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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

Local beekeepers and researchers examine an open log with a Melipona favosa nest during a workshop

News

Beekeeping, hydropower: Cornell Atkinson awards nearly $1M in grants

Cornell Atkinson’s annual Academic Venture Fund will provide nearly $1 million in seed funding to support research teams across five colleges and 11 departments, many with key external partnerships.

  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Animal Science
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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Field Note

New Visions student Lauren Anderson digs into soil health
Lauren Anderson started working with the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) in Fall 2023 through the TST BOCES New Visions program . Anderson is now continuing with NMSP as a summer intern, working on a soil health project. Read on to...
  • Animal Science
  • Microbiology
  • Agriculture
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News

Agustin Olivo: Transforming dairy sustainability from farm to classroom
Agustin Olivo of Cornell’s Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) defended his PhD dissertation in early June. Read on to learn more about Olivo and his work with nutrient management and greenhouse gas emissions in dairy systems, and to see...
  • Animal Science
  • Agriculture
  • Dairy

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)