (218 Morrill Hall); W. Harbert, director of undergraduate studies (210 Morrill Hall); D. Abusch, J. Bowers, W. Browne, A. Cohn, M. Diesing, J. Hale, S. Hertz, A. Nussbaum, M. Rooth, C. Rosen, M. Wagner, D. Zec. Visiting: S. Khan.
Linguistics, the systematic study of human language, lies at the crossroads of the humanities and the social sciences, and much of its appeal derives from the special combination of intuition and rigor that the analysis of language demands. The interests of the members of the Department of Linguistics and linguistic colleagues in other departments span most of the major subfields of linguistics: phonetics and phonology, the study of speech sounds; syntax, the study of how words are combined; semantics, the study of meaning; historical linguistics, the study of language change over time; and sociolinguistics, the study of language’s role in social and cultural interactions.
Studying linguistics is not a matter of studying many languages. Linguistics is a theoretical discipline with ties to such areas as cognitive psychology, philosophy, logic, computer science, and anthropology. Nonetheless, knowing particular languages (e.g., Spanish or Japanese) in some depth can enhance understanding of the general properties of human language. Not surprisingly, then, many students of linguistics owe their initial interest to a period of exposure to a foreign language, and those who come to linguistics by some other route find their knowledge about languages enriched and are often stimulated to embark on further foreign language study.
Students interested in learning more about linguistics and its relationship to other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences are encouraged to take LING 1101, a general overview, which is a prerequisite for most other courses in the field, or one of the first-year writing seminars offered in linguistics (on topics such as metaphor and the science of language). LING 1101 and other introductory courses fulfill the social science distribution requirement. Most 1100- and 2200-level courses have no prerequisites and cover various topics in linguistics (e.g., LING 1170 Introduction to Cognitive Science; LING 2285 Linguistic Theory and Poetic Structure) or focus on the linguistics of a particular geographic region or historical development of particular languages (e.g., LING 2217 History of the English Language to 1300; LING 2241 Yiddish Linguistics). Some of these courses also fulfill the breadth requirements.
Talks and discussions about linguistics are offered through the Undergraduate Linguistics Forum and the Linguistics Colloquium (sponsored by the department and the Cornell Linguistic Circle). These meetings are open to the university public and anyone wishing to learn more about linguistics is most welcome to attend.
For questions regarding the linguistics major, contact Professor Wayne Harbert (210 Morrill Hall, 255–8441, weh2@cornell.edu).
The prerequisite for a major in linguistics is the completion of LING 1101 and either LING 3301, 3302, 3303, or 3304. The major has its own language requirement, different from that of the College of Arts and Sciences, which should be completed as early as possible: majors must complete the equivalent of two semesters of college-level study of a language that is either non-European or non–Indo-European (language study undertaken to satisfy the college requirement can also count toward the major requirement if the language meets these conditions). With approval of the department’s director of undergraduate studies, this requirement may be waived for students taking the cognitive studies concentration or a double major. The minimum acceptable grade in courses counted toward the major is C.
The other standard requirements for the linguistics major are as follows:
1. LING 3301 Introduction to Phonetics, LING 3302 Introduction to Phonology, LING 3303 Introduction to Syntax, and LING 3304 Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics (one of which will already have been taken as a prerequisite to the major).
2. LING 3314 Historical Linguistics.
3. Three additional courses in linguistics at the 3300 or 4400 level, of which two must be general linguistics.
4. A course at or beyond the 3300 level in the structure of a language, or LING 3300 Field Methods for Undergraduates or LING 4400 Language Typology.
Some substitutions to these standard requirements are possible after consultation with your advisor and approval by the DUS.
Applications for honors should be made during the junior year or by the start of fall semester of the senior year. For further information, please contact the DUS. Candidates for admission must have a 3.0 (B) average overall and should have a 3.5 average in linguistics courses. In addition to the regular requirements of the major, the candidate for honors will complete an honors thesis and take a final oral exam in defense of it. The thesis is usually written during the senior year but may be started in the second semester of the junior year when the student’s program so warrants. The oral exam will be conducted by the honors committee, consisting of the thesis advisor and at least one other faculty member in linguistics. Members of other departments may serve as additional members if the topic makes this advisable. LING 4493 and 4494 may be taken in conjunction with thesis research and writing but are not required.
For descriptions, consult the John S. Knight brochure for times, instructors, and descriptions.
L. Saloff-Coste, chair; A. Back, D. Barbasch, Y. Berest, L. Billera, K. Brown, X. Cao, R. Connelly, R. K. Dennis, R. Durrett, E. Dynkin, A. Frohmader, L. Gross, J. Guckenheimer, A. Hatcher, D. Henderson, T. Holm, J. Hubbard, M. Huntley, J. Hwang, Y. Ilyashenko, P. Kahn, M. Kassabov, B. Khoussainov, A. Knutson, T. Matsamura, G. Michler, F. Moore, J. Moore, C. Muscalu, A. Nerode, E. Nevo, M. Nussbaum, I. Peeva, R. Ramakrishna, T. Riley, A. Schatz, S. Sen, R. A. Shore, R. Sjamaar (DGS), J. Smillie, B. Speh, M. E. Stillman, R. Strichartz, E. Swartz, M. Terrell, R. Terrell, W. Thurston, R. Vale, A. Vladimirsky, K. Vogtmann, L. Wahlbin (DUS), J. West. Emeritus: J. Bramble, S. Chase, M. Cohen, C. Earle, R. Farrell, H. Kesten, G. R. Livesay, M. Morley, L. E. Payne, M. Sweedler
Mathematics is the language of modern science; basic training in the discipline is essential for those who want to understand, as well as for those who want to take part in, the important scientific developments of our time. Acquaintance with mathematics is also extremely useful for students in the social sciences and valuable for anyone interested in the full range of human culture and the ways of knowing the universe in which we live.
The Department of Mathematics faculty has strong groups specializing in algebra, number theory, combinatorics, real and complex analysis, Lie groups, topology and geometry, logic, probability and statistics, mathematical physics, and applied mathematics. Related departments at Cornell have specialists in computer science and operations research. Courses in these topics can be integrated readily into the mathematics major.
The department offers a rich variety of undergraduate courses, and many of its beginning graduate courses are suitable for advanced undergraduates as well. Under some conditions, a student may carry out an independent reading and research project for college credit under the supervision of a faculty member.
Members of the department are available to discuss with students the appropriate course for their levels of ability and interest, and students are urged to avail themselves of this help. Students who want to take any of the courses numbered 3000 or above are invited to confer with the instructor before enrolling.
The first digit of the course number indicates the level of the course: roughly, 1 and 2 indicate underclass courses; 3 and 4, upperclass courses; 5, professional-level and mathematics education courses; 6 and 7, graduate courses. Within the MATH subject area, the second digit often indicates the subject matter: 0, general; 1 and 2, analysis; 3 and 4, algebra and combinatorics; 5 and 6, topology and geometry; 7, probability and statistics; 8, logic; 9, other.
In the MATH subject area, conversion of course numbers from the old 3-digit system to the new 4-digit system was accomplished in most cases by adding a 0 as the 4th digit. Exceptions are as follows:
MATH 005 becomes 1005,
MATH 006 becomes 1006,
MATH 011 becomes 1011,
MATH 012 becomes 1012,
MATH 103 becomes 1300,
MATH 105 becomes 1105,
MATH 106 becomes 1106,
MATH 109 becomes 1009.
Freshmen who have had some calculus should carefully read “Advanced Placement,” p. X. Those who have not taken an advanced placement exam should take a placement test at Cornell during fall orientation. For guidance in selecting an appropriate course, please consult First Steps in Math, published on the Mathematics Department web site (http://www.math.cornell.edu) under “Courses.”
