As a computer science major, you’ll have a home in two colleges: Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.
The Computer Science major is ideal for A&S students who wish to connect their liberal arts education with their computing interests. In Computer Science you can study algorithms and complexity, application development, artificial intelligence, computer graphics and animation, game design, machine learning, programming languages, robotics, security, software engineering, systems and networking, and more.
The major’s foundation is an engaging and rigorous set of core courses, and the department offers an unrivaled breadth of undergraduate elective offerings. Every CS major completes required coursework in artificial intelligence or machine learning, and the department offers over 60 courses at undergraduate and graduate levels related to artificial intelligence. Many students take a graduate-level course or two as part of completing their bachelor’s degree.
Sample classes
- CS 3700 - Foundations of AI Reasoning and Decision-Making
- CS 3780 - Introduction to Machine Learning
- CS 4152 - Advanced Topics in Computer Game Architecture
- CS 4320 - Introduction to Database Systems
- CS 4450 - Introduction to Computer Networks
- CS 4670 - Introduction to Computer Vision
- CS 4701 - Practicum in Artificial Intelligence
- CS 4750 - Foundations of Robotics
- CS 4813 - Quantum Computing
Outcomes
All information below is Class of 2025 A&S computer science majors’ undergraduate data at six months post-graduation. Explore these outcomes in greater detail on the Cornell Outcomes Dashboard or by emailing as_careers@cornell.edu.
What can you do with a degree in Computer Science?
At the time the data were reported, 98% of Class of 2025 A&S students graduating with a computer science major were employed full-time (62%), in graduate school (33%), or pursuing other endeavors, such as entrepreneurship (3%).
Graduate school:
In 2025, 33% of A&S computer science majors elected to continue their studies after graduation. They pursued various advanced degrees, with 58% focusing on a Masters of Engineering, 21% on a Ph.D., and 16% on a Masters of Science. Their graduate fields range from computer science (73%) to financial engineering or physics (3% each).
The top graduate school destination for Class of 2025 A&S computer science majors was Cornell University. Beyond Cornell, these students also went to:
- Boston University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Columbia University in the City of New York
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Princeton University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Stanford University
- University of California-Berkeley
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas at Austin (The)
- University of Toronto
- University of Washington-Seattle
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Employment:
While 33% of their classmates continued their studies, 62% of A&S computer science graduates secured full-time employment. The majority entered sectors in technology (54%) and financial services (23%), with the financial services roles typically related to technology, e.g., fintech.
The top ten employers for A&S Class of 2025 computer science graduates were:
- Amazon Web Services
- Meta
- Amazon
- Bloomberg
- Netflix
- Broadridge
- Microsoft
- EY (Ernst & Young)
- Epic Systems
