The list below comprises the core course requirements for the major in Information Science, Systems, and Technology in the College of Engineering. Where options in the core courses exist, the choice will depend on the student's interests and planned advanced courses for the selected primary and secondary concentrations. Please reference the Cornell Class Roster for detailed information about these courses.

Core Courses

  • INFO 1200: Information Ethics, Law, and Policy or INFO 1260: Choices and Consequences in Computing*
  • ORIE 3500: Engineering Probability and Statistics II
  • INFO 1300: Introductory Design and Programming for the Web
  • ORIE 3120: Practical Tools for Operations Research, Machine Learning and Data Science
  • INFO 2040: Networks
  • INFO 2450: Communication and Technology or ENGRC 3350: Communications for Engineering Managers**
  • One course in Data Science and Machine Learning***: ORIE 4740, ORIE 3741 (previously 4741), CS 3780 (previously 4780), CS 4786, STSCI 3740 (previously 4740)

Note: Courses taken to satisfy core requirements may not be used to fulfill concentration requirements.

​*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 will not count for the engineering communication requirement. INFO 1200 will not count for the engineering communication requirement if taken after Fall 2023.

**Beginning the 2025-2026 academic year, ENGRC 3350 will not count towards the ISST core. Students must take INFO 2450.

***Beginning Fall 2024, students will not receive credit for both CS 3780 (and the former) CS 4780/5780, ORIE 3741 (and the former ORIE 4741/5741), and STSCI 3740 (and the former STSCI 4740/5740). For example, students will not be permitted to take CS 3780 for the core Data Science and Machine Learning requirement and also STSCI 3740 for the Data Science category A requirement due to an overlap in content.