Cornell is an Ivy League university in the city of Ithaca in upstate New York that is both exceptional and unique in its exceptionalism. That may sound redundant, but Cornell is a top-tier university that is distinctly different. They offer all the majors and programs you expect to see at a top university, but then there’s the stuff that Cornell does better than anyone else. For some of the majors we’ll focus on in this post, Cornell is the only university of its caliber that offers that major.
First, though, let’s zoom out from individual courses of study to look at the big picture of Cornell University. Cornell is one of the most famous research universities in the world. The main campus is in the city of Ithaca, but they also have programs in and Washington, D.C., New York City, Qatar, New Hampshire, Geneva, NY, and Rome. Many of these are graduate programs, but undergraduates can still benefit from the resources of offer beyond the Ithaca homebase.
Cornell has over 16,000 undergraduate students across ten different undergraduate colleges (depending on how you count). One of the interesting things about Cornell is that their undergraduate programs span classic majors, like history or engineer, and then also super specific and unique majors in schools like the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences or the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration.
For students entering as first-years in the fall of 2023, Cornell received 67,846 applications and accepted 7.9% of applicants. Two-thirds of accepted students chose Cornell, which underlines the power and popularity of the university.
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What do we mean by best major?
With 16,000+ undergraduate students and a bunch of undergraduate colleges, Cornell has a lot of majors to pick from (80, in fact). Choosing a major isn’t like grabbing a name out of a hat, though. It’s intensely personal. So, deciding which ones are the best needs to take this into account. When accessing majors, we look at how well they are designed and resourced to provide students with everything they need to not just excel in the classroom but in life. This isn’t something that we can figure out quantitatively, so we look at the number of professors in the major, how long a major has existed at the college, the number of courses available and how often those courses are updated, and the resources available to students both for excelling as students and for kickstarting their careers.
Hotel Administration Major — Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the SC Johnson College of Business
If you check into a five-star hotel and ask where the top-tier management went to college, chances are they spent time at Cornell. The undergraduate Hotel Administration Major is the only one of its kind at a top-tier university, let alone the Ivy League, and the program is a bit of a sleeper hit. Students who know it really know it, but many hear “hotel administration” and don’t dig much deeper. Did you know, though, that running a top-tier hotel or resort is like being the CEO of a major corporation? The Cornell program prepares students to be able to launch life-long, and highly financially-successful, careers in the world of hotels and resorts. Students can go on to work in existing hotels, or build successful enterprises of their own. Once you’re in the program, you can choose a specialization, like Hospitality Operations, or a minor in Real Estate. Within the core major, courses range from “Employment Relations, Human Resources, and Law” to “Accounting,” “Entrepreneurship” to “Services Marketing.” All students also take part in an experiential learning opportunity working in the field.
Animal Science, B.S. — College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Cornell really excels in arenas of study that are practical at heart. The top programs are ‘real world’ programs that are shaping the way we live, what we eat, and how the mechanics of our society function. The Animal Science major is a key part of this ‘secret sauce.’ This major can lead towards a future in veterinary science, animal research, conservation, behavioral studies, or even in fine-tuning domesticated animal husbandry through genetics to improve outcomes for species and humans. With the support of a faculty advisor, students create a customized curriculum that empowers them to follow their passions and interests, and classes include courses like “Immunology in Animal Health and Disease” and “Dairy Herd Management.” One of the coolest parts of this major is how it brings people together from a variety of lived experiences. You’ll have a top science student from an urban city sitting alongside a young person preparing to become the fifth generation of their family to raise cattle. Both have so much to bring to the table, and all learning alongside each other improves the experience of every individual.
Landscape Architecture, B.S. — College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
The Landscape Architecture program at Cornell is both theoretical and practical. Students study the history and theory of the field of creating landscapes, and the practical processes, techniques, and tools they need to know to become successful landscape architects. The program is ideal for students interested in “urban development, land-use planning, conservation and ecological design.” One of our favorite parts of the program though, is the emphasis on study abroad. Students have opportunities to study how landscapes have been shaped through design in places like Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The program is also structured in a studio form, so students build one-on-one relationships with instructors through processes of ideation and feedback. Concentrations are available in subjects including (but not limited to) environmentally sustainable design, golf course design, ecotourism, and playground design.
Archaeology — College of Arts and Sciences
Cornell is one of only a handful of colleges in the country with a stand-along undergraduate archaeology major that isn’t a sub-focus of an anthropology program. Being a fully-fledged program means that the archaeology program is extremely robust and ideal for students who know that they want a career in archaeology. Studying archaeology isn’t just about dinosaur bones or Egyptian burials, though. Archaeologists are also crucial in commercial real estate development, governmental infrastructure projects, and more. The Cornell program is “particularly strong in the eastern Mediterranean area, and in the Americas,” and students have access to amazing lab and field-based research opportunities, along with faculty mentorship. Courses include subjects like “Magic and Witchcraft in the Greco-Roman World” and “Merchants, Migrants, Barbarians, Pirates.” We’d like to take both, please.
Fiber Science, B.S. — College of Human Ecology
Do you think about what you wear? Not the fashion aspect, but the actual fiber. Like what is in the things you put on? The Fiber Science major at Cornell is one of the only undergraduate programs like it in the world, and students are educated from a pre-professional perspective so that they are ready to jump into the field of designing and creating innovative fibers that change the material world. In the program, students study everything from comfort to sustainable materials, to nanotechnology. Classes range from super nitty-gritty, like “Fiber and Yarn Analysis Laboratory,” to more conceptual, like “Making a Difference by Design.” Graduates go on from the major to build careers in fashion, material sourcing, technology, product development, and more. Who creates innovative materials for things like athletic gear and outdoor equipment? Cornell grads do.
Cornell offers a wide range of exceptional majors including many you’ve probably never considered, or maybe even heard of. We hope you’ll use this list as a jumping off point for finding your future at Cornell.
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