Let curiosity be your guide.
Live, study and grow at the nexus of discovery and impact.
A home for exploration and discovery
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.
Explore research and discoveries
Literatures in English
Early version of Black Pride brought US a step closer to Juneteenth
>2000
Courses offered in A&S of 4000 courses at Cornell.
42
Majors to choose in A&S. Design your education.
Humanities Scholars Program
Humanities scholars research free speech, AI, sports culture and the Supreme Court
A&S Communications
~4,600
Students in A&S, each with an extraordinary journey to tell.
Excellence in teaching and advising
Outstanding A&S teachers, advisors honored with 2024 awards
A&S Communications
65K
A&S alumni in our network. Go Big Red!
Congratulations to the Class of 2028!
Welcome to the Big Red community.
Get ready to expand your life and experience beyond the classroom, and to let your curiosity drive your ambitions. The College of Arts & Sciences embodies Ezra Cornell’s founding vision where "any person can find instruction in any study."
Popular Destinations
A&S Academic Diversity
Uncommon academic diversity abounds here
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.
Biology & Society
major
History
major
minor
graduate
Dance
minor
Public History
minor
Linguistics
major
minor
graduate
Archaeology
major
minor
graduate
Religious Studies
major
minor
graduate
Beyond Majors & Minors
The pinnacle of the liberal arts experience
Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program
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
Humanities Scholars Program
This new program offers a signature learning, research and collaboration opportunity for undergraduate students across the university who are interested in the humanities.
Shaping the future
Milstein Program
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 Experience Grants
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.
Research and Scholarship
Research, scholarship and creative works to understand humanity and the cosmos
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
Klarman Fellowships
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.
High-impact seed funding
New Frontier Grants
Now in its third year, New Frontier Grants enable faculty members to pursue novel, bold ideas in research with potential for transformative advances in the arts and humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.
Undergraduate research opportunities
Nexus Scholars Program
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.
Public Engagement
Engaging our community and our world
Open your mind
Arts Unplugged series
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
Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program
The College of Arts & Sciences' new 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.
Faculty Commentary on Current Events
Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling like ‘cocking a gun in an old western movie’
History
A&S Communications
Steel industry protectionism beyond typical election-year rhetoric
International relations
A&S Communications
Florida ruling ‘deviates from the more moderate views’ held by most Americans
Religion
A&S Communications
Cornell Expert: Why bridge collapse recovery is ‘time to listen’ to Baltimore residents impacted by coal shipping
Anthropology
A&S Communications
NY’s fundamental need: New housing of every ‘shape, size and price’
Housing politics
A&S Communications
Faculty in the news
Newsweek
Related people
Harry G. Segal
Related Departments
Psychology
06/15/2024
ABC News
Related people
Sarah Kreps
Related Departments
Government
06/14/2024
NBC Weekend Today
Related people
Riché Richardson
Related Departments
Africana Studies and Research Center
06/14/2024
Financial Times
Related people
Gordon Pennycook
Related Departments
Psychology
06/14/2024
A&S Events
Upcoming Events
Jun 24Monday
12:00
6-Week Summer Session Begins
Campus-wide:
Aug 26Monday
12:00
Instruction Begins
Campus-wide:
Dec 09Monday
12:00
Last Day of Instruction
Campus-wide:
Building the future of
the College of Arts & Sciences
We’re building for the future of the College of Arts & Sciences by focusing on ways we can “do the greatest good” to solve the world’s biggest challenges.
Learn more about our plan for the next decade and how your gift can support bold faculty research, expand innovative learning experiences and increase scholarship funding for our diverse student population.