Live, study and grow at the nexus of discovery and impact.
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.
Courses offered in A&S of 4000 courses at Cornell.
Majors to choose in A&S. Design your education.
Students in A&S, each with an extraordinary journey to tell.
A&S alumni in our network. Go Big Red!
Twenty new faculty have joined the College of Arts & Sciences this year, strengthening departments and programs with their wide-ranging expertise and filling numerous leadership roles for the College and university. And this election year, the College’s new faculty bring a breadth and depth of expertise on topics important to our democracy.
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.
With a Latina/o studies major you’ll be able to explore the rich histories and contemporary life of Latino communities in the United States. You will learn about Latina/o political and labor participation, creative expression and literature, and issues of immigration, education, language and health. Faculty members from history, sociology, anthropology, literature, language, government, performance studies and more, give you an opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary field of study of Latina/os in the U.S., with an emphasis on a transnational and comparative perspective.
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The Sanskrit Studies minor is intended for students who wish to broaden and deepen their competence in the Sanskrit language and traditional Indian religious, literary, and philosophical culture.
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With a Portuguese and Brazilian studies minor, you’ll gain a linguistic and cultural understanding of Brazil, including recent cultural, political, economic and social trends, as well as familiarity with cinema, music, literature, issues of race, class, and gender, and twentieth-century Brazilian history.
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As a government major, you’ll learn how to think and write rigorously and creatively about issues of public life. You’ll have the choice of courses in four subfields: American politics (the political behavior, policies and institutions of the U.S.), comparative politics (the institutions and political processes of other nations), political theory and philosophy (normative theories of politics and history of political thought) and international relations (transactions between states, international organizations and transnational actors).
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With a minor in Asian studies, you can focus on East Asia, South Asia or Southeast Asia. Your courses can include the study of language, literature, religion and culture in the Department of Asian Studies, as well as courses on Asian history, politics, anthropology, sociology and economics offered in other departments.
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With a minor in theatre, you can focus on areas that interest you within the theory and practice of live performance: acting and directing for stage production; theatre history, theory and criticism; and theatre design and technologies. Students with a primary interest in theatre can incorporate that into the PMA major.
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The Department of Literatures in English seeks to foster critical analysis and lucid writing. We also strive to teach students to think about the nature of language and to be alert to both the rigors and the pleasures of reading texts of diverse inspiration.
English majors engage with English, American, and Anglophone literature of an astounding historical span and global variety, and are trained to respond to what they read in a rich and complex variety of ways—from expository essays and scholarly inquiries to class discussions and creative writing of their own.
Students develop their own programs of study in consultation with their major advisors. Some focus on a particular historical period or literary genre, or combine sustained work in creative writing with the study of literature. Others pursue interests in such areas as women’s literature, regional literature, literature and the visual arts, or critical theory.
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As a physics major, you’ll develop analytical and problem solving skills while being able to customize your studies. You’ll take a common core set of courses and can then choose a concentration that complements the core, such as physics, or an interdisciplinary concentration such as chemical physics, geophysics, astrophysics, biophysics, applied math, philosophy of science, computer science, etc. The combination of biology/chemistry as a concentration is appropriate if you’re pre-med; you can also create an individualized concentration with courses in physics-related economics, history, law or business.
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As an Asian studies major, you will learn about the languages and literatures, religions, societies and cultures of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, with courses in most of the disciplines of the social sciences and the humanities.
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The pinnacle of the liberal arts experience
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
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
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 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.
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
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
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.
Open your mind
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
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.
US News & World Report
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Government, China and Asia-Pacific Studies Program
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History
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Mathematics
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Near Eastern Studies, Religious Studies Program
Location: Uris Hall, G08
Location: Keeton House
Location: Olin Library, 107
Location: Klarman Hall, Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium
