Two people work in the dairy parlor

Animal Science

Advancing understanding of animal biology and addressing the animal industries' most pressing problems.

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

Upcoming Animal Science Events

man sitting at computer

Meeting

Cornell Field Crop Dealer Meeting
The annual Field Crop Dealer Meeting will again be held virtually this year providing the opportunity for more people to attend. It is again being held in conjunction with the annual CCA Conference. The program will consist of a cross-section of...
  • Field Crops
  • Research
cows at bunk in a dairy barn

Conference

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2021 Cornell Nutrition Conference
For 83 years, the Cornell Nutrition Conference has provided industry leading research and information across the spectrum of animal nutrition to feed industry professionals and nutritional consultants. The year's event will be a hybrid format...
  • Animal Science
  • Dairy
A female with a baseball cap walks into a cow barn

Webinar

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Transition Cow Tuesdays Webinar Series
Have you… been working with the farm transition cow program but want to know more about the how, what and why? wanted to improve the transition cow performance of your herd but need to know where to start? wanted to increase the skills you bring...
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science
  • Dairy
four students in a calf barn are laughing

Workshop

2021 NYS 4-H Youth Dairy Challenge Virtual Competition
We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to send our NYS 4-H Dairy Challenge Team to Harrisburg for the Junior Dairy Management Contest this Fall. There is a $1,000 scholarship available to the highest scoring youth at this contest and...
  • Animal Science
  • New York State 4-H
  • Youth and Families
A truck dumps Cornell dining hall food waste at the university’s composting facility

Webinar

NYS Food Scraps Recycling Law - Opportunities and Challenges for On-Farm Use
The New York State Food Donation and Food Scrap Recycling Act will go into effect on January 1, 2022. This webinar will discuss various ways farms can utilize the potential availability of food waste through animal feed, composting, anaerobic...
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science
  • Dairy

News

Chloe Chavez standing with a cow outside a barn

News

CALS offers new minor in sustainable agricultural and food systems
Starting this fall, students can choose the new minor, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to help students understand the broad role of ag and food systems in feeding humans and impacting the natural environment.
  • Animal Science
  • Food Science
  • Agriculture
Quirine Ketterings standing in front of a poster outside speaking into a microphone

News

$10M grant funds study of dairy’s carbon footprint
The funding aims to help the U.S. dairy industry become carbon neutral while supporting farmers’ livelihoods and will measure greenhouse gas emissions at a working New York dairy.
  • Animal Science
  • Agriculture
  • Planet
A cow in the teaching barn

News

Future NYS dairy leaders bolstered by Chobani Scholarship program
Now majoring in animal science at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Cornell CALS), Swatling aspires to be in dairy management and help improve public understanding of the industry’s sustainable and humane practices...
  • Animal Science
  • Animals
  • Food

Animal Science Kudos & Awards

Graduate Students take 1st and 3rd Place in ARPAS Research Contest

The Northeast Chapter of #ARPAS held a Graduate Student Research Contest in conjunction with the 2020 PennState Virtual Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop in November. To find out more and view the presentations.

 

The ARPAS announcement

Students at ASA - SSSA- CSSA Annual Meeting Receive Awards

Jason Cho, MS student in Animal Science and Ben Lehman received awards for their presentations at the annual meeting held November 9 - 13th 2020.

Learn more about their presentations

Students Awarded During 82nd Annual Cornell Nutrition Conference

Three Animal Science graduate students received awards during the 2020 Cornell Nutrition Conference. Held virtually this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Cornell Nutrition Conference provides industry leading research and information across the spectrum of animal nutrition to feed industry professionals and nutritional consultants.

Learn more about the awards

2020 Cargill Global Scholar

Brianna Green - Animal Science Class of 2023

Global Scholars are those who demonstrate exemplary academic achievement and leadership potential and study in a field relevant to Cargill’s world of food, agriculture and risk management. Including Green, nine Cornell University students in total have been selected as Cargill Global Scholars finalists since the program’s inception. 

Learn more about Cargill Global Scholars

Ewa Bachminska

Graduate student Ewa Bachminska received a grant from Cornell Institute for European Studies to research conservation education in Poland in the summer 2019. It will help her include more wildlife conservation in the classes that she teaches at Cornell.

 

View more kudos & awards

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