Osita Achufusi: Environment & Sustainability
'I feel equipped to handle whatever uncertainties lie ahead'
A&S Communications
Let curiosity be your guide.
Live, study and grow at the nexus of discovery and impact.
A home for exploration and discovery
Our research activities and academic programs are remarkably broad, but they share one characteristic: all are curiosity-driven. Exploring the unknown is central to our mission to be the nexus of discovery and impact.
Explore research and discoveries
Building trust in AI
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
On storm-ravaged Vieques, a microgrid builds resilience
Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program
April 23 event explores death penalty in America
A&S Communications
>2000
Courses offered in A&S of 4000 courses at Cornell.
42
Majors to choose in A&S. Design your education.
Levinson Program in China & Asia-Pacific Studies
April 24 event celebrates 20 years of China and Asia-Pacific studies
A&S Communications
~4,600
Students in A&S, each with an extraordinary journey to tell.
>90K
A&S alumni in our network. Go Big Red!
Popular Destinations
Congratulations to the Class of 2030!
Welcome to the Big Red community.
Get ready to expand your life and experience beyond the classroom, and to let your curiosity drive your ambitions. The College of Arts & Sciences embodies Ezra Cornell’s founding vision where "any person can find instruction in any study."
Uncommon academic diversity abounds here
The innovative undergraduate curriculum at A&S has distribution requirements that range from global citizenship to physical sciences to ethics and the mind. Classes build upon each other and cross the boundaries of traditional academic fields. Extensive work occurs outside of your major and minors, and there are no required core courses. Work closely with inspiring faculty to develop the hallmark skills of a liberal arts and sciences education – the ability to read critically, write persuasively and think broadly.
Music
major
minor
graduate
Overview
As a music major, you’ll carry the study of music to an advanced level through the integration of performance, history, music theory and composition. Whether oriented toward eventual graduate or professional work in music or a more general approach, you can choose among courses from medieval chant to hip-hop, from classical-era European music to the musics of Latin America and Africa, from electroacoustic music to musical systems from around the globe. We also offer opportunities for performers through individual instruction in piano, violin, voice, percussion and other instruments, as well as through participation in our diverse instrumental ensembles.
Details
Data Science
minor
Overview
The minor in Data Science equips students from any major with a solid understanding of the conceptual and methodological tools of data-driven discovery. Upon completing the minor, students will be ready to leverage competencies and skills to pursue careers in various fields and professions.
Details
European Studies
minor
Overview
As a European Studies minor, you will have the opportunity to explore Europe’s past, present, and future and to demonstrate a knowledge of European languages, culture, history, politics, and international relations. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum that you can mold to your interests, the minor offers you the chance to take courses across colleges and subjects that exemplify your understanding of a globalizing world, while also providing you with an area of expertise. You will gain invaluable critical thinking skills, language abilities, and helpful frameworks for assessing today’s most pressing issues in Europe and around the world.
This multifaceted minor is provided through the Institute for European Studies at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and is available to all Cornell undergraduates. Sample Courses: Modern European Politics Introduction to Spanish Urban Design, Architecture, and Art in Renaissance and Baroque Rome German in Business Culture
Details
Public History
minor
Overview
Public history is any form of historical engagement that moves beyond the traditional classroom and scholarly publication, including monuments, museums, oral history, historical preservation, walking tours, as well as historically-engaged performance and documentary film. The Public History minor provides students opportunities to think critically about diverse modes of historical learning and storytelling and the many ways historical knowledge circulates in public life: Whose histories are privileged and silenced? What strategies can we use to uncover and share knowledge of the past? How does history shape experiences of identity and community? And how can public and community-engaged history help us to better understand society and politics today? Courses in the Public History minor also emphasize applied forms of historical engagement—archival research, community-based oral history projects, and curation.
