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.
With a minor in law and society, you’ll have an opportunity for focused study of the interaction between law and society, from an interdisciplinary perspective predominantly rooted in the social sciences and humanities: anthropology, comparative literature, economics, government, history, philosophy, psychology, science and technology studies and sociology.
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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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The undergraduate minor in Arabic is intended for Cornell students who wish to broaden and deepen their competence in the Arabic language and knowledge of Arab culture. Such linguistic competence and knowledge have helped Cornell students in the past obtain positions in government agencies and think tanks and to enroll in the most competitive Arabic programs in this country.
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With a minor in Crime, Prisons, Education, and Justice, you’ll have an unparalleled opportunity to learn why the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and how race, class, politics, history, gender, inequality, and law relate to mass incarceration in the United States.
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As a French major, you’ll have the opportunity to explore in-depth the languages, literatures and cultures of France and the Francophone world. Whether you’re studying Haiti or Montaigne, classical theater or contemporary sexuality, you’ll have the chance to become a flexible and articulate interpreter of texts and ideas. You’ll be encouraged to study abroad and to make connections, wherever you are, across the boundaries of language, discourse, nation and time.
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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 sociology major, you’ll focus on basic science while diving deeply into public and educational policies, investigating topics such as gender, racial and income inequality, as well as drug use, economic development and organizational practices. You’ll develop fundamental insight and understanding of sociological issues as well as advanced research skills in quantitative and qualitative methods.
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With a minor in the History of Capitalism, you’ll be exposed to different perspectives on how capitalism has been defined and how it developed at different times and in different parts of the world, enabling you to critically reflect on economic institutions and ideas, as well as to understand how our global economy has come to be. You’ll gain the basic vocabulary of economics and business, deepened with a longer, critical perspective on the development of capitalism. This minor is offered collaboratively with courses from across the university, coordinated by the Department of History.
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As a religious studies major, you’ll take an interdisciplinary approach to the academic study of religion, drawing upon humanities and social scientific disciplines and situating religious traditions within historically and theoretically critical contexts. You won’t be asked to adhere to nor explain away particular religious stances; instead, you’ll develop the intellectual tools to understand how normative claims about religious beliefs and practices are implicated in constructing and contesting various social identities, and how these claims help shape historical events.
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As an archaeology major, you’ll benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to a broad range of cultures, with courses in classical archaeology and art, Near Eastern studies, and the archaeology of Eurasia, the Americas and Africa. You’ll gain hands-on experience through lab-based courses in zooarchaeology, ceramics, dendrochronology and in the material cultures of Native Americans and Euro-Americans, and will have opportunities for fieldwork both in the U.S. and abroad. The Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS) is one of the leading archaeology groupings in the U.S. and offers one of the few majors in archaeology in the country.
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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.
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