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What are the CALS Distribution Requirements and How to Find them?

To assist with course selection and finding CALS distribution requirements, please follow the steps below.
three diagrams showing CALS distribution requirements. Information presented in the organizational chart graphic can also be located on the page.
CALS Distribution Requirements- The S/U grading option is accepted for college distribution requirements. However, letter grading may be required for some majors. A single course may not fulfill more than one CALS distribution requirement.

Find courses that count towards CALS Distribution Requirements

  1. Visit the current Cornell Class Roster
  2. On the right menu under 'Search' click on “Breadth/Distribution”.
  3. In the open text box, type any of the following codes (more than one can be selected):
    • CA-AG (Cultural Analysis) 
    • D-AG (Human Diversity)
    • FL-AG (Foreign Language)
    • HA-AG  (Historical Analysis)
    • KCM-AG (Knowledge, Cognition, and Moral Reasoning)
    • LA-AG  (Literature and the Arts) 
    • SBA-AG (Social and Behavioral Analysis)
    • ORL-AG (Oral Expression)
    • WRT-AG (Written Expression)
    • BIO-AG (Introductory Life Sciences/ Biology)
    • CHPH-AG (Chemistry/Physics)
    • MQL-AG (Quantitative Literacy)
    • OPHLS-AG (Other Physical and Life Sciences)

The class roster offers additional search filters, including the number of credits, day of the week, and time offered. Click here for an image.

This can be used to plan future semesters.

Courses that count towards CALS credits start with any of the following prefixes:

AGSCI, AIIS, ALS, AEM, ANSC, BEE, BIOG, BIOAP, BIOCB, BIOEE, BIOMG, BIOMI, BIOMS, BIONB, BIOSM, BSOC, BTRY, COMM, EAS, EDUC, ENTOM, ENVS, FDSC, GDEV, IARD, INFO, LA, LEAD, NS, NTRES, PLBIO, PLBRG, PLHRT, PLPPM, PLSCI, PLSCS, STSCI, VIEN

*Future offerings are subject to change; before you enroll, be sure to re-check the Courses of Study. 

  • Use the search bar under “Courses of Study Search” to search by the prefix (GDEV) and number (1102) or the title of the course (Intro to Global Development).
  • Scroll down to Search Results to see the best match, and further down to Courses- Location/Keyword/Phrase Matches for any other possible matches.
  • Click on the blue, underlined title of the course, and the box will expand with more information about it, including any distributions it will fulfill.

If you are looking for a past or future course, please reference the Courses of Study. Enter a CALS distribution value, found above or in the CALS section of the current Cornell Class Roster.

Before the 2024-2025 Courses of Study, non-CALS courses did not have searchable CALS distribution coding. Visit and review this chart for how non-CALS distributions were accepted toward CALS requirements. 

For courses taken in past semesters, use the drop-down menu in the Courses of Study to select the academic year in which the course was taken. Make sure that eCornell is not selected.

If you have questions about distributions before 2024-2025, please contact CALS Student Services. The following distributions were not coded in Courses of Study before 2024-2025: FL-AG, CHPH-AG, MQL-AG, ORL-AG, and WRT-AG.

If you are looking for a prior or future course, please reference the Courses of Study. Enter a CALS distribution value, found above or in the CALS section of the current Cornell Class Roster.