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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 CALS

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 a common goal: to leave the world better than we found it. Ambitious? Sure. But Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has been changing the world for over a century and will continue to do so into the future.

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.

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

8 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

$292M

Total research expenditures

FY 2024

4,020

Undergraduate students

942

Graduate students

350

Faculty

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.

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News

Ancient dirty dishes reveal decades of questionable findings

An interdisciplinary team of researchers determined that organic residues of plant oils are poorly preserved in calcareous soils from the Mediterranean, leading decades of archaeologists to likely misidentify olive oil in ceramic artifacts.

  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil
Meredith Holgerson, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, collects a sediment sample from Texas Hollow Pond in central New York.

News

A tale of two ponds sheds light on high emissions

The slight differences in depth and light in Mud Pond and Texas Hollow Pond led to surprising differences in carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

  • New York State Water Resources Institute
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Climate Change
Magnificent Riflebird

News

Bird-of-paradise inspires darkest fabric ever made

The color “ultrablack” has a variety of uses, including in cameras, solar panels and telescopes, but it’s difficult to produce and can appear less black when viewed at an angle. A Cornell lab has devised a simple method for making the elusive...

  • Lab of Ornithology
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