Cornell University 1987 Commencement arts and sciences

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 tea ...

. 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 ...

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 The Cornell University Graduate School confers most professional and research master's degrees and doctoral degrees in various fields of study for the university. The departments under which instruction and research take place are housed in Corne ...

. 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 in 1886 and the concomitant self-segregation of the school's lawyers, 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 Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

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 Gestalt-psychology, gestaltism, or configurationism is a school of psychology that emerged in the early twentieth century in Austria and Germany as a theory of perception that was a rejection of basic principles of Wilhelm Wundt's and Edward ...

, 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, at the top of Libe Slope, are

Morrill Hall Morrill Hall may refer to (all are buildings named for Justin Smith Morrill): *Morrill Hall (Cornell University), the building at Cornell University *Morrill Hall, a campus building located at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign *Morri ...

(completed in 1866), McGraw Hall (1872) and White Hall (1868). These simple but elegant buildings, built with native Cayuga

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) * fe ...

, reflect

Ezra Cornell Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as President of the New York Agricul ...

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 chara ...

and are known as Stone Row. The statue of Ezra Cornell, 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 Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...

, 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 (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. 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, 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 Cornelliana is anything related to Cornell University, an Ivy League university founded in 1865 in Ithaca, New York. The university has a considerable number of traditions, legends, and lore unique to the university that have developed over its ex ...

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 Human ecology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The philosophy and study of human ecology has a diffuse history with advancements in ecolog ...

) * 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 tha ...

) * 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

) * 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