The mathematics major adapts to a number of purposes. It can emphasize the theoretical or the applied. It can be appropriate for professionals and nonprofessionals alike, and can be broad or narrow. It can also be combined easily with serious study in another subject in the physical, biological, or social sciences by means of a double major and/or concentration. (See “Double Majors” below for more information.) Questions concerning the major should be brought to a member of the Mathematics Major Committee.
Prerequisites
Students are admitted to the major after successfully completing a semester of multivariable calculus and a semester of linear algebra. The department recommends either MATH 2210–2220 or 2230–2240 with grades of B– or better. Alternative prerequisites are MATH 1920 and 2940 with grades of B– or better or MATH 2130 and 2310 with grades of B+ or better. A 3- or 4-credit computer programming course with a grade of C– or better is also required for acceptance to the major. Eligible courses include: CS 1110, 1112, 1113, 1114, and 2110.
Requirements
Students must complete nine courses, as described in items 1–3 below, under the following constraints:
• At least two of the MATH courses taken must be at the 4000 level (or above). (Students graduating before May 2011 are exempt from this constraint.)
• A course may be counted toward the major only if it is taken for a letter grade and a grade of C– or better is received for the course.
• No course may be used to satisfy more than one requirement for the major.
• 2-credit courses count as half courses.
• 5000-level MATH courses do not count toward the major.
Major advisors may make adjustments to the major requirements upon request from an advisee, provided the intent of the requirements is met. In particular, many suitable graduate courses are not listed here.
1. Two courses in algebra. Eligible courses are: MATH 4310 or 4330; MATH 4320 or 4340; MATH 4370; MATH 4500; MATH 3320; MATH 3360.
2. Two courses in analysis. Eligible courses are: MATH 3110, 3210, 3230, 4130, 4140, 4180, 4200, 4220, 4240, 4250 (also CS 4210), 4260 (also CS 4220), 4280.
3. Five further high-level mathematical courses. The seven alternatives (a–g) below do not exhaust the possibilities. A mathematics major interested in a concentration in a subject different from those below may develop a suitable individual program in consultation with his or her major advisor.
a. Concentration in Mathematics:
i. Four additional MATH courses numbered 3000 or above. For students graduating in May 2011 or later, at least one of the four courses must be among the following geometry/topology courses: MATH 3560, 4500, 4510, 4520, 4530, 4540, 4550.
ii. One course dealing with mathematical models. Any course from outside mathematics with serious mathematical content and dealing with scientific matters. Serious mathematical content includes, but is not limited to, extensive use of calculus or linear algebra. Eligible courses include any course from another department that would satisfy one of the concentrations, as well as CS 2110, MATH 3840/PHIL 3300, MATH 4810/PHIL 4310, MATH 4820/PHIL 4311, MATH 4830/PHIL 4312, PHYS 1116, PHYS 2208, PHYS 2213, and PHYS 2217. Other 1000-level physics courses and PHYS 2207 may be used, but some courses in other fields may be accepted.
b. Concentration in Computer Science: Five additional courses from (iii) and (iv) below, of which at least one is from (iii) and three are from (iv).
iii. Mathematics courses numbered 3000 or above.
iv. Computer science courses with significant mathematical content. Eligible courses are: CS 3220, 3810, 4110, 4210 (also MATH 4250), 4220 (also MATH 4260), 4520, 4620, 4700, 4702, 4740, 4780, 4782, 4812, 4820, 4830, 4850, and 4860.
c. Concentration in Economics: Five additional courses from (v), (vi), and (vii) below, as follows: one course from (v), three courses from (vi), and a fifth course from any of (v), (vi), or (vii).
v. Mathematics courses numbered 3000 or above.
vi. Economics courses with significant mathematical content. Eligible courses are: ECON 3190/6190, 3200/6200, 3250, 3270, 3680, 4160, 4190, 4760/6760, 4770/6770, 6090, 6100, 6110, 6130, 6140, 7170, 7180, 7480, 7490, 7560. Only two of the econometrics courses (3200/6200, 3250, 3270, 7480, 7490) are allowed.
vii. Courses in operations research with significant mathematical content and dealing with material of interest in economics. Eligible courses are: ORIE 3300, 3310, 4320, 4350, 4600, 4710, 4740, 5600 and 5610.
d. Concentration in Mathematical Biology: Five additional courses from (viii) and (ix) below, with three courses from (viii) and two courses from (ix).
viii. Biology courses that have mathematical content or provide background necessary for work at the interface between biology and mathematics. Eligible courses are: BIOEE/MATH 3620, BIOEE 4600, BIONB 4220, BTRY 4080, 4090, 4820, 4830, 4840.
ix. Mathematics courses numbered above 3000. Particularly appropriate are MATH 4200 and 4710.
e. Concentration in Mathematical Physics: Five additional courses from (x) and (xi) below, of which at least one is from (x) and three are from (xi).
x. Mathematics courses in analysis, geometry, algebra and combinatorics, probability and statistics, and mathematical logic. Eligible courses are: MATH 3110, 3210, 3230, 4010, 4130, 4140, 4200, 4180 or 4220, 4240, 4250 (also CS 4210), 426 (also CS 4220), 4280, 4310 or 4330, 4320 or 4340, 4370, 4410, 4420, 4500, 4510, 4520, 4530, 4540, 4550, 4710, 4720, 4810, 4820, 4830, 4860.
xi. Physics courses that make significant use of advanced mathematics. Eligible courses are: PHYS 3314, 3316, 3318, 3323, 3327, 3341, 4443, 4444, 4445, 4454, 4455, 4480, 4481.
f. Concentration in Operations Research: Five additional courses from (xii) and (xiii) below, of which at least one is from (xii) and three are from (xiii).
xii. Mathematics courses numbered 3000 or above.
xiii. Courses in operations research in which the primary focus involves mathematical techniques. Eligible courses are: ORIE 3300, 3310, 3500, 3510, 4150, 4300, 4320, 4330, 4350, 4360, 4370, 4520, 4540, 4600, 4630, 4710, 4740, 4850, 5600, 5610, and 5640.
g. Concentration in Statistics: Five additional courses from (xiv), (xv), and (xvi) below, which include both from (xv) and at least two from (xvi). (MATH 1710 is also recommended for students who have not had experience with real-world data, although it will not count toward any of the math major requirements. It should be taken or audited before or concurrent with MATH 4710.)
xiv. Mathematics courses numbered 3000 or above.
xv. MATH 4710 and 4720.
xvi. Courses in other departments with significant content in probability and statistics, complementing (xiv). Eligible courses are: BTRY 3020, 4820, 6020, 6030, 6040; CS 4782; ORIE 3510, 4520, 4540, 4600, 4630, 4710 (half course), 4740, 5600, 5610; ILRST 3120, 4100, 4110; and ECON 3200.
Double Majors
A double major with computer science, economics, or physics can be facilitated by the corresponding concentrations described above. The Departments of Computer Science and Economics permit double majors to use courses in the corresponding concentrations to satisfy the requirements of both majors. The Physics Department also permits double counting, but only if the student completes the physics major with an inside concentration. Students should consult the appropriate departments for any further conditions.
Senior Thesis
A senior thesis can form a valuable part of a student’s experience in the mathematics major. It is intended to allow students to conduct an in-depth investigation not possible in regular course work. The work should be independent and creative. It can involve the solution of a serious mathematics problem, or it can be an expository work, or variants of these. Conducting independent research, paying careful attention to exposition in the finished written product, and the delivery of an optional oral presentation can have a lasting positive impact on a student’s educational and professional future.
