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!
This year, 27 new faculty have joined the College of Arts & Sciences, enriching 17 departments and programs with their excellence in an impressive range of topics, including moral psychology, gravitational waves, Black contemporary art and more.
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.
As an economics major, you can take a broad range of courses in such fields as economic theory, econometrics, money and banking, international economics, economic history, growth and development and industrial organization. You can also study the new field of behavioral economics, which attempts to improve economic analyses by incorporating insights from psychology, and take a new seminar that facilitates collaboration among economists and psychologists and draws students into faculty research.
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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 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 a minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender (LGBT) studies, you’ll study sexuality and its importance to the organization of social relations, political formations, expressive behavior and aesthetic categories. You’ll focus on the representations and lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender subjects, even as these subjects remain stubbornly and productively difficult to define once and for all. LGBT Studies is an interdisciplinary program, and it is likewise open to a variety of perspectives on the stability of the constituent identity categories at its center.
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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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In American Studies, you’ll embark on an interdisciplinary study of the themes, trends and patterns that characterize the American past and present. You’ll use multiple perspectives and methodologies, learn to synthesize knowledge and develop the critical thinking skills needed for rigorous, complex analysis. American Studies majors have the flexibility to define their own area of concentration, such as visual studies, cultural studies, race and ethnicity, legal and constitutional studies, the American environment, American capitalism or class and social structure.
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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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The Biology & Society major is an interdisciplinary major that allows students to combine the study of the biological sciences with courses that explore the social and ethical aspects of modern biology. In addition to gaining a foundation in biology, students in the major acquire background in the social dimensions of modern biology and in the biological dimensions of contemporary social issues. The major is open to students in two colleges: Arts & Sciences and Agriculture and Life Sciences. The major is suitable for students seeking careers in law, medicine, public health, public policy, business, research and academia.
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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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As a linguistics major, you’ll explore the fascinating phenomenon of human language. Through your coursework you’ll learn how language is structured, acquired and used in social interactions. You’ll also learn how language changes over time or how it can be modeled computationally. Coursework for the major includes foundation and core courses, leaving you the flexibility to develop programs of study that focus on your areas of special interest. Linguistics combines well with language study and related fields such as philosophy, psychology, computer science and anthropology.
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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.
Newsweek
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David Silbey
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History
USA Today
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Sarah Kreps
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Government
The Economist
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Nicholas Mulder
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History
Washington Post
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Jed P. Sparks
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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
