The Department of Communication is a national leader in the study of communication as a social science, ranked among the top five by the National Research Council.

Our faculty and students are dedicated to understanding the role and enhancing the effectiveness of communication processes, systems and infrastructure in society. We explore communication in its many forms and contexts as a fundamentally social phenomenon. Our faculty members are recognized for developing and applying novel theoretical perspectives to the most pressing social and policy issues of the day.  

Our Programs & Research

Undergraduate

Our carefully constructed curriculum provides a core of contemporary communication knowledge, theory and practice: Students learn how communication influences attitudes, opinions and behaviors; how communication systems work in society; and how to apply this understanding of communication to solve problems, sustain the environment, reach the public with new knowledge, and manage the intricate networks of technologies.

Graduate

Our faculty and associated Graduate Field of Communication ensure that students are familiar with a wide range of tools, theories and methods, and can use these skills in original empirical research that asks and answers theoretically driven, socially relevant questions. Drawing from Cornell’s outstanding scholars and resources in the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities, our students find new ways to investigate how communication shapes society.

Research

We engage in a rich variety of research at the cutting edge of the field of communication and related disciplines, conducting research in many different areas. We encourage undergraduate and graduate students to explore faculty research areas and contact individual faculty members if interested in getting involved with research. Students must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA to do research.

COMM Updates

News

COMM Updates - 5/7/2025
Awards Graduate student Ria Gualano received a Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Innovation Fellowship. The program supports 45 doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences pursuing innovative approaches to...
Students in bright blue shirts pose in comm department hallway

News

Awards Congratulations to Department of Communication undergraduate student award winners. Together, they received more than $17,000 in awards! Edward L. Bernays Primus Inter Pares Award: Tess Lehrman Kenneth J. Bissett Communication Award...
large group poses in comm hallway with some students squatting in front

News

Conferences & Symposia Assistant Professor M. Cornejo will be participating in a panel entitled “ Margins and Mobilization: Migrant Worker Precarity and Power in the Trump-era Economy.” Bringing together scholars and activists, the panel will...

Communication in the News

Campaign graphic for the McClintock Letters, featuring an illustration of Barbara McClintock

News

Cornell student campaign for research support reaches 50 states

In a nationwide campaign led by Cornell students, more than 500 scientists have committed to writing letters and op-eds in their hometown newspapers across all 50 states – each one a personal appeal on why public investment in research matters.

  • Communication
Two people standing on a stage, holding a certificate between them

News

The inaugural Award for the Advancement of Science Communication as a Professional Field from the International Network on Public Communication of Science & Technology recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of science...

  • Department of Communication
  • Communication
Researchers use VR headset to understand how people’s nonverbal behavior can provide insight into their states of mind and their interactions with their teammates.

News

Cornell researchers are working to understand how robots can assist humans in dangerous and physically challenging environments, but the project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, has been halted by a stop-work order.

  • Department of Communication
  • Communication

Contact Us

450 Mann Library Building
phone: (607) 254-6278
email: communication [at] cornell.edu (communication[at]cornell[dot]edu)
We are located on the 4th floor of Mann Library, accessible only by the stairs/elevators within the library, which are just past the circulation desk.

Department Hours:
Monday - Thursday, 8am to 4:30pm
Friday, 8am to 3:30pm