Honors
The Department of Mathematics awards honors (cum laude) and high honors (magna cum laude and summa cum laude) to graduating mathematics majors who have performed outstandingly in the major program.
The awards are determined by the Mathematics Major Committee in the latter part of the semester before graduation. The committee will primarily be looking for excellent performance in mathematics courses, particularly in challenging courses at the 4000 level or beyond. Participation in the honors seminar (MATH 4010) for one semester, or independent study at a high performance level can also contribute to honors. Students interested in any level of honors should consult their major advisors or a member of the Mathematics Major Committee concerning suitable courses. Outstanding performance in graduate classes or an excellent senior thesis can contribute to high honors.
For information on the various possibilities for students considering teaching mathematics in schools, go to http://www.math.cornell.edu/Undergraduate/Teaching.
Students who need to take Calculus I (MATH 1106 or 1110) but are lacking the necessary prerequisites may take MATH 1000, MATH 1009, or BTRY 1150 to prepare. These courses do not carry credit toward graduation in the Arts College.
Students should consult their advisors and keep major prerequisites in mind when planning a suitable program. The following are general recommendations.
1. Students who expect to major in mathematics or a science for which a strong math background is recommended, should take MATH 1110–1120 or MATH 1110–1220 and continue with MATH 2210–2220 or 2230–2240. (MATH 1910 may be substituted for MATH 1120.)
2. Students who have an aversion to mathematical theory might be happier with MATH 1910–1920–2930–2940, MATH 1110–1120–2130, or MATH 1110–2310.
3. MATH 1910–1920–2930–2940 is required for students in the engineering college and recommended by some advisors in fields strongly related to the mathematical and physical sciences, such as astronomy, computer science, physics, and physical chemistry.
4. MATH 1110–1120–2130 is a good choice for students who need to master the basic techniques of calculus but whose majors will not require a substantial amount of mathematics, including chemistry and economics majors.
5. MATH 1110–2310 is an option for students who need some linear algebra but not a full year of calculus.
Switching between calculus sequences is often difficult, especially at the 2000 level. Students should not attempt such a switch without consulting the director of undergraduate studies.
Students who will take no more than two semesters of mathematics can gain a broader view of the subject by taking one semester of calculus and one non-calculus mathematics course. The following options are particularly useful for students in the life and social sciences and will satisfy the mathematics requirement for most medical schools.
1. MATH 1105–1106 provides a one-year introduction to the mathematical topics that are most useful to biologists and social scientists. (MATH 1110 may be substituted for MATH 1106.)
2. An introductory statistics course (MATH 1710, for example), taken before or after a semester of calculus (MATH 1106 or MATH 1110), teaches students how to work with data and can be more useful in some disciplines than a second semester of calculus.
Students who want two semesters of calculus are advised to take the first two semesters of one of the calculus sequences, but students with excellent performance in MATH 1106 may follow that course with MATH 1120 or 1220.
Because the department offers many courses with overlapping content, students must choose their courses carefully to ensure that they will receive credit for each course they take. Listed below are groups of courses that have similar content. Students will receive credit for only one of the courses in each group.
MATH 1106, 1110
MATH 1120, 1220, 1910
MATH 1920, 2130, 2220, 2240
MATH 2210, 2230, 2310, 2940
MATH 3230, 4280
MATH 4310 and 4330
MATH 4320 and 4340
MATH 4710, ECON 3190, BTRY 4080
MATH 4720, ECON 3190, BTRY 4090
Note: Courses with overlapping content are not necessarily equivalent courses. Students are encouraged to consult a mathematics faculty member when choosing between them.
Please visit http://www.math.cornell.edu for further information and up-to-the-minute corrections. For guidance in selecting an appropriate course, please consult First Steps in Math, published on the mathematics department web site under “Courses.”
Foundation courses: 1105, 1106, 1110, 1120, 1220, 1910, 1920, 2130, 2210, 2220, 2230, 2240, 2310, 2930, 2940
Mathematics Education: 4510
History of Mathematics: 4030
General and Liberal Arts Courses: 1300, 1340, 1350, 1710, 3040, 4010
Analysis: 3110, 3210, 4130, 4140, 4180
Algebra and Number Theory: 3320, 3360, 4310, 4320, 4330, 4340, 4370, 4500
Combinatorics: 4410, 4420, 4550
Geometry and Topology: 3560, 4500, 4510, 4520, 4530, 4540
Probability and Statistics: 1710, 2710, 4710, 4720, 4740
Mathematical Logic: 2810, 3840, 4810, 4820, 4860
Applied Analysis and Differential Equations: 3230, 3620, 4200, 4220, 4240, 4250, 4260, 4280
Many of our graduate courses are topics courses for which descriptions are not included here; however, during each pre-enrollment period a schedule of graduate courses to be offered the following semester is posted at http://www.math.cornell.edu under “Courses.” This web site includes course descriptions that are often more detailed than those included here, as well as a means for interested students to participate in the process of scheduling meeting times.
A. S. Galloway, director; F. M. Ahl, K. Bowes, R. Brann, C. Brittain, E. W. Browne, O. Falk, A. B. Groos, K. Haines-Eitzen, W. E. Harbert, T. D. Hill, T. J. Hinrichs, C. Howie, P. R. Hyams, W. J. Kennedy, S. MacDonald, S. Manning, M. Migiel, J. M. Najemy, J. A. Peraino, S. Pinet, D. S. Powers, M. Raskolnikov, E. Rebillard, C. Robinson, C. Ruff, W. Sayers, S. Senderovich, S. M. Toorawa, D. X. Warner, M. L. Weiss, S. Zacher. Emeritus: A. M. Colby-Hall, J. J. John, C. V. Kaske, P. I. Kuniholm, W. Wetherbee.
Undergraduate students may pursue an undergraduate minor in medieval studies, for which they must complete five courses at the 2000 level or above in at least two different disciplines, of which up to two may also count toward their major. Students should seek out an advisor, and may wish to consult with the director. Those completing a minor will receive a notification on their transcripts and a certificate signed by the director and the dean of the college; students who are completing undergraduate minors are currently eligible for the Miller Scholarship offered by the Telluride Association, funding a year at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.
Students derive many other benefits from pursuing such a minor, as they do from taking courses in medieval cultures, languages, and literature generally. The Medieval Studies Program houses a lively undergraduate association, Quodlibet, which arranges frequent lectures on medieval topics and an annual celebratory reading of prose and poetry in many medieval languages. Cornell’s students and scholars pursuing varied interests in these many realms constitute a strong and supportive community. Course work in medieval studies enhances the student’s enjoyment and understanding of the artistic and material relics of the Middle Ages: Gregorian chant, illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows, Gothic cathedrals, Crusader castles, and picturesque towns cramped within ancient walls. The student will discover the serious realities involved in, and shaped by, Arthurian tales of knights and ladies, dungeons, dragons, and other marvels. Students can analyze and appreciate the horrors of the Black Death, triumphs in courtly love and pitched battle, swords and scimitars, caliphs and popes, fear of demons and djinns, and angels. The period saw many of the foundational choices that have, for good and ill, made the world what it is today. Many of our current challenges in the fields of law, human rights, attitudes toward power, authority, gender relations, and sexual mores derive from the ways in which these and other questions were formulated a millennium ago. Many of the courses listed by the Medieval Studies Program pertain specifically to these fields, as well as to the interdisciplinary combinations for which the program is noted.
