The College of Arts & Sciences, Cornell University

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

Read more A&S news

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Alison Rittershaus/Provided John Henderson, professor of anthropology, works with an object from the Mesoamerican Archaeology Lab, which is now part of the Anthropology Collaboratory.
Glass shelves in wooden cases holding pieces of pottery
Alison Rittershaus/Provided An Amazonian headdress is displayed with two cases of artifacts in the Anthropology and CIAMS Collections
Anthropology

Cornell anthropology opens Collaboratory May 14

A&S Communications
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Courses offered in A&S of 4000 courses at Cornell.

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Ryan Young/Cornell University Semiconductors are at the core of the economy and national security. Their importance makes them a target. Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, discusses how Cornell is helping to keep the semiconductor supply chain safe.
person at a desk with computers, looking thoughtful
Ryan Young/Cornell University Semiconductors are at the core of the economy and national security. Their importance makes them a target. Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, discusses how Cornell is helping to keep the semiconductor supply chain safe.
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Majors to choose in A&S. Design your education.

People cluster together in an outdoor shelter, looking at papers and flowers
Dan Rosenberg/Provided From left, MFA students Gerardo Iglesias, Sarah Iqbal and Aishvarya Arora listen to observations by two young poets at the Ithaca Children’s Garden.
People cluster together in an outdoor shelter, looking at papers and flowers
Dan Rosenberg/Provided From left, MFA students Gerardo Iglesias, Sarah Iqbal and Aishvarya Arora listen to observations by two young poets at the Ithaca Children’s Garden.
Creative Writing Program

Cornell writers inspire kids’ poetry at Ithaca Children’s Garden

Cornell Chronicle
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Students in A&S, each with an extraordinary journey to tell.

Kaushik Basu wearing a tweed jacket with hand upraised as he delivers a talk.
Cornell University File Photo Kaushik Basu at a 2016 Chats in the Stacks talk about his book “An Economist in the Real World.”
Kaushik Basu wearing a tweed jacket with hand upraised as he delivers a talk.
Cornell University File Photo Kaushik Basu at a 2016 Chats in the Stacks talk about his book “An Economist in the Real World.”
Economics

Economist Kaushik Basu named co-chair of UN panel

A&S Communications
90K

A&S alumni in our network. Go Big Red!

New faculty grid

The College welcomes new faculty for 2024-25

Twenty-eight new faculty have joined the College of Arts & Sciences this year, bringing innovative ideas in a wide diversity of topics, from climate politics to experimental fiction, from artificial intelligence to health economics, enhancing the College’s interdisciplinary strengths and curiosity-driven discoveries.

Click here to explore profiles of all the new faculty members.

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.

Beyond Majors & Minors

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Michael Goldstein/Provided College Scholars Program students from the College of Arts & Sciences visit the Johnson Museum.

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.

More details about the College Scholar Program

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Jesse Winter Louise Wang outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where she worked this summer, in New York City.

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.

Learn more about the program 

Students in the Milstein program learning audio recording techniques

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.

See the Milstein Program at work

student in front of building
Amina Kilpatrick

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.

Discover life-changing summer experiences 

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.

Explore our research, scholarship and creative works

Person in blue lab coat, standing at a counter full of instruments and bottles
Chris Kitchen Alexa Easley is working to develop materials for low-energy carbon capture that are organic and easy to make on large scales and in realistic conditions.

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.

Learn more about the Klarman Fellowships.

two people working behind a computer
Chris Kitchen Students Sneah Singhi ’26, left, and David Behdad ’25 work in the observation room at the B.A.B.Y Lab, which studies infant language acquisition.

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.

Explore more details about Nexus Scholars

Engaging our community and our world

two women sitting on stage
Chris Kitchen Anderson, left, and Peraino, right traced the arc of Anderson's multi-decade career.

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.

Explore recent and upcoming Arts Unplugged events.

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Noël Heaney/Cornell University Natalie Wolchover speaks March 15 in Lewis Auditorium.

Engagement for an informed society

Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program

The College of Arts & Sciences' new 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. 

Learn more about the program.

Faculty Commentary on Current Events

Faculty in the news

NPR

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Jon W. Parmenter

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History

05/09/2025

The Guardian

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Kristen Warner

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Performing and Media Arts

05/07/2025

New York Times

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Thomas Pepinsky

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Government

05/06/2025

Newsweek

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Jamila Michener

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Government

05/06/2025

Upcoming A&S Events

May 09 12:30 Sage Chapel May 09 4:00 May 09 5:00 A. D. White House