Details
Italian
major
minor
graduate
Overview
As an Italian major, you’ll have the opportunity to explore in-depth the language, literature and culture of that part of the world, only recently united into a single nation, where Dante wrote his Comedy, Saint Francis roamed the Umbrian hills and directors like Pasolini and Fellini redefined the relationship between cinema and realism. You’ll be encouraged to immerse yourself in Italian literary and cultural history and to question many of the stereotypes that continue to circulate, in America but also in Italy, about that very history.
Details
Science Communication and Public Engagement
minor
Overview
The Science Communication and Public Engagement minor is designed for undergraduates who are interested in the sciences and/or engineering and would like to learn how to use a wide variety of communication tools for engaging publics, including non-technical audiences and policymakers. Students completing the minor will develop an identity as someone who can contribute to the public understanding of science.
Details
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
major
minor
Overview
Cornell University's Bachelor of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences equips students to tackle critical global challenges like climate change and natural disasters. The program features small class sizes, dedicated faculty support, and a wide range of electives and extracurricular opportunities. Nestled in the picturesque landscape of upstate New York, Cornell offers an exceptional setting for the study of environmental sciences.
What are the concentrations within Earth and Atmospheric Sciences?
- Climate Science: The climate science curriculum focuses on the scientific study of climate behavior and its practical applications. It addresses critical issues such as how human activities are altering the climate system, the evolving hazards resulting from climate change, and the potential impacts of proposed mitigation strategies.
- Environmental Sciences: Environmental issues often involved complex physical, chemical, and biologic interactions among air, water rocks, and soil, and therefore typically require multidisciplinary approaches to address effectively.
- Geological Science: Geological science explores the processes behind Earth's origin and evolution, its relationship with the solar system, and its internal structure and composition. It also plays a vital role in addressing societal needs, such as the sustainable use of natural resources, environmental preservation, and the study and mitigation of natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides.
- Ocean Science: Ocean science is a broad field that includes four key subdisciplines: marine geology, marine chemistry, physical oceanography, and biological oceanography. These areas are deeply interconnected, with significant disciplinary overlap. While the concentration in Ocean Sciences covers aspects of all four subdisciplines, it is typically designed to focus more heavily on one area, depending on the student's interests or research goals.
Program Overview:
The EAS program is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating various fields of science and engineering. Relevant engineering disciplines include civil and environmental engineering, biological and environmental engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and electrical and computer engineering. Through this program, students engage in education and research that equips them to pursue competitive careers or advanced study at leading institutions both domestically and internationally. By exploring the complex interactions among the ocean, solid earth, atmosphere, and biosphere, students contribute to addressing society's growing needs for energy, minerals, and clean water, while also playing a role in mitigating the adverse effects of global warming, sea-level rise, natural disasters, and biodiversity loss.
Why is Earth and Atmospheric science important to our world?
Understanding human impacts on our planet provides technologies and solutions for the future. Our graduates will be able to seek careers dealing with energy, mineral and water resources, natural hazards, climate forecasting, and a host of environmental issues through employment in academia, government and the private sector.
For further information about the major:
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Dr. Rowena Lohman
Snee Hall, Room 3210
rbl62@cornell.edu
Undergraduate Coordinator
Annmarie Card
Snee Hall, Room 2102A
ac2666@cornell.edu
American Sign Language/Deaf Studies
minor
Overview
With the American Sign Language (ASL)/Deaf Studies minor, students can pursue an interdisciplinary course sequence focusing on American Sign Language and Deaf culture. Courses offered range across a variety of different disciplines, to provide a broad and compelling perspective on ASL and the Deaf community.
Details
Statistical Science
major
graduate
Overview
As a statistical science major, you’ll have a home in two colleges: Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.
Statistical Science combines modern statistical methodology and computing with data science to solve problems through the science of learning from data and from measuring, controlling, and communicating uncertainty. The major is ideal for students interested in actuarial science, applied and mathematical statistics, data mining and visualization, machine learning, quantitative reasoning, statistical programming, and more.