Medieval texts (like all others) become most lively and informative when read in the original, and Cornell fortunately offers many courses for students interested in acquiring the relevant skills: Medieval Latin, Old English, Middle English, Gothic, Old Saxon, Old High German, Middle High German, Old Norse-Icelandic, Old Irish, Middle Welsh, Old Occitan (Provençal), Old French, Medieval Spanish, Medieval Italian, Old Russian, Old Church Slavonic, Classical Arabic, Medieval Hebrew, Classical Chinese, and Classical Japanese.
Some medieval languages require study of a modern language (e.g., French for Old Occitan and Old French) or a classical language (Classical Latin for Medieval Latin) as background. Students interested in an undergraduate minor in medieval studies should begin the study of a medieval language as early as possible, so that they may be able to study texts in the original before they graduate. Students are advised to consult the sponsoring departments for information about the prerequisites for various medieval languages.
The Medieval Studies Program offers both an interdisciplinary and a literary comparative Ph.D. in medieval studies. Disciplinary fields of concentration offered within the Field of medieval studies are medieval archaeology, medieval history, medieval history of art, medieval literature, medieval music, medieval philology and linguistics, and medieval philosophy. Information about the graduate program in medieval studies is available from the field coordinator (medievalst@cornell.edu), and at , the program’s web site (http://www.arts.cornell.edu/medieval).
Courses in various aspects of medieval studies are offered every year in several cooperating departments, including Art History, Asian Studies, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, German Studies, History, Linguistics, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Romance Studies, Russian Literature, and by the Society for the Humanities. For descriptions, please see the home department. The current year’s offerings are:
R. Sierra, chair; C. Johnston Turner, director of undergraduate studies (340 Lincoln Hall, 255–3712); J. Peraino, director of graduate studies (116 Lincoln Hall, 255-5059); X. Bjerken, B. Boettcher, K. Ernste, T. Feeney, A. Groos, J. Haines-Eitzen, R. Harris-Warrick, M. Hatch, H. Jancaitis, J. Kellock, C. Kim, J. Lin, M. Marsit, J. May, P. Merrill, S. Pond, A. Richards, S. Stucky, S. Tucker, J. Webster, M. Yampolsky, D. Yearsley, N. Zaslaw. Emeritus: M. Bilson, J. Hsu, K. Husa, S. Monosoff, R. Palmer, D. Rosen, T. Sokol, M. Stith
Office: 255–4097
Web site: http://www.music.cornell.edu
Musical performance is an integral part of Cornell’s cultural life and an essential part of its undergraduate academic programs in music. The department encourages music-making through its offerings in individual instruction and through musical organizations and ensembles that are directed and trained by members of the faculty. Students from all colleges and departments of the university join with music majors in all of these ensembles:
Vocal ensembles
Chamber Singers
Chorale
Chorus
Glee Club
World Music Choir
Instrumental ensembles
Chamber Music Ensembles
Chamber Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra
Jazz Ensembles
Jazz Combos
Chamber Winds
Wind Ensemble
Wind Symphony
Gamelan Ensemble
Middle Eastern Music Ensemble
World Drum and Dance Ensemble
Steel Band Percussion Ensemble
Information about requirements, rehearsal hours, and conditions for academic credit can be found in the following listings for the Department of Music. Announcements of auditions are posted during registration each fall semester and, where appropriate, each spring semester as well.
The university is also home to many student-run musical organizations not affiliated with the Department of Music, including the Big Red Marching Band and Big Red Pep Band, and several a cappella groups. Information is available directly from each group.
The Department of Music and the Faculty Committee on Music sponsor more than 100 formal and informal concerts each year by Cornell’s ensembles, faculty, and students and by distinguished visiting artists. The great majority of these concerts are free and open to the public. Lectures and concerts are listed at http://www.music.cornell.edu. Additional information is available through the events office (255-4760).
In addition to its performing, instructional, and concert activities, the department offers numerous courses for nonmajors, many of which carry no prerequisites and presuppose no previous formal training in music. Consult the following course listings, and for further information consult Professor C. Johnston Turner, director of undergraduate studies (255-3712), or the department office, 101 Lincoln Hall (255-4097).
For those non-majors across the university whose involvement with the music department forms an essential aspect of their undergraduate study, the undergraduate minor in Music gives both formal recognition and structural coherence to their musical studies. The Music minor is designed to provide for breadth by requiring involvement in each of the three principal subdisciplines (music theory, music history, and musical performance), while at the same time permitting enough flexibility that each student can emphasize the area or areas that interest him or her most.
The following courses are required to fulfill the undergraduate minor in Music:
1. One course in music theory: MUSIC 1101 for 3 credits, 1105 for 3 credits, or 2101/2103 for 5 credits. A student given Advanced Standing in place of MUSIC 2101/2103 should take a higher-numbered theory course; placement alone cannot fulfill this requirement.
2. One course in music history and culture, drawn from courses listed in Courses of Study as Music in History and Culture (3 credits) and those listed as Music History Courses for Majors and Qualified Non-Majors (3–4 credits).
3. Four credits in performance, drawn from those courses listed as Musical Instruction (i.e., private lessons in voice or another instrument), or Musical Organizations and Ensembles, or both. Since these are 1- and 2-credit courses, students may achieve their total of 4 credits in various ways: two semesters of 2-credit lessons, four semesters of 1-credit ensembles, or a combination of the two.
4. In addition to these 10–13 credits, an additional 8 credits of elective courses from any Music subdiscipline, including Electroacoustic Music, of which at least 3 credits must be in a classroom (not performance) course.
The major carries the study of music to an advanced level through the integration of performance, music theory, and music history. It is designed to accommodate both students who are oriented toward eventual graduate or professional work in music and those who wish to take a more general approach, often in conjunction with a major in another department.
Students contemplating a major in music should arrange for placement examinations and advising in the department as early as possible, preferably during the freshman orientation period. Information is available from the director of undergraduate studies. Prerequisites for admission to the major are completion of MUSIC 2102 and 2104, preferably by the end of the freshman year, with an overall grade of B– or better in each course. In consultation with the director of undergraduate studies, students are expected to have chosen an advisor from among the department faculty before acceptance into the major; admission to the major is decided by the faculty as a whole. Students majoring in music then design their course of study with their advisor.
Music majors must complete the Core Curriculum plus at least two electives. The electives allow students to focus in specific areas, such as composition, performance, jazz studies, vernacular music, Western art music, or Asian music. Students may, however, choose electives that reflect a more broadly based study. Those intending to pursue graduate study or professional work in music are advised to take further courses in addition to the two required electives.
The Core Curriculum consists of courses:
1. in music theory: MUSIC 3101, 3102, 3103, 3104
2. in music history: MUSIC 3201, 3202, 3211, 4211
3. in performance: four semesters of participation in a musical organization or ensemble sponsored by the department of music (MUSIC 3601 through 3634 and 4601 through 4651)
Electives: at least 8 credits from the following:
1. in music theory: courses among the theory listings above 3104
2. in music history: MUSIC 3222 through 3901, or 4301 and above.
3. in performance: MUSIC 3502 or 4501
Honors. The honors program in music is intended to provide special distinction for the department’s ablest undergraduate majors. Qualified students are invited to become candidates by the faculty in the second semester of their junior year. As soon as possible thereafter, the student forms a committee of three or more faculty members to guide and evaluate the honors work. In their senior year, candidates enroll in MUSIC 4911–4912 with the chair of the honors committee as instructor. Candidates are encouraged to formulate programs that allow them to demonstrate their musical and scholarly abilities, culminating in an honors thesis, composition, or recital, to be presented not later than April 1 of the senior year. An oral examination on the honors project will be administered by the candidate’s committee not later than April 20. The level of honors conferred is based primarily on the candidate’s performance in the honors program, and secondarily on the candidate’s overall record in departmental courses and activities.
