a young man crouches on the grass with two dogs

Animal Science

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

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 CALS Undergraduate Research Experience: Cameron Xu '26

News

two people standing together

News

PRO-LIVESTOCK specialists hired
The new PRO-LIVESTOCK team will develop and implement programs statewide and conduct applied research in collaboration with Cornell faculty and Cornell Cooperative Extension educators. PRO-LIVESTOCK mirrors Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY, a nationally...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • PRO-LIVESTOCK
arial view of livestock in field

News

New PRO-LIVESTOCK team at Cornell
The new PRO-LIVESTOCK team will develop and implement programs statewide and conduct applied research in collaboration with Cornell faculty and Cornell Cooperative Extension educators. PRO-LIVESTOCK mirrors Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY, a nationally...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • PRO-LIVESTOCK
A woman crouches in a field looking at a tablet housed in a case.

Field Note

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

Sign up for our newsletter

Get The Feed, Cornell Animal Science Department's monthly newsletter. Full of the latest news, events, and comings and goings, The Feed is your portal to all things animal science.

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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)