Details
Latin American Studies
minor
Overview
With a minor in Latin American studies, you’ll explore issues and topics pertaining to Latin America with courses from various fields of study including music, politics, economics, feminist studies, archeology, theatre, art history, language, literature, architecture, agriculture, science and history.
DetailsBeyond Majors & Minors
The pinnacle of the liberal arts experience
Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program
Students design their own interdisciplinary major, organized around a question or issue of interest, and pursue a course of study that cannot be found in an established major. Harrison College Scholars explore subjects with a broader integration of related disciplines than most students would attempt.
A deep dive into the humanities
Humanities Scholars Program
This program offers a signature learning, research and collaboration opportunity for undergraduate students across the university who are interested in the humanities.
Shaping the future
Milstein Program
Students in the Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity combine Cornell’s renowned liberal arts and sciences classes in Ithaca with the 21st century tech curriculum at Cornell Tech in NYC.
Funding your summer experience
Summer Experience Grants
Summer opportunities are crucial to student career success, but these life-changing experiences frequently offer little to no funding. That’s a critical barrier for many of our students – and one that the College of Arts and Sciences feels is vital to overcome.
The Summer Experiences Grants (SEG) do just that. They support students with living expenses, transportation, and travel so that these essential experiences are available to all of our students, who may otherwise not be able to afford them.
Research, scholarship and creative works to understand humanity and the cosmos
Curiosity is the driver for research in A&S. From the dendrochronology lab where archaeologists analyze tree-ring growth to understand climate change to the linguistics department where students created a new language for a Captain Marvel movie, our students and faculty take full advantage of all that our world-class research university encompasses.
With opportunities spanning the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, research here takes place in laboratories, museums, field sites, libraries, hospitals, greenhouses, performance spaces and archives.
Premier postdocs
Klarman Fellowships
This premier postdoctoral fellowship program offers opportunities for early-career scholars of outstanding talent, initiative and promise to devote themselves to frontline, innovative research without being tied to specific outcomes.
Undergraduate research opportunities
Nexus Scholars Program
The Nexus Scholars Program in the College of Arts & Sciences provides undergraduate students with summer opportunities to work side by side with faculty from all across the college (humanities, social sciences, and STEM) on their research projects.
Engaging our community and our world
Open your mind
Arts Unplugged series
The College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series brings research and creative works into the public sphere for discussion and inspiration. These outreach events invite a broad audience to explore the work of scholars and faculty from all disciplines, all backgrounds and all time periods and to celebrate the impact that work continues to have on our daily lives.
Engagement for an informed society
Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program
The College of Arts & Sciences' Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program brings accomplished journalists to Cornell for extended visits. The program aims to recognize excellence in journalism and to provide opportunities for select journalists and the university community to engage with each other.
Faculty Commentary on Current Events
Government
Israel–Lebanon talks reflect wider U.S. strategy to manage Iran fallout
A&S Communications
Government
Taiwan’s opposition leader visits Nanjing, but US and China call the shots
A&S Communications
Faculty in the news
NPR
Related people
Nicholas Mulder
Related Departments
History
04/16/2026
New York Times
Related people
Sophie Pinkham
Related Departments
Comparative Literature
04/15/2026
The Guardian
Related people
Nicholas Mulder
Related Departments
History
04/17/2026
Politico
Related people
Sarah Kreps
Related Departments
Government
04/09/2026
Upcoming A&S Events
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Friday 07:30 PM
Stucky Ensemble-in-Residence Splinter Reeds (CU Music)
Location: Barnes Hall
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Friday 08:00 PM
Fuertes Observatory Open House
Location: Fuertes Observatory
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Saturday 07:30 PM
Cornell Jazz Ensemble Concert with Ingrid Jensen (CU Music)
Location: Bailey Hall
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Sunday 07:30 PM
Cornell Chorale Spring Concert, "Promises Aflight” (CU Music)
Location: Bailey Hall