a young man crouches on the grass with two dogs

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

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

cows grazing

News

2023 Production and financial benchmarks for New York organic dairies
Methods PRO-DAIRY and Cornell Cooperative Extension farm business management educators work closely with dairy operators to complete the DFBS on an annual basis. Farms contribute detailed financial, production, and labor information. Farm...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science
two men and two women study a computer screen together

News

Hitting the ground running: 40 years of Dairy Fellows
The dairy industry is complex and far-reaching. From production to financial management to agribusiness long-range planning, dairy demands many skillsets to keep the industry humming. To prepare students for careers in this dynamic industry, the...
  • Dairy Fellows Program
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science
three people

News

PRO-DAIRY welcomes new staff
Farm Business Management team adds two new members Lainey Koval (pictured left) has been working part-time with PRO-DAIRY, starting during her senior year at Cornell, and is now on staff full-time. She will provide administrative support for the...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • PRO-DAIRY
  • Animal Science

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)