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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. 

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people discussing plants

Teaching passion-driven minds

Learn about a CALS education
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Purpose-driven science in action

Explore our research
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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.

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
An enzyme

News

Powerful AI tool can boost precision medicine, treatments

A tool co-developed by Cornell researchers uses AI and machine learning to solve and predict how human proteins might interface and interact with other proteins, which can greatly accelerate fundamental research and clinical precision medicine.

  • Computational Biology
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Biology
A Florida scrub-jay

News

Long-term study reveals warming climates threaten Florida scrub-jay

Warmer winters driven by climate change reduced the number of offspring raised annually by the federally threatened Florida scrub-jay by 25% since 1981, according to a study co-led by researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Animals
  • Climate Change
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