The core curriculum and required courses form the foundation of the Information Science major, that each student can then build upon to create their own unique skill set. Please reference the Cornell Class Roster for detailed information about these courses.

Core Courses

  • INFO 1200: Information Ethics, Law, and Policy – This course investigates the ethical, legal, and social foundations of information. 
    • Note: Students can take INFO 1200 or INFO 1260 to meet the core requirement. Both courses count for credit but only one is needed to meet the core requirement.
  • INFO 1260: Choices and Consequences in Computing - This course covers a range of ethical, societal, and policy implications of computing and information. 
    • Note: Students can take INFO 1200 or INFO 1260 to meet the core requirement. Both courses count for credit but only one is needed to meet the core requirement.
  • INFO 1300: Introductory Design and Programming for the Web – In this course, students develop skills in all three of these areas through the use of technologies such as XHTML, Cascading Stylesheets, and PHP. 
  • INFO 2040: Networks – This interdisciplinary course examines network structures and how they matter in everyday life. The course examines how each of the computing, economic, sociological and natural worlds are connected and how the structure of these connections affects each of these worlds. 
  • INFO 2450: Communication and Technology – This course introduces students to the behavioral aspects of Information Science. It examines several approaches to understanding technology and its role in human behavior and society.  
  • INFO 2950: Introduction to Data Science with Python – This course teaches basic mathematical methods for information science, with applications to data science using the Python programming language.

    • Note: 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.

  • INFO 2951: Introduction to Data Science with R - This course teaches basic mathematical methods for information science, with applications to data science using the R programming language. 

    • ​Note: Students can take INFO 2950 or INFO 2951 to meet the core requirement.