Animal Science

Welcome to the Department of Animal Science

The Department of Animal Science offers undergraduate and graduate programs on the biology and management of food, laboratory and companion animal species. Our research programs advance our understanding of animal biology and address local and global issues facing animal industries today. Our goals are to discover and develop new techniques and information to benefit animals, agriculture and human health. Our internationally recognized faculty have diverse interests in animal management, breeding, genetics, physiology, nutrition, growth biology and microbiology.

Major in Animal Science

Animal science majors learn from internationally recognized professors in all aspects of domestic animal biology: breeding, genetics, nutrition, physiology, growth, behavior and management.

Animal Science Major

Learn more about what an animal science major can do for you.

Undergraduate Studies

International Opportunities

Check out the international opportunities available with the animal science major.

Learn more about undergraduate opportunities

Graduate Studies

Approximately 40 graduate students from a variety of disciplines belong to the Department of Animal Science, most of them in the field of animal science.

Graduate field of animal science

Undergraduate research

Discovering new genes

Cameron Xu ’26 is using biometry and statistics to help Cornell CALS animal science professor Vimal Selvaraj identify new genes. Together, they’re investigating how steroid hormones regulate the body’s processes, uncovering new knowledge that could advance cancer research and solve other human health challenges.

Explore synthetic biology at CALS

Play

News

A woman crouches in a field looking at a tablet housed in a case.

Field Note

July 14, 2025

Meet Asmita Gautam: Helping dairies achieve sustainable silage farming

Originally from Bulingtar, Nepal, Asmita Gautam recently joined the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) as a postdoctoral research associate. Read on to learn more about Gautam’s origins and what she hopes to learn from this position. Why...

Agriculture
Field Crops
Climate Change

News

July 8, 2025

Dairy farm modeling tool boosts sustainability, decision-making

The Ruminant Farm Systems modeling tool is available for open-source collaboration, and is available, free of charge, to all U.S. dairy farmers through the National Dairy FARM Program.

Cornell Atkinson
PRO-DAIRY
Animal Science

Julio Giordano, professor of animal science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, shows dairy industry leaders a collar that can track cows' food intake, at the Cornell University Ruminant Center on June 30.

News

July 3, 2025

‘Farm of the Future’ showcased at Cornell PRO-DAIRY celebration

On June 30, dairy industry leaders from New York state toured the Cornell University Ruminant Center, a one-of-a-kind testbed for new technologies and strategies and a crucial resource for the state's dairy farmers.

PRO-DAIRY
Animal Science
Animals

More news

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a woman holds a jar of chemicals in a lab — Diana Reyes Gomez prepares samples of SeaGraze, a product developed by Symbrosia based on the seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis, for a shelf stability trial. Photo provided.

Contact us for more information

Thank you for your interest in Animal Science at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Reach out through the information below, or find a more direct point of contact for your inquiries.

149 Morrison Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-4801
Phone: (607) 255-2862
Fax: (607) 255-9829
E-mail: anscinfo [at] cornell.edu (anscinfo[at]cornell[dot]edu)