Design and Environmental Analysis (BS)

College of Human Ecology

Program Website

Program Description

Design and Environmental Analysis (DEA) major combines innovative design thinking with insightful design research to understand how the built environment impacts our daily lives. Through multi-disciplinary training in human-centered design, environmental psychology, ergonomics, and facility strategy and management, we tackle problems from a systems view - people, process and place - to create strategic, sustainable healthy futures by design.

The program offers an integrative, flexible curriculum that is student-centric. In addition to the Human Ecology credits, undergraduate students complete a total of 65 DEA credits; 34 credits in common core foundation courses and then choose nine courses, three of which must be studios to build expertise within a focus area utilizing thematic courses within the major, as well as electives from the broad course offerings within Human Ecology and at Cornell. The undergraduate curriculum thematic courses are organized around the following three primary themes: Design, Innovation & Strategy, Sustainable Futures, and Health & Well-Being.  Students can also elect to complete a minor, honor's thesis, or pursue an off-campus study experience.

Diverse faculty backgrounds and teaching approaches help students to develop multidisciplinary problem-solving and creative abilities, aesthetic judgment, and analytical thinking. Students explore innovative concepts for the design and management of physical environments of varying scales through courses, studios, laboratories, shop, field experience, and applied research. Examples of student class projects and faculty work are frequently on display in the MVR gallery. Our dLibrary includes books, journals, and materials collections for students to use as resources for their course work and research.

Academic Standards

  • A maximum of 15 credits of AP credit and in absentia credit can count towards the 120 total credits. 
  • A maximum of 15 credits of Study Abroad/Exchange, Cornell-In-Washington or Capital Semester can count towards total electives. 

Student Policies

The DEA student policies apply specifically to undergraduate students enrolled in the Design and Environmental Analysis major. DEA majors must also adhere to all Cornell University and College of Human Ecology (CHE) policies and requirements.

Honors Program

The honors program, which leads to a B.S. degree with honors in Design and Environmental Analysis, gives official recognition to undergraduate students who have demonstrated excellence in their academic work and their capacity for independent research. In addition to fulfilling the requirements for their major, students in the honors program prepare and orally defend an honors thesis. Honors students work with a research mentor in preparing for their thesis. Interested students should obtain a DEA Honors Program application form online. For more information, students should visit the DEA honors website or contact the DEA Honors Representative, Dr. Rana Zadeh.

Academic Advising

By the beginning of their first semester, all DEA majors are assigned a faculty advisor by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Consultation with faculty advisors about future goals, graduation requirements, sequences of courses, and electives inside or outside the college helps students develop their academic programs. Students are free to request change of advisors. Although advisors should be consulted about students' schedules during course enrollment each semester, it is the student's responsibility to keep track of his or her courses and to make sure that they make good progress towards graduation requirements for their major and college.