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Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

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About

Cornell CALS is a premier institution of scientific learning, tackling the complex challenges of our time through purpose-driven science.

You want to change the world. So do we.

We are a community with an uncommon sense of a common goal: to leave the world better than we found it. Ambitious? Sure. But Cornell CALS has been changing the world for over a century and will be doing so for a century more.

Founded in agriculture and focused on life, we are pioneers who have shaped contemporary science and eagerly embraced international opportunity, while always serving the people in the state of New York.

The Wall Street Journal/Times of Higher Education 2020 College Rankings ranked CALS #1 in agriculture, agriculture operations and related sciences.

Our purpose

This is the charge that motivates us: CALS tackles the challenges of our times through purpose-driven science that advances understanding and improves life.

CALS at a glance

16

Departments

7 departments shared with other Cornell colleges and schools

2

Schools

The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management
and the School of Integrative Plant Science

$275M

Total research expenditures

FY 2023

4,020

Undergraduate students

As of May 2023

950

Graduate students

As of May 2021

350

Faculty

As of May 2021

We seek answers in order to find the next questions.

Our mission

These are our objectives and how we accomplish them: As a premier institution of scientific learning, we connect the life, agricultural, environmental and social sciences to provide world-class education, spark unexpected discoveries and inspire pioneering solutions.

What we do

We are actively pursuing our mission to serve the public through our education, research and extension/outreach efforts. 

researchers examining turf grass
people discussing plants

Teaching passion-driven minds

Learn about a CALS education
Scientist and student with computers

Purpose-driven science in action

Explore our research
researchers in field

Sharing knowledge with the community

Learn about outreach and extension

Learn more about CALS

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Latest news, discoveries and breakthroughs

Explore the work we’re doing today and discover how it’s reshaping tomorrow.

News

Recycling human, animal excreta could help meet nutrient supply for crops

A global analysis by Cornell researchers found that recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby dramatically reducing the...

  • Agriculture Sciences Major
  • Food Science
  • Nutritional Sciences
Method compresses terabytes into gigabytes.

News

New method compresses terabytes of genomic data into gigabytes

A new method developed at Cornell provides tools and methodologies to compress hundreds of terabytes of genomic data to gigabytes, once again enabling researchers to store datasets in local computers.

  • Computational Biology
  • Genomics
  • Genetics
Chronic fatigue syndrome patient.

News

Immune T cells become exhausted in chronic fatigue syndrome patients

The study found that key CD8+ T cells showed signs of constant stimulation that lead to an exhausted state, a condition that is well-studied in cancer.

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Neurobiology and Behavior
  • Genomics
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