A minor in Computing in the Arts with an emphasis on music is available both to music majors and to students majoring in other subjects. For more information, please consult http://www.cis.cornell.edu/ComputingArts, or contact the director, Professor Graeme Bailey.
College of Arts and Sciences students may apply either one or two music department courses toward the distribution requirement in Literature and the Arts (LA) or Cultural Analysis (CA), as noted. Neither first-year seminars nor advanced placement credit count toward this requirement.
If one music course is counted for distribution, it must carry at least 3 credits, and it may not be in musical performance (MUSIC 3501, 3502, or 4501) or in organizations and ensembles (MUSIC 3601 through 3634 and 4601 through 4651). Any two of the 2-credit courses MUSIC 3112, 3113, 3114 count as one course for this purpose.
If two music courses are counted for distribution in LA, they must total at least 6 credits, and at least one of the courses must be academic (as described in the preceding paragraph), not performance-oriented. The second “course,” however, may comprise up to 4 credits earned in performance (MUSIC 3501, 3502, or 4501) or up to 4 credits earned in organizations and ensembles (MUSIC 3601 through 3634 and 4601 through 4651), but not both.
Music Library. The Sidney Cox Library of Music and Dance in Lincoln Hall has an excellent collection containing periodicals, books, scores, parts, sound and video recordings, microforms, rare materials, and electronic resources. Its depth and breadth serve the needs of a wide variety of users on the campus and its listening and video viewing facilities are open to all members of the Cornell community.
Concert Halls. The Department of Music sponsors more than 100 concerts annually. Cornell’s principal concert halls are Bailey Hall Auditorium (about 1,400 seats), Sage Chapel (about 800), and Barnes Hall Auditorium (about 280).
Rehearsal Spaces and Practice Rooms. Departmental ensembles rehearse primarily in Lincoln Hall, Barnes Hall, and Sage Chapel. Twenty-six studios in Lincoln Hall are available for individual practice by pianists, vocalists, and instrumentalists who are members of the Cornell community. Of these, seven have grand pianos, six have upright pianos, and two have percussion instruments.
For information about access to the practice rooms, see http://www.music.cornell.edu/performing/practice-rooms or contact the department office.
Instruments. Six concert grand pianos are available for performances in the various concert halls, plus several historical keyboard instruments, including fortepianos, harpsichords, and clavichords. Four distinctive organs are available to qualified individuals for lessons and practice. In addition, the music department owns a limited number of string, wind, and percussion instruments that may be rented by members of the department’s ensembles.
Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center (CEMC). The Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center comprises four project studios, a 14-workstation teaching lab in the Music Library, and a primary multichannel studio. Several live performance and recording rigs are also available, from hand-held to solid state. A combination of commercial and open-source software solutions service an array of student and faculty interests, including sound manipulation and sound spatialization, live performance, multimedia, intelligent music systems (adaptive and algorithmic composition), music notation, sound art and experimentation, and high-resolution recording. The center operates its own web server with space for web hosting, data backup, and remote login. CEMC’s facilities are state-of-the-art and can accommodate almost any creative inclination.
Students contemplating the music major are strongly advised to take MUSIC 2101, 2102, 2103, and 2104 in the freshman year; in any case MUSIC 2102 and 2104 must be completed no later than the end of the sophomore year.
Students who have a strong background in music may wish to also enroll in MUSIC 3901, which involves an extra class-period per week where the music is discussed in greater detail. Permission of the instructor is required.
See “Honors” under “The Major” at the beginning of the MUSIC listings.
Cornell faculty members offer individual instruction in voice, organ, harpsichord, piano and fortepiano, violin, viola, cello, percussion, and some brass and woodwind instruments to those students advanced enough to do college-level work in these instruments. Lessons are available by audition only. They may be taken either without credit (MUSIC 3501) or with credit (MUSIC 3502 or 4501). All students studying with Cornell faculty members must enroll in MUSIC 3501, 3502, or 4501. Instruments may sometimes be studied for noncredit or credit outside Cornell, but also by audition only (see MUSIC 3501–4501, Secs 8, 9, and 10). For more information, please go to http://www.music.cornell.edu.
Lessons for beginners. The Department of Music does not offer lessons for beginners, but can recommend teachers outside Cornell for those who wish to begin studying voice or an instrument.
Auditions. Auditions are held at the beginning of each semester for lessons for advanced students. Contact the music department office in 101 Lincoln Hall for information.
Earning academic credit for lessons. For every 4 credits earned in MUSIC 3502, the student must have earned, or currently be earning, at least 3 credits in another music course (excluding MUSIC 3502, 4501, 3601–3611, or 4601–4631. These 3 credits must be earned before, or simultaneously with, the first 2 credits in 3502; they cannot be applied retroactively. Only music courses taught at Cornell (or approved transfer courses from other colleges or universities) may be used to satisfy this requirement.
Fees. For information about the fee structure for lessons, see the department’s web site or contact the music department office. All fees are nonrefundable once lessons begin, even if the course is subsequently dropped.
Lessons taken outside Cornell. Under certain conditions, advanced students may earn credit for lessons taken outside Cornell. An audition is required, and no credit can be granted for beginning instruction. For further information, read the description of MUSIC 3501, 3502, and 4501, Secs 8, 9, and 10, and contact the Music Department office.
Scholarships. Music majors receive a scholarship of up to the department’s full lesson fee per semester. All scholarships are intended only for lessons in the student’s primary performing medium. Scholarship/registration forms, available in the music department office, are to be returned to the office within the first three weeks of classes.
MUSIC 3502
MUSIC 4501
The section numbers listed below apply to MUSIC 3501, 3502, or 4501, depending on the instrument studied.
Sec 01 Voice. J. Kellock.*
Sec 02 Organ. A. Richards and D. Yearsley.
Sec 03 Piano. X. Bjerken and Staff.
Sec 04 Harpsichord. A. Richards and D. Yearsley.
Sec 05 Violin or Viola. J. Lin.
Sec 06 Cello. J. Haines-Eitzen.
Sec 07 Percussion. T. Feeney.
Sec 08, 09, and 10 Individual Instruction Outside Cornell.
All the standard orchestral and band instruments, keyboard instruments, guitar, and voice may, under certain conditions, be studied for credit with outside teachers. This course is available primarily for the study of instruments not taught at Cornell and when there is limited enrollment in MUSIC 3501 and 3502. Prior approval and audition by a member of the faculty in the department are required, and credit may be earned only as described under “Earning academic credit for lessons,” above. Additionally, a departmental petition must be completed by the end of the third week of classes. For information and a list of approved teachers, consult the department office, 101 Lincoln Hall.
* Students taking voice lessons for credit are required to attend Prof. Kellock’s weekly studio class.
Students may participate in musical organizations and ensembles throughout the year. Permission of the instructor is required, and admission is by audition only (usually at the beginning of each semester), except that the World Music Choir and the Cornell Gamelan Ensemble are open to all students without prior audition. Registration is permitted in two of these courses simultaneously and students may register in successive years, but no student may earn more than 8 credits in these courses. Membership in these musical organizations and ensembles is also open to qualified students who wish to participate without earning credit. In that case, students should register for 0 credits with a pass/fail grade option.
One or more sections will form in 2009–10, dependent on demand and ability. The groups rehearse weekly, and perform as ready throughout the semester. Prior musical experience is necessary, though not limited to percussion, and participants must audition.
Open to qualified undergraduates by permission of instructor.
