All potential majors are reviewed on a case-by-case basis relative to the following criteria:

Completion of 4 courses:

  • CS 1110 or CS 1112 (completed Fall 2023 or later)*
    • AP Computer Science A (score of 5) may be used to fulfill CS 1110. For students applying to the major after May 31, 2025, CS 1133 must be completed either before affiliation or during the semester immediately after being admitted to the major.
  • Calculus or statistics
    • AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC (score of 4 or 5) may be used to fulfill the Calculus requirement.
    • AP Statistics is not accepted for the IS major.
  • 2 of the 5 core courses (INFO 1200/1260, INFO 1300, INFO 2040, INFO 2450, and INFO 2950).
    • Students may count CS 2800 + CS 2110 together in place of INFO 2950 for affiliation purposes only. For students applying to the major after September 15, 2024, once admitted to the major, INFO 2950 or INFO 2951 must be completed.
    • Students can take INFO 2950 or INFO 2951 to meet the core requirement. Data Science (DS) concentrators should take INFO 2950: Introduction to Data Science with Python during the fall semester, if possible. Otherwise, DS concentrators should plan to build upon their Python programming skills in preparation for upper-level DS courses.
    • Students can count INFO 1380 in place of one core course for the purposes of affiliation only. After affiliation, students will still need to complete all listed core courses.

Grade & GPA Requirement

  • A grade of C or higher (For Spring 2020: a grade of C- or higher, or an S**) in each of the completed courses used to declare the major.
  • An overall GPA of 2.5 or higher for courses used to declare the major.

Please Note:

  • *Students who have completed CS 1112 prior to Fall 2023 must also complete CS 1133.
  • **The Information Science department cannot know how graduate schools, employers, and so on, will evaluate S grades. 
  • Courses used for the purpose of declaring the major may be repeated if the original course grade was below a C. The most recent grade will be used for all repeated courses. Qualifying courses must be taken at Cornell.

Declaring the Info Sci major as a current student in Arts & Sciences

Please fill out the online IS affiliation application. 

Application Timeline:

  • Applications received between January 1st and January 31st are processed by March 1st.
  • Applications received between February 1st and May 31st are processed by July 1st
  • Application received between June 1st and September 14th are processed by October 15th.
  • Applications received between September 15th and December 31st are processed by mid-January.

International students looking to participate in CPT during the summer after their sophomore year must apply to affiliate with the IS major no later than their 2-1 semester.

Internal Transfer from another Cornell College to Arts & Sciences into the Information Science Major

Note: Students who transfer to Arts & Sciences from other Cornell colleges must complete a minimum of four semesters of on-campus residency in Arts & Sciences following transfer.

In addition:

  • Non-Arts and Sciences students who want to transfer from another college at Cornell in order to major in Information Science in Arts and Sciences should visit the Arts and Sciences internal transfer page.
  • Inform current advisor of intent to transfer, and email the Undergraduate Advisor in Information Science.
  • In order to declare the IS major, students must meet the criteria for admission to the major.

External transfer from an institution outside of Cornell to Arts & Sciences into the Information Science Major