The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS or A&S) is a division of
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. It has been part of the
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
since its founding, although its name has changed over time. It grants bachelor's degrees, and masters and doctorates through affiliation with the
Cornell University Graduate School. Its major academic buildings are located on the Arts Quad and include some of the university's oldest buildings. The college offers courses in many fields of study and is the largest college at Cornell by undergraduate enrollment.
History
Originally, the university's
faculty was undifferentiated, but with the founding of the
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...
in 1886 and the concomitant self-segregation of the school's
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
s, different departments and colleges formed.
Initially, the division that would become the College of Arts and Sciences was known as the Academic Department, but it was formally renamed in 1903. The College endowed the first professorships in
American history
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
,
musicology
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
, and
American literature
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...
. Currently, the college teaches 4,100 undergraduates, with 600 full-time faculty members (and an unspecified number of lecturers) teaching 2,200 courses.
Professor
Robert Morris Ogden
Robert Morris Ogden (1877–1959) was an American psychologist and academic. He served as the dean of the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences from 1923 to 1945. He was the first proponent of Gestalt psychology in the United States.
Ea ...
, a Professor of Psychology and expert on
Gestalt psychology, served as the Dean from 1923 to 1945.
The Arts Quadrangle
The Arts Quad is the site of Cornell's original academic buildings and is home to many of the college's programs. On the western side of the
quad
Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to:
Government
* Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States
* Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...
, at the top of
Libe Slope, are
Morrill Hall (completed in 1866), McGraw Hall (1872) and White Hall (1868). These simple but elegant buildings, built with native
Cayuga Cayuga often refers to:
* Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga
Cayuga may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Cayuga, Ontario
United States
* Cayuga, Illinois ...
bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:
* basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand
* dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge)
* felds ...
, reflect
Ezra Cornell's
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
and are known as Stone Row. The
statue of Ezra Cornell
''Ezra Cornell'' is a monumental statue in Ithaca, New York, United States. Located on the Arts Quad of the Cornell Central Campus, the monument honors Ezra Cornell, the co-founder and namesake of Cornell University. The statue, designed by Herm ...
, dating back to 1919, stands between Morrill and McGraw Halls. Across from this statue, in front of Goldwin Smith Hall, sits the statue of
Andrew Dickson White, Cornell's other co-founder and its first president.
Lincoln Hall (1888) also stands on the eastern face of the quad next to Goldwin Smith Hall. On the northern face are the
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
d Sibley Hall and Tjaden Hall (1883). Just off of the quad on the Slope, next to Tjaden, stands the
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art ("The Johnson Museum") is an art museum located on the northwest corner of the Arts Quad on the main campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its collection includes two windows from Frank Lloyd W ...
, designed by
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
. Stimson Hall (1902),
Olin Library Olin Library may refer to:
Libraries named after Stephen Olin:
* Olin Library at Wesleyan University
Libraries named after John M. Olin:
* Olin Library at Cornell University Library
* Olin Library at Washington University Libraries
Libraries nam ...
(1959) and
Uris Library (1892), with Cornell's landmark clocktower, McGraw Tower, stand on the southern end of the quad.
Olin Library replaced Boardman Hall (1892), the original location of the
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...
. In 1992, an underground addition was made to the quad with Kroch Library, an extension of Olin Library that houses several special collections of the
Cornell University Library
The Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. As of 2014, it holds over 8 million printed volumes and over a million ebooks. More than 90 percent of its current 120,000 Periodical literature, periodical titles are ...
, including the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Klarman Hall, the first new humanities building at Cornell in over 100 years, opened in 2016.
Klarman houses the offices of Comparative Literature and Romance Studies.
The building is connected to, and surrounded on three sides by, Goldwin Smith Hall and fronts East Avenue.
Legends and lore about the Arts Quad and its statues can be found at
Cornelliana.
Academics
Majors
The College of Arts and Sciences offers both
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
and
graduate (through the
Graduate School
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
) degrees. The only undergraduate degree is the
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
. However, students may enroll in the dual-degree program, which allows them to pursue programs of study in two colleges and receive two different degrees.
The faculties within the college are:
*
Africana Studies and Research Center*
* American Studies
* Anthropology
* Archaeology
* Asian-American Studies
* Asian Studies
* Astronomy/Astrophysics
* Biology (with the
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
* Biology & Society Major (with the Colleges of
Agriculture and Life Sciences and
Human Ecology)
* Chemistry and Chemical Biology
* China and Asia-pacific Studies
* Classics
* Cognitive Studies
* College Scholar Program (frees up to 40 selected students in each class from all degree requirements and allows them to fashion a plan of study conducive to achieving their ultimate intellectual goals; a senior thesis is required)
* Comparative Literature
* Computer Science (with the
College of Engineering
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...
)
* Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (with the Colleges of
Agriculture and Life Sciences and
Engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
)
* Economics
* Department of Literatures in English*
* Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
* German Studies
* Government
*
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
* History of Art
* Human Biology
* Independent Major
* Information Science (with the
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and
College of Engineering
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...
)
* Jewish Studies
* John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines
* Latin American Studies
* Latino Studies
* Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
* Linguistics
* Mathematics
* Medieval Studies
* Modern European Studies Concentration
* Music
* Near Eastern Studies
* Philosophy
* Physics
* Psychology
* Religious Studies
* Romance Studies
* Russian
* Science and Technology Studies
* Society for the Humanities
* Sociology
* Theatre, Film, and Dance
* Visual Studies Undergraduate Concentration
*Africana Studies was an independent center reporting directly to the Provost until July 1, 2011.
*The English department was renamed the Department of Literatures in English in October 2020 in response to national anti-racism movements.
Admissions
Admission into the college is extremely competitive. The undergraduate program's 7.9% acceptance rate is below Cornell's 8.7% overall undergraduate acceptance rate. Furthermore, Arts and Sciences has the second lowest acceptance rate of any Cornell college, behind the
Dyson School (2.9%).
Gallery
File:Morrill Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.jpg, Morrill Hall with McGraw hall behind it
Image:Arts Quad and Goldwin Smith Hall.jpg, Goldwin Smith Hall
File:Inside Klarman Hall, Cornell University.jpg, The rounded former exterior of Goldwin Smith Hall is integrated into the cafe inside Klarman Hall
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arts and Sciences
Colleges and schools of Cornell University
1865 establishments in New York (state)
Liberal arts colleges at universities in the United States