What Are Cornell Students Learning?

Cornell's mission is to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge; produce creative work; and promote a culture of broad inquiry throughout and beyond the Cornell community. Cornell also aims, through public service, to enhance the lives and livelihoods of our students, the people of New York, and others around the world.

Our faculty, students, alumni, and staff strive toward these objectives in a context of freedom with responsibility. We foster initiative, integrity, and excellence, in an environment of collegiality, civility, and responsible stewardship. As the land-grant university for the state of New York, we apply the results of our endeavors in service to our alumni, the community, the state, the nation, and the world.

Cornell University's colleges, schools, and other academic units offer more than 4,000 courses, 70 undergraduate majors, nearly 100 graduate fields of study, undergraduate and advanced degrees, and continuing education and outreach programs. Each of the fourteen colleges and schools defines its own academic programs; admits its own students; provides a faculty; and offers advising and support to its students.

Within this context of great diversity, a Cornell education comprises formal and informal learning experiences in the classroom, on campus, and beyond. Through the multiple dimensions of students' lives, Cornell provides an academic community that aims to help them achieve a variety of goals.

At the undergraduate level, how are the learning goals achieved within the colleges?

photo of student modeling clothes

Cornell's Design League Fashion Show, a premier student-run event, offers undergraduates with a passion for apparel design the chance to show off their original lines in a runway show that rivals those of New York City and Milan.

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Undergraduates like Kevin Gardner break new ground designing original experiments to investigate little-understood phenomena. He is studying how an electric fish's nervous system produces communication signals to defend its territory, fend off rivals, and court potential mates.

photo of student in new york

Working alongside professionals in New York City, architecture students like Katie Kasabalis learn how to balance the wishes of their clients while confronting landscapes that are vulnerable to the unpredictable consequences of global warming.

photo of students with rakes

The Art of Horticulture offers a reflective exploration into self, and the community of the classroom, by creatively engaging with the plant world. Class experiences, reflective writing and in-depth, independent final projects offer multiple opportunities for discovery and creative expression.

Ezra Cornell's founding vision of "Any person...any study" provides a rich tapestry of educational opportunity. To learn more about how the university's learning goals are achieved in the classroom, visit the links below:

How are the learning goals achieved for graduate and professional students?

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Learning at the Law School extends beyond the classroom, thanks to the Competitive Edge, a blog hosted by the Law Library. In online entries, librarians and faculty members discuss legal research and scholarship, share research tips, and acquaint students with the library's collections.

photo of horse on treadmill

During public events such as the Equine Treadmill demonstrations, veterinary students share what they've learned about how to use state-of the-art diagnostic equipment to understand the normal anatomy of the horse, as well as those conditions that influence equine performance.

photo of medical students in qatar

Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha, Qatar, is changing the face of health care in the Middle East. Our world-class faculty members are sharing their expertise with a new generation of doctors—training students in cutting-edge facilities with access to the latest in medical information.

For more information about how the university's learning goals are achieved through graduate and professional school study at Cornell, visit the links below:

How are Cornell's learning goals achieved outside the classroom?

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Each year, more than 500 students from across the university study abroad—preparing them for the challenges of international citizenship in the 21st century.

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Through volunteering at the Cornell Public Service Center, students contribute to making the world a better place. Out in the community where theory and the real world intersect, they learn lessons never to be found in books.

Learn more about the opportunities Cornell students have for building upon the learning that happens in the classroom, applying it to real-world situations, and becoming well-rounded, successful individuals:

Learning Goals

  • Disciplinary Knowledge: demonstrate a systematic or coherent understanding of an academic field of study
  • Critical Thinking: apply analytic thought to a body of knowledge; evaluate arguments; identify relevant assumptions or implications; formulate coherent arguments
  • Communication Skills: express ideas clearly in writing; speak articulately; communicate with others using media as appropriate; work effectively with others
  • Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning: demonstrate the ability to understand cause and effect relationships; define problems; use symbolic thought; apply scientific principles; solve problems with no single correct answer
  • Self-Directed Learning: work independently; identify appropriate resources; take initiative; manage a project through to completion
  • Information Literacy: access, evaluate, and use a variety of relevant information sources
  • Engagement in the Process of Discovery or Creation: for example, demonstrate the ability to work productively in a laboratory setting, studio, library, or field environment

In addition, the Cornell environment strives to foster collegiality, civility, and responsible stewardship. Through academic studies, and through broader experiences and activities in the university community on and off campus, Cornell graduates should develop a deeper understanding of:

  • Multicultural Competence: for example, express an understanding of the values and beliefs of multiple cultures; effectively engage in a multicultural society; interact respectfully with diverse others; develop a global perspective
  • Moral and Ethical Awareness: embrace moral/ethical values in conducting one's life; formulate a position/argument about an ethical issue from multiple perspectives; use ethical practices in all work
  • Self-Management: care for oneself responsibly, demonstrate awareness of oneself in relation to others
  • Community Engagement: demonstrate responsible behavior; engage in the intellectual life of the university outside the classroom; participate in community and civic affairs