a young man crouches in a field with two dogs

Animal Science

Advancing discovery and innovation in animal biology and management to support sustainable food systems and animal care.

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 goals are to discover and develop new techniques and information to benefit animals, agriculture and human health. We seek to accelerate solutions that support sustainable animal systems, and to translate scientific discovery, data-driven insight and innovative technologies into real-world practice. Our internationally recognized faculty have diverse interests in digital agriculture, animal nutrition, environmental sustainability, physiology and metabolism, forage and nutrient management, and genetics, genomics and reproduction.

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 international 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

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News

PRO-DAIRY internships
For many students, internships offer valuable workplace experience. For Madison McCall, a 2022 Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY internship became the first step toward entering an agricultural engineering career. McCall, now a graduate of Clarkson...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science
a woman sits in front of a microscope

Field Note

Vera Yu: How does heat stress lower milk production in dairy cows?
Xingtan (Vera) Yu PhD’27 is a doctoral student working in the lab of Jingyue (Ellie) Duan , assistant professor of functional genomics. Vera’s research focuses on the effects of heat stress on the mammary gland of the dairy cow. We spoke to her...
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science
  • Genomics
A woman holds two test tubes and smiles.

Field Note

Coming full circle: Sarah Flanagan ‘26 strengthens her love of ag
What sparked your interest in agriculture? In high school, we did an environmental science program and there was a section on agriculture. As a part of this, we all had to participate in the World Food Prize, where we picked a country...
  • Animal Science
  • Agriculture
  • Field Crops

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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 in a lab coat looks at a beaker of liquid
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: ansc_mainoffice [at] cornell.edu (ansc_mainoffice[at]cornell[dot]edu)