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.
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."
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.
Media are the technological means through which societies are reflected, tested, challenged, and transformed. Cornell Media Studies is unique for its broad cultural scope and historical reach which fosters collaborative interaction among the disciplines, from Classics to Information Science.
The Media Studies minor presents undergraduates with the opportunity for interdisciplinary engagement with diverse modes of communication, from the hieroglyph to the algorithm, encompassing the myriad technologies, forms, and practices by which information circulates amongst a now digitally-networked global population.
An ancient concept that remains cutting edge in its applications, Media Studies identifies the transformation of every discipline by new formations of knowledge — digital, textual, visual, aural, tactile — and by corresponding requirements for the evaluation, interpretation, critique, and production of media. It is relevant to every college student. The undergraduate minor in Media Studies is open to students enrolled in any college at Cornell.
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With a minor in Asian American studies, you’ll examine the histories and experiences, identities, social and community formations, politics and contemporary concerns of people of Asian ancestry in the U.S. and other parts of the Americas.
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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.
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With an international relations minor, you’ll be able to take advantage of the vast resources available across colleges and departments for studying the politics, economics, history, languages and cultures of the countries and regions of the world, adding a global and cross-cultural dimension to your major studies. This interdisciplinary program, offered through the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, is open to undergraduates enrolled in any of the seven Cornell undergraduate colleges.
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As an Africana studies major, you’ll have the chance to explore the centrality of Africa and the African Diaspora to the modern world and previous eras in the fields of literature, history, philosophy, international relations, cultural studies, music, and the visual arts.
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With a minor in minority, indigenous and third world studies, you’ll learn how the literatures of U.S. minority groups and third world (especially postcolonial) societies share and reflect similar histories of imperial conquest, slavery and colonial rule. You’ll think about literature and culture in a global context, analyzing imaginative responses to history, politics and ideology in a wide range of courses that explore African American, Asian American, American Indian, U.S. Latino/a, South Asian, Pacific, Caribbean and African literatures, as well as other sub-fields in colonial/postcolonial, diaspora and cultural studies.
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The interdisciplinary Caribbean Studies Minor (CSM) prepares students to understand the region as a site foundational to modernity that remains essential to understanding the present. Courses offered by this minor are designed to provide students with the analytical framework necessary to understand the sociocultural, economic, and political forces that shape the region as well as how those forces—indigenous dispossession, slavery, capitalism—resonate well beyond the geographical space of the Caribbean. Interdisciplinary by nature, the CSM provides a structured yet flexible array of coursework that cuts across history, culture, and the social sciences. Courses in the arts and humanities draw attention to the historical import of the region; how the Caribbean is constructed across various sites and discourses; and how this construction shapes policy realms and everyday life. Social science perspectives illuminate tools for analyzing cultural heterogeneity; the roles of the state, civil society, and ethnic networks; and the way that Caribbean residents and migrants navigate their transnational realities. Students will be introduced to multiple methodologies and will have the opportunity to pursue research in the Caribbean or Caribbean diasporic communities.
The minor is offered collaboratively with courses from across the university through the Department of History, administered by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program. For more information on the minor and a list of approved courses, please see the program site.
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As an Environment & Sustainability major, you will receive interdisciplinary training in environmental science and studies, developing integrated approaches to address environmental and sustainability issues.
Choose a concentration from one of the following areas
The E&S major is offered in collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), where you can explore additional classes.
Take advantage of resources such as the Arnot Teaching and Research Forest, Cornell Biological Field Station at Shackelton Point, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Cornell Natural Areas and the Shoals Marine Lab.
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As a German studies major, you’ll gain proficiency in reading, speaking and writing German, become acquainted with the culture of German-speaking countries and develop skills in reading, analyzing and discussing German texts in relevant disciplines. Majors pursue individual interests in courses addressing literature and philosophy, culture and society, aesthetics and media, as well as critical and political thought. In consultation with the director of undergraduate studies, courses with a substantial German component from other departments may also be included for the major.
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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.
New York Times
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Suzanne Mettler
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Government
US News & World Report
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Sarah Kreps
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Government
Newsweek
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David Silbey
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History
Bloomberg
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Sarah Kreps
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Government
Location: Campus-wide
Location: Uris Hall, G08
