Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program

The Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program represents the pinnacle of the liberal arts experience at Cornell. The program is focused on a small group of stellar students whose interests transcend disciplinary boundaries. These students have demonstrated exceptional promise and maturity to plan and carry out a well-designed individualized program of study and research. 

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. College Scholars explore subjects with a broader integration of related disciplines than most students would attempt.

They pursue their subjects using advanced, often graduate-level, techniques. As a capstone to their studies, all Scholars undertake an independent senior project, usually culminating in an honors thesis. It is a unique opportunity within the College of Arts & Sciences for engagement and learning, in the classroom and beyond.

Program Structure

Upon acceptance into the program, students are paired with a faculty advisor from the College Scholar Advisory Board.  Students work with their advisors to construct their curriculum and plan their research program. In the spring of sophomore year, students take COLLS 3001, The College Scholar Seminar, to learn methods for finding, evaluating, using, and presenting both qualitative and quantitative information. Students develop skills for presenting complex ideas in written research proposals and oral presentations. The seminar bridges traditional divides between the sciences, humanities, and arts.

During their time at Cornell, College Scholars create their own curriculum and are not required to complete college distribution or foreign language requirements. However, College Scholars are required to complete two first-year writing seminars,120 total credits and 100 credits in Arts & Sciences to graduate, as well as meet the university graduation requirements of two semesters of PE and passing the swim test.  Students may double-major, combining a College Scholar major with other majors or minors in the College.

The main requirement of the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program is the completion of an independent project and thesis. Projects vary widely in their scope and content. Some students focus on library-based research, some do laboratory work and others focus on community engagement. Students may design their own empirical studies; others incorporate creative components, and some do both. 

Students become part of a community of scholars and work with faculty advisors who are known for their independent and interdisciplinary studies. Faculty advisors and program staff help College Scholars put together an advisory committee of several faculty who share their research interests. See the student profiles for examples of their innovative and challenging projects.

Student Research and Activity Funding

The Lynne S. Abel ‘62 College Scholar Endowment Fund supports College Scholars' independent research year-round. Students may receive up to $500 per semester, including summer, to support research costs, conference expenses, and travel. This fund memorializes Associate Dean Abel, who through her spirit and actions, supported students in a wide variety of ways, including by directing and expanding the College Scholar Program from 1974-2003.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted mid-October through midnight, October 27th. Please check back here for the application link. If you would like to be notified when the application link is posted, please email as_csp@cornell.edu.

The application will require the following elements:

  • Recommendation: You will need a recommendation letter from one Cornell faculty member. The recommender should be someone who can attest to your general academic ability, maturity, capacity for independent scholarship, and, if possible, to any particular talent in the proposed field of study. Letters generally do not need to be longer than one single-spaced page to be effective. A link to submit recommendations will be posted when the application is active. Recommendations will be due by midnight, October 30th.
  • Research proposal: In a thoughtful, well-crafted essay, describe the focus of your proposed College Scholar project, and the intellectual question(s) that will be at the core of your curriculum and research. The College Scholar project is not only your senior research paper, but your entire curriculum.

Keep the following questions in mind as you write: What have you learned from courses you have already taken and conversations you have had with faculty? Which academic disciplines / departments will play a central role in preparing you to pursue these lines of inquiry? What will the College Scholar Program enable you to do that a more traditional A&S major may not?

Your research proposal is limited to 750 words. The word limit corresponds to about 3 pages double-spaced, with 1" margins and using 12-point Times or Times New Roman font. Essays over the word limit will be truncated.

  • Proposed courses: List at least eight potential courses for your curriculum from department websites or prior course catalogs and briefly describe how the courses are related to the intellectual focus you have identified. This list is not exhaustive, but rather representative.
  • Personal statement: Your statement should address why you want to be a College Scholar, what you hope to get out of your participation in the College Scholar Program, and why you are a good fit for the program. For example, you might consider your participation in academic and non-academic independent projects, times you have taken initiative to accomplish a goal or meet a need, and experiences that have prepared you for independent research in collaboration with faculty and the ability to design your own curriculum.

Your personal statement is limited to 500 words. The word limit corresponds to about 2 pages double-spaced, with 1" margins and using 12-point Times or Times New Roman font. Essays over the word limit will be truncated.

Program Benefits and Outcomes

Cornell’s Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program is a crown jewel of the College of Arts & Sciences. The impact on our students is profound and life-long.  College Scholars often go on to advanced study in the arts, medicine, business, and sciences. The maturity, academic rigor, and independence this unique program requires creates students who are highly desirable in a range of contexts. A College Scholar degree from Cornell opens doors to employment with companies like Google, careers in medicine, finance, law, and the arts, and research and faculty positions in the sciences and humanities across the globe. Our graduates include faculty at Cornell and the current chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees. 

"I think that I developed a better understanding about how organizations and political bodies are driven by personalities than I would have had I been a traditional government major."

— Bob Harrison ’76, College Scholar
Chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees
Chief Executive Officer, Clinton Global Initiative

Contact Information

Program Director

Professor Kendra Bischoff 
kbischoff@cornell.edu 
348 Uris Hall

Advising Dean

Meg Elliott MAT, MFA
mme3@cornell.edu
KG17 Klarman Hall

For general questions, please email as_csp@cornell.edu.

Give to the College Scholar Program

The Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program gives students unique opportunities to develop their intellectual interests. The program is continually innovating new ways to better facilitate our students’ lofty goals and create stronger interdisciplinary connections. Your gift to the program will directly benefit our students.

You can support the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar program in two ways:

College Scholar Program Gift Fund: This fund supports programming to benefit the College Scholars, including program-sponsored lectures and workshops.

Lynne S. Abel ’62 College Scholar Endowment Fund: The Lynne S. Abel fund supports students in meeting the costs of their independent research projects. The fund also supports their attendance at professional conferences to present their findings. College Scholars can apply for $500 per semester, including summer. This fund memorializes Associate Dean Abel, who through her spirit and actions, supported students in a wide variety of ways, including by directing and expanding the College Scholar Program from 1974-2003.

Click here to give to the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program