Because the major in Natural Resources is interdisciplinary and flexible, requirements for the major depend in large part on the student’s particular interests, and free electives can account for as many as 45 of the 120 credits required by the College for graduation. All students follow a general framework and take a similar set of courses in their freshman and sophomore years, but they may choose among three areas of concentration in their junior and senior years: Applied Ecology (AE), Resource Policy and Management (RPM), and Environmental Studies (ES).

Students in Applied Ecology select more upper-division courses in environmental biology, species and population ecology, and ecosystem biology. Students in RPM select more upper-division courses in environmental sociology, and resource policy, planning, and management. Students in Environmental Studies develop their own unique 6-course sequence of upper-division courses related to environment and natural resources.

Freshmen and sophomores all take a similar set of courses, many of which fulfill distribution requirements in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. These include courses in general biology and ecology, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, ethics, economics, and communication. They also take a series of five foundation courses designed to introduce them to the field of natural resources and environment. These courses include “Introduction to the Field of Natural Resources,” “Environmental Conservation,” “Field Biology,” “Society and Natural Resources,” and "DNA, Genes, and Genetic Diversity."

At the junior and senior level, students have flexibility to specialize in one of the department's three areas of concentration, or to gain greater exposure to a wide variety of courses related to the environment offered by Natural Resources and other departments at Cornell. They also have access to the University’s many offerings that ground the student in a first-rate liberal arts education.

All seniors are encouraged to take any of a number of courses intended to provide the student with an intensive experience in synthesis, integration, and critical thinking applied to current issues in the conservation of biodiversity and the development of sustainable human-ecological systems.

Explore the requirements for the Applied Ecology and Resource & Policy Management Concentrations, the Environmental Studies Concentration and the general CALS Distribution Requirements or print out the PDF.