K. Haines-Eitzen (chair), H. Al-Masri, R. Brann, Y. Chami, Z. Fahmy (director of undergraduate studies), I. Gocheleishvili, F. Hijazi, A. Karakaya-Stump, A. Kleinerman, C. Monroe, L. Monroe, D. I. Owen, J. Palmer, D. S. Powers (director of graduate studies), N. Scharf, S. Shoer, D. Starr (director of Program of Jewish Studies), S. M. Toorawa, A. Yavas, M. Younes. Joint faculty: G. Holst-Warhaft, C. Robinson
The Department of Near Eastern Studies (409 White Hall, 255-6275) offers courses in Near Eastern civilization including archaeology, history, religions, languages, and literatures. These course offerings treat the Near East from the dawn of history to the present and emphasize methods of historical, cultural, and literary analysis. Students are encouraged to take an interdisciplinary approach to the religions and cultures of the region and their articulation during antique, late antique, medieval, and modern times. For more information, please visit http://www.arts.cornell.edu/nes/.
A major in Near Eastern Studies offers students the opportunity to explore the languages, literatures, cultures, religions, and history of the Near East/Middle East from antiquity to the modern day. The major is designed both to acquaint students broadly with the region and its cultures as well as to study a particular subfield in depth.
• The applicant for admission to the major in Near Eastern Studies must have completed at least two Near Eastern Studies content courses, one of which can be a language course. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in language courses and/or NES 2651 or 2754 either before signing into the major or early on in their major.
• Prospective majors must meet with the director of undergraduate studies before submitting a major application.
• To qualify as a major, a cumulative grade average of C or better is required.
For students graduating in the Classes of 2006 or earlier, consult the department. The precise sequence and combination of courses chosen to fulfill the major is selected in consultation with the student’s advisor. All majors must satisfy the following requirements (no course may be used to satisfy two requirements; S–U option not permitted):
1. Two years of one Near Eastern language or, in exceptional cases, one year of two Near Eastern languages
2. Nine 3- or 4-credit NES courses, which must include the following:
a. NES 2651 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam or NES 2754 Introduction to Near Eastern Civilizations
b. NES 4560 Junior/Senior Proseminar: Theory and Method in Near Eastern Studies
c. Seven additional courses, of which
i. three must fulfill temporal breadth, defined as: one course whose chronological parameters fall within the period 3000 bce to 600 ce, one course whose chronological parameters fall within the period 600 ce to 1800 ce, and one course whose chronological parameters fall between 1800 ce and the present. The following are examples (a complete list may be obtained in the department office):
3000 bce to 600 ce
NES 2623 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
NES 2629 Introduction to the New Testament
NES 2644 Introduction to Ancient Judaism
NES 2661 Ancient Seafaring
NES 2666 Jerusalem through the Ages
NES 3594 Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Early Christianity ®
NES 3623 Reinventing Biblical Narrative ®
NES 3664 Ancient Iraq I
NES 3665 Ancient Iraq II
NES 3720 Women in the Hebrew Bible ®
600 ce to 1800 ce
NES 2214 Qur’an and Commentary
NES 2556 Introduction to the Qur’an
NES 2634 Muslims and Jews in Confluence and Conflict
NES 2655 Introduction to Islamic Civilization
NES 2673 History of the Middle East: 13th to 18th Centuries
NES 3539 Islamic Spain ®
NES 3651 Law, Society, and Culture in the Middle East
NES 4618 Seminar in Islamic History ®
1800 ce to the present
NES 2635 Jews and Arabs in Contact and Conflict: The Modern Period
NES 2674 History of the Modern Middle East: 19th to 20th Centuries
NES 3685 Middle Eastern Cities ®
NES 3693 History of Jews and Christians in the Modern Middle East
NES 3697 History of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
NES 3703 Cosmopolitan Alexandria ®
NES 3719 Crime and Conflict in the Modern Arabic Novel
ii. A maximum of three of these seven courses can be at the 2000 level; a minimum of four must be at the 3000 level or above.
iii. One of the 3000-level or above courses must be a research seminar (courses are designated with ®) The following are examples (a complete list can be found in the department office):
3539 Islamic Spain: Culture and Society @ # (CA) ®
3594 Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Early Christianity # (CA) ®
3685 Middle Eastern Cities: History, Society, and Culture @ # (HA) ®
4657 Formation of Islamic Law @ # (HA) ®
4727 New York, Paris, Baghdad: Poetry of the City) ®
iv. Note: a maximum of two independent studies can be applied to the major; a maximum of two non–cross-listed courses may be applied to the major; a maximum of two courses may receive credit for more than one major; a maximum of 15 credits of relevant, departmentally approved course work taken overseas or at another university may be applied to the major.
For students graduating in the classes of 2006 or earlier, consult the department.
Honors. Each fall, a small number of highly qualified seniors enter the Near Eastern Studies Honors Program. The Honors Program is open to NES majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial part of their senior year to advanced, specialized, independent research and writing of a thesis.
Note well: Successfully completing an honors thesis will require sustained interest, exceptional ability, diligence, and enthusiasm. Students must also take two honors courses (NES 4998 in fall and NES 4999 in spring), in addition to the regular major requirements. While admission to the Honors Program and completion of a thesis do not guarantee that students will be awarded honors in Near Eastern Studies, most students find the experience as intellectually rewarding as it is rigorous.
Requirements. In order to be considered for the Honors Program, candidates must fulfill all of the following requirements:
• Minimum grade point average of 3.5 in the Near Eastern Studies major;
• Superior performance overall at Cornell (minimum 3.3 GPA);
• Completion of at least four semesters or equivalent in a relevant Near Eastern language;
• Satisfactory completion of an NES research paper (“®” course);
• Completion of at least one course in the subfield relevant to the proposed thesis (e.g., early Islamic history, modern Hebrew literature, etc.);
• Prospective honors students are strongly encouraged to take NES 4560 (NES Proseminar) in their junior year.
Study abroad. Students are encouraged to consult with their advisor about options and eligibility to study abroad. With appropriate advance consultation and approval upon return, NES will accept credits earned abroad toward the major. Students are reminded that the College of Arts and Sciences requires that they carry a minimum of 15 credits during a semester abroad.
For descriptions, consult the John S. Knight Institute brochure for times, and instructors.
Modeled in part on the FALCON program in Chinese at Cornell University, the Intensive Arabic Program is designed to help students attain proficiency in Arabic in both its spoken and written forms in a condensed period of time. The program consists of three phases: (1) The first phase covers the equivalent of elementary Arabic I and II, and can be taken during the fall and spring semesters of the academic year, or as part of the Arabic summer intensive program. (2) The second phase covers the equivalent of Intermediate Arabic I and II and Advanced Arabic I and II and is taken in a total immersion environment at Cornell. During this phase, up to 12 students will take only Arabic classes for the duration of the fall semester. (3) The third phase takes place at the Hashemite University in Jordan during the following spring semester. The students who successfully complete the second phase will spend the spring semester at the Hashemite University with one of the teachers in the Cornell Arabic program. The course work will be taught entirely in Arabic and will focus on Arab society and culture, the Arabic language, and the modern Middle East.
The fall and spring semesters will each be the equivalent of 16 credits for Cornell undergraduates. Ideally, students would enroll in the yearlong program during their junior year, but the other years are also a possibility. The program will enable students to fulfill their language requirement and, depending on their major, they would have the option of applying the other courses toward their major. For Near Eastern Studies majors, all the courses would go toward the major (beyond the NES 1103 language course). Nonmajors will be able to count the spring courses toward the geographic breadth requirements. Upon their return, students would have the option of continuing their study of Arabic by enrolling in 4000-level Arabic courses in NES.
Cornell undergraduates seeking degrees in colleges other than Arts and Sciences, please note that you will be transferred to the College of Arts and Sciences during IAP. This means that all costs will be assessed according to Arts and Sciences rates, not those of your “home” college.
