Courses of Study 2022-2023 
    
    Apr 18, 2024  
Courses of Study 2022-2023 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Degree Programs


In the College of Arts and Sciences .

Undergraduate Degrees


The College of Arts and Sciences offers a liberal arts and sciences undergraduate education and awards a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, no matter the student’s major.

An education in the liberal arts and sciences involves a broad spectrum of study, in a number of fields, in which students hone their critical and imaginative capacities, gain experience with views of the world radically unlike one’s own and learn to think in complex ways about information, experiences, and the challenges they will encounter throughout their lives.

How one pursues these goals is highly individual and the college relies on each student and their faculty advisor to design an appropriate course of study. The graduation requirements, referenced below, help students accomplish these educational goals through the development of: 

  • familiarity with the different ways of knowing that are reflected in the various disciplines and fields of study within the humanities,  social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences
  • cultural breadth (both geographical and temporal)
  • effective writing and quantitative skills
  • facility in a foreign language beyond the introductory level
  • imaginative and critical thinking
  • a depth of understanding, through pursuing a major, in at least disciplinary area.

The College of Arts & Sciences offers 41 undergraduate majors. In addition to the requirements for each major, all students must meet the college graduation requirements .

Undergraduate Majors


Africana Studies   German Studies  
American Studies   Government  
Anthropology   History  
Archaeology   History of Art  
Asian Studies   Independent Major  
Astronomy   Information Science  
Biological Sciences   Italian  
Biology & Society   Linguistics  
Chemistry   Mathematics  
China and Asia-Pacific Studies   Music  
Classics   Near Eastern Studies  
Cognitive Science   Performing and Media Arts  
College Scholar   Philosophy  
Comparative Literature   Physics  
Computer Science   Psychology  
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences    Religious Studies  
Economics   Science and Technology Studies  
English   Sociology  
Environment & Sustainability   Spanish  
Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies   Statistical Science 
French    

Undergraduate Minors


An undergraduate student may pursue a minor in any department, in any college, subject to limitations placed by the department offering the minor or by the student’s major. Not all departments offer minors. Completed minors will appear on the official transcript. Students may complete as many minors as they wish and the requirements of minors may overlap unless otherwise specified. Minors offered by the College of Arts & Sciences are listed below. All minors available at the university can be found on Cornell University’s academics website.

Africana Studies   Italian  
American Studies   Jewish Studies  
Anthropology    Latina/o Studies  
Arabic   Law and Society  
Archaeology    Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Studies  
Asian American Studies   Linguistics  
Astrobiology   Mathematics   
Astronomy    Media Studies  
China and Asia-Pacific Studies    Medieval Studies  
Classical Civilization   Minority, Indigenous, and Third World Studies  
Classics   Moral Psychology  
Cognitive Science   Music  
Comparative Literature    Near Eastern Studies  
Computer Science   Performing and Media Arts  
Creative Writing   Philosophy  
Crime, Prisons, Education, and Justice   Physics  
Dance   Portuguese and Brazilian Studies  
Data Science in Astronomy   Psychology   
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences    Public Policy  
East Asian Studies   Public Service Studies  
English   Religious Studies   
Environment & Sustainability    Russian  
Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies   Sanskrit Studies  
Film   Science Communication and Public Engagement
French   Science & Technology Studies   
German Studies   South Asian Studies  
Global Asia Studies   Southeast Asian Studies  
History   Spanish   
History of Art   Theatre  
History of Capitalism   Viking Studies  
Inequality Studies    Visual Studies  
Information Science     

Graduate Fields of Study


Arts & Sciences offers research-centered (MA/PhD) advanced degrees in over 35 fields of study. Research-centered graduate degrees often lead to academic careers and scientific discovery.  Programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are administered by the Graduate School  at Cornell. To learn more about graduate degree programs available at Cornell University, please reference the Graduate School’s website.