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.
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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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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Public history is any form of historical engagement that moves beyond the traditional classroom and scholarly publication, including monuments, museums, oral history, historical preservation, walking tours, as well as historically-engaged performance and documentary film. The Public History minor provides students opportunities to think critically about diverse modes of historical learning and storytelling and the many ways historical knowledge circulates in public life: Whose histories are privileged and silenced? What strategies can we use to uncover and share knowledge of the past? How does history shape experiences of identity and community? And how can public and community-engaged history help us to better understand society and politics today? Courses in the Public History minor also emphasize applied forms of historical engagement—archival research, community-based oral history projects, and curation.
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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 undergraduate minor in migration studies is is a university-wide, interdisciplinary undergraduate minor that helps students understand how migration shapes our world on the move. Focused on the historical and contemporary contexts and factors that drive international migration and shape migrant experiences around the globe, the minor dovetails with Migrations: A Global Grand Challenge, part of Global Cornell.
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As a statistical science major, you’ll take an interdisciplinary academic approach to the study of empirical quantitative reasoning in its scientific and social context, through three themes: mathematical, computational and applied statistics. You’ll learn how statistical inference and probabilistic modeling are central to all of the pure and applied sciences today, as well as how pervasive statistical thinking and quantitative reasoning have become in culture, economy, law, government and science, dramatically changing the way people view the world.
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The minor in Data Science equips students from any major with a solid understanding of the conceptual and methodological tools of data-driven discovery. Upon completing the minor, students will be ready to leverage competencies and skills to pursue careers in various fields and professions.
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As a psychology major, you’ll gain familiarity with current knowledge about the important determinants of human behavior and with the methods used to expand that knowledge, while developing critical thinking skills. You can choose to concentrate in behavioral and evolutionary neuroscience; perception, cognition and development; or social and personality psychology.
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As a Spanish major, you’ll have the opportunity to explore in-depth the languages, literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. You’ll be invited to engage with topics as various as medieval sin and modern film, novels from early modern Spain (most famously, Don Quixote) and from modern Latin America. You’ll also be encouraged to study abroad and to reflect critically upon the diversity that characterizes the Hispanic tradition.
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As a music major, you’ll carry the study of music to an advanced level through the integration of performance, history, music theory and composition. Whether oriented toward eventual graduate or professional work in music or a more general approach, you can choose among courses from medieval chant to hip-hop, from classical-era European music to the musics of Latin America and Africa, from electroacoustic music to musical systems from around the globe. We also offer opportunities for performers through individual instruction in piano, violin, voice, percussion and other instruments, as well as through participation in our diverse instrumental ensembles.
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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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