For further information, contact the Department of Near Eastern Studies, 409 White Hall, 255-6275 or visit our web site, http://www.arts.cornell.edu/nes.
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
See “Department of Asian Studies.”
S. MacDonald, chair, K. Bennett, R. Boyd, T. Brennan, C. Brittain, A. Chignell, M. Eklund, G. Fine, H. Hodes, M. Kosch, R. Miller, D. Pereboom, N. Sethi, N. Silins, N. Sturgeon, E. Taylor. Emeritus: C. A. Ginet, T. Irwin, S. Shoemaker.
The study of philosophy provides students with an opportunity to become familiar with some of the ideas and texts in the history of thought while developing analytical skills that are valuable in practical as well as academic affairs. It affords the excitement and satisfaction that come from understanding and working toward solutions of intellectual problems. The curriculum includes offerings in the history of philosophy, logic, philosophy of science, ethics, social and political philosophy, metaphysics, and theory of knowledge. Any philosophy course numbered in the 1000s or 2000s is suitable for beginning study in the field. Sections of PHIL 1100, 1120, and 1130 are part of the first-year writing seminar program; they are taught by various members of the staff on a variety of philosophical topics, and because of their small size (17 students at most) they provide ample opportunity for discussion. Students who want a broad introduction to philosophy may take PHIL 1100, but many students with special interests may find that the best introduction to philosophy is a 2000-level course in some particular area of philosophy; such courses have no prerequisites and are usually open to first-year students.
Students expecting to major in philosophy should begin their study of it in their freshman or sophomore year. Admission to the major is granted by the director of undergraduate studies of the department on the basis of a student’s work during the first two years. Normally the student must have completed two philosophy courses with grades of B or better. Eight philosophy courses, taken for a letter grade, are required for the major. They must include at least one course on ancient philosophy (PHIL 2200, or a course with a large component on Plato or Aristotle), at least one course on classical modern metaphysics and epistemology from Descartes through Kant (e.g., PHIL 2220 or a course on the empiricists, the rationalists, or Kant), and a minimum of three courses numbered above 3000. Students admitted to the major are required to take a minimum of six philosophy courses numbered above 2000, and may not count more than one section of PHIL 1110, 1120, or 1130 toward the major. Courses numbered in the 1900s, 2900s, and 3900s do not count toward the major. A course in formal logic (e.g., PHIL 2310), while not required, is especially recommended for majors or prospective majors.
Philosophy majors must also complete at least 8 credits of course work in related subjects approved by their major advisors. Occasionally majors may serve as teaching or research aides, working with faculty members familiar with their work.
Honors. A candidate for honors in philosophy must be a philosophy major with an average of B- or better for all work in the College of Arts and Sciences and an average of B+ or better for all work in philosophy. In either or both semesters of the senior year a candidate for honors enrolls in PHIL 4900/4901 and undertakes research leading to the writing of an honors essay by the end of the final semester. Honors students normally need to take PHIL 4900/4901 both semesters of their senior year to write a satisfactory honors essay. PHIL 4900/4901 does not count toward the eight philosophy courses required for the major. Prospective candidates should apply at the Department of Philosophy office, 218 Goldwin Smith Hall.
In some courses a small fee may be charged for photocopying materials to be handed out to students.
Some of these courses have prerequisites.
philosophy (from the late 19th century through the early 20th century). Authors discussed may include Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore and the early Ludwig Wittgenstein.
These courses are offered primarily for majors and graduate students.
Reading and translation of Latin philosophical texts.
J. R. Patterson, chair (109 Clark Hall, 255–6016); E. Mueller, director of undergraduate studies (115 Clark Hall, 255–8158, physicsdus—mailbox@cornell.edu); J. P. Alexander, T. A. Arias, I. Bazarov, E. Bodenschatz, P. Brouwer, D. G. Cassel, E. Cassel, I. Cohen, C. Csaki, J. C. Davis, G. F. Dugan, V. Elser, E. Flanagan, C. P. Franck, R. Fulbright, R. S. Galik, A. Giambattista, L. K. Gibbons, P. Ginsparg, B. Greene, Y. Grossman, S. M. Gruner, D. L. Hartill, C. L. Henley, G. Hoffstaetter, E.-A. Kim, P. Krasicky, M. Lawler, A. LeClair, G. P. Lepage, M. U. Liepe, L. McAllister, P. L. McEuen, M. Neubert, Y. Orlov, H. Padamsee, J. M. Parpia, M. Perelstein, D. C. Ralph, B. Richardson, R. C. Richardson, D. L. Rubin, A. Ryd, K. Schwab, K. Selby, J. P. Sethna, K. M. Shen, A. J. Sievers, E. Siggia, S. A. Teukolsky, J. Thom, R. Thorne, H. Tye, C. Umrigar, M. Vengalattore, M. D. Wang, I. Wasserman, P. Wittich, T-M. Yan
The concepts and methods of physics have an impact on nearly all areas of human endeavor. Thus, the Department of Physics offers courses in physics for the entire Cornell community. There are general education courses for non-scientists, well-designed introductory sequences for science and engineering majors, more advanced courses for physics majors, and rigorous programs of graduate study, up to doctoral-level independent research.
Undergraduate and graduate students benefit from outstanding faculty and world-class research facilities in the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics (LASSP) and the Laboratory of Elementary Particle Physics (LEPP). Physics faculty and students conduct research in condensed-matter physics, nanophysics, biophysics, atomic physics, X-ray physics, high-energy particle physics, accelerator physics and astrophysics. Students are invited to attend weekly research seminars and colloquia that showcase the work of the national and international physics communities. Undergraduates are encouraged to participate in research, and many find summer employment within the department. For more information, visit http://www.physics.cornell.edu/undergraduate.
• PHYS 1101–1102 is a self-paced auto-tutorial course sequence designed for students who recognize the need for a basic understanding of physics, but who do not have preparation in calculus and who do not intend to take further physics courses.
• PHYS 2207–2208 and 1112–2213–2214 are introductory physics courses for students who want a solid grounding in physics and a chance to develop their calculus-based problem solving skills. Non-majors considering more advanced work in physics are encouraged to take 1112–2213–2214 or 2207–2213–2214.
• Courses beyond the introductory level that may be of interest to non-majors include PHYS 3316 Modern Physics I, PHYS 3330 Modern Experimental Optics, and PHYS 3360 Electronic Circuits.
• General education courses currently include PHYS 1201, Why the Sky is Blue: Aspects of the Physical World, PHYS 1203, Physics of the Heavens and Earth, and PHYS 1204, The Physics of Musical Sound.
Students may obtain advanced placement and credit, as outlined in “Advanced Placement of Freshmen,” and transfer credit for physics courses taken elsewhere. Students seeking transfer credit or advice on the use of AP credit should consult the Physics director of undergraduate studies.
The analytical and problem solving skills and the fundamental conceptual and practical understanding of how the world works provided by an education in physics have allowed physics majors to pursue careers—and have major impacts—not just in physics, but in engineering, education, medicine and the life sciences, the military services, computer and information sciences, earth and environmental sciences, law, finance and economics, management consulting, philosophy of science, forensics and public policy. Reflecting this breadth of opportunity, the Physics Department offers two approaches to the major:
1. The concentration within physics is the principal path to professional or graduate work in physics and closely related fields, and is also the best choice for students who wish to obtain maximum benefit from rigorous studies in physics. The inside concentration consists of the core physics courses plus electives taken within the Physics Department.
2. The concentration outside physics provides more flexibility for those want to develop skills in physics but whose career interests lie elsewhere. For example, a pre-medical or biophysics student may concentrate in biology; a pre-law student may concentrate in business, history, or public policy; and a student planning graduate work in econometrics or on pursuing an M.B.A. may concentrate in economics. Students interested in education careers (and in capitalizing on the critical national shortage of high school physics teachers) may concentrate in education, allowing them to complete a masters degree in Physics Education with New York State Teacher certification in one additional year at Cornell.
Physics majors—especially those concentrating within physics—are advised to start the introductory physics sequence in the first semester of their freshman year, as a delayed start reduces flexibility in future course scheduling. Students who switch to the physics major after taking introductory physics in their sophomore year can usually still complete an outside concentration. Acceptance into the major program is normally granted upon completion of a year of physics and mathematics courses at Cornell with all course grades at the B– level or higher. Grades of at least C– (or S for S–U only courses) are required in all courses counting toward the physics major.
Prospective majors are urged to meet with the Physics Director of Undergraduate Studies for advice on advanced placement credit and on program planning. Based on their specific interests, students will be matched by the DUS with a major advisor. The student and major advisor will then work out the details of the major course program.
The Physics Core—All physics majors must complete a core of physics and mathematics courses, as follows:
• A three-semester introductory physics sequence, either PHYS 1112–2213–2214, or its more analytic “honors” version 1116–2217–2218. PHYS 2207 students with life/chemical/health science interests who decide to switch to the physics major may complete 2207–2213–2214. A transition from 2208 to 2214 is also possible for students with very strong math backgrounds.
• Mathematics courses covering single and multivariable calculus, linear algebra, series representations, and complex analysis: MATH 1910 or 1120; 1920 or 2210; 2930 or 2220; and 2940 or 2210; or their equivalents. Inside concentrators should complete at least one additional year of applicable mathematics such as AEP 3210 and 3220.
• Five upper-level courses beyond the three-semester introductory sequence, consisting of: (1) the two-course sequence in modern physics (PHYS 3316–3317), (2) at least three semester hours of laboratory work selected from PHYS 3310, 3330, 3360, 4410, or ASTRO 4410, (3) an intermediate course in classical mechanics (PHYS 3314 or 3318), and (4) an intermediate course in electromagnetism (PHYS 3323 or 3327). Students who complete the 1112–2213–2214 or 2207–2213–2214 introductory sequence are advised to complete the 1-credit course PHYS 2216 before taking PHYS 3316.
In addition to the core, each physics major must complete at least 15 semester hours of credit in an area of concentration that has been agreed upon by the student and major faculty advisor.
Students planning professional or graduate work in physics are encouraged to take the more advanced and analytically rigorous versions of the core courses—PHYS 1116, 2217, 2218, 3318 and 3327. Students with weaker high school preparation may start in PHYS 1112 and then switch to the advanced sequence in later semesters. The best-prepared students, who may qualify for advanced placement credit for PHYS 1112 and/or 2213, are still strongly encouraged to start with 1116.
For a concentration within physics, the minimum 15 hours beyond the core must be composed of physics courses with numbers greater than 3000. These 15 hours must include the senior laboratory course PHYS 4410 in addition to one of the lab courses listed for the core, so that a physics concentration requires a minimum of 7 credit hours of laboratory work. The accompanying table shows some typical course sequences that fulfill the major requirements. The sequence followed by each student will depend upon his or her interests and pre-college preparation, and will be determined in consultation with the major advisor. Majors are strongly encouraged to participate in the department’s research activities. If this activity is done as an independent project, PHYS 4490, up to 8 credit hours can be applied toward the concentration.
For outside concentrations, the courses to be counted in the minimum 15 credit hours beyond the core must have internal coherence and lead to mastery in the area of concentration. The course sequence must be worked out with and approved by the major faculty advisor. At least 8 of the 15 credit hours must be in courses numbered above 3000. Past areas of concentration include astronomy, business, chemical physics, computer science, econometrics, education, geophysics, history, and philosophy of science, law, meteorology, and public policy. A combined biology/chemistry concentration is common for premedical students or those who wish to prepare for work in biophysics.
The department particularly wishes to encourage students with an interest in science education. Physics majors can obtain teaching certification by concentrating in education and then completing a one-year master of arts in teaching (M.A.T.) degree. Information about the education concentration and M.A.T. can be obtained from the Department of Education’s Cornell Teacher Education Program, from the physics department’s Teacher in Residence, or from the Physics director of undergraduate studies.
The core for students with outside concentrations may follow either PHYS 1112–2213–2214, 3314, and 3323, or the advanced 1116–2217–2218, 3318, and 3327. Students concentrating in astronomy who might continue on to graduate school in that field are encouraged to take PHYS 3318 and 3327 in the core and ASTRO 4410, 4431, and 4432 toward the concentration.
A student may be granted honors in physics upon the recommendation of the Physics Advisors Committee of the physics faculty. There is no particular course structure or thesis requirement for honors.
Double majors including physics are possible and not at all uncommon. However, any course used to satisfy a requirement of another major may be used in satisfaction of physics major requirements only if the student’s concentration is within physics.
The grouped courses listed in the chart below have largely similar content. Students should select courses for their academic program carefully, as they may receive credit for only one course in each group.
PHYS 1101, 1112, 1116, 2207
PHYS 1102, 2208, 2213, 2217
PHYS 2214, 2218
PHYS 3314, 3318
PHYS 3323, 3327
PHYS 1116, 2216
PHYS 2206, GOVT 3847
Semester Physics Outside Physics concentrators Outside concentrators
concentrators 1 year AP concentrators (alternate)
No AP math calculus and good electives not electives not
or physics HS physics indicated indicated
1st – Fall 1112 1116 1112
2nd – Spring 2213 2217 2213 1112
3rd – Fall 2214, 2216 2218 2214, 2216 2213
4th – Spring 3316, 33x0 3316, 33x0 33x0 2214, 2216
5th – Fall 3317, 3323/3327, 33x0 3317, 3327, 33x0 3316 33x0, 3316
6th – Spring 3314/3318, 4443 3318, 4443 3314 3314, 3x0
7th – Fall 3341, 4410 3341, 4410 3317, 3323 3317, 3323
8th – Spring Elective(s) Elective(s)
• For majors with concentrations outside physics, there is wide variation in individual programs, arranged to best match the field of concentration.
• Crossovers between the two sequences 1112–2213–2214 and 1116–2217–2218 are possible, although the combination 1112–2213–2218 is difficult. PHYS 2207 may be substituted for PHYS 1112. Students taking 2217 after 1112 must co-register for 2216.
• Students taking the honors sequence 1116–2217–2218 are strongly encouraged to start with PHYS 1116. Exceptionally well-prepared students may be able to begin work at Cornell with PHYS 2217. Such students should visit the Director of Undergraduate Studies for advice in planning a course program.
• Physics electives for the major include 3360, 4444, 4454, 4455, 4480, 4490, 6525, 6553, 6561, 6572, the senior seminars 4481–4489, ASTRO 3332 or 4431–4432, and AEP 4340.
• One semester of intermediate laboratory, listed here as 3x0, is required.
• Well-prepared sophomores wishing to take PHYS 3318 should consult the instructor before registering.
• Students interested in graduate work in physics immediately after Cornell are advised to begin the introductory physics sequence in their first semester.
In addition, students with credit for PHYS 1101, 1112, 1116, or 2207, or an advanced placement equivalent who wish to enroll in PHYS 1200–1206 must obtain written permission from the instructor and the Physics director of undergraduate studies.
Achieving success in a physics course is easier if you have the proper preparation. Each physics course description lists prerequisite courses that develop mastery in the needed mathematics and physics. Students who wish to enroll in a course but lack the listed prerequisites can often succeed with an appropriate work plan, especially if they have