Student in yellow rain jacket walking along a shore at the Shoals Marine Laboratory.

About the Environment & Sustainability Major

Cornell’s interdisciplinary major that confronts environment and sustainability challenges

We provide opportunities for students.

Our students learn from and work with people and partners on campus and throughout the world. Together, we confront environment and sustainability challenges head-on and with confidence. We aim to be bold. We take heart in working together to sustain and restore healthy conditions that sustain people and the diverse wonders of our planet.

We span the resources of Cornell.

As a cross-college major, we are available to students in the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. Five Cornell colleges are represented by faculty and courses associated with the major. Cornell programs and facilities throughout the U.S. and other countries further extend our reach beyond the Ithaca campus.

We work across the globe.

Our network of faculty, staff and alumni support our undergraduate students throughout their time on campus and beyond. Faculty and alumni provide connections with a broad range of local, regional, national and international off-campus organizations and institutions working together with common purpose.

In this section

Field programs

Students can pursue field experiences outdoors and in the offices of policy-makers.

Senator Gillibrand with a group of students and faculty.
A single solar panel in the foreground and McGraw Tower in the background at dusk.
Campus partners
Three students working in a group near Beebe Lake
Learning goals

People

Making a positive impact

Student experiences, alumni pathways, news and other environment and sustainability stories.

A turquoise tiny house on wheels

News

CCE tiny house makes powerful energy impact
But inside, where tiny home builders would typically tuck away hidden storage and multi-use furniture, are a variety of energy-saving innovation demonstrations, turning it into a mobile education and outreach station. Part of the Cornell...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Behavior
  • Communication
A North Atlantic right whale swimming in the ocean

News

Gift to establish K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s groundbreaking Center for Conservation Bioacoustics will begin a new era of innovation thanks to a major gift from the philanthropist and Lab Advisory Board member K. Lisa Yang ’74.
  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Animals
  • Environment
Melanie Stansbury celebrates with supporters on stage behind a podium with her campaign logo along

News

Alumna wins New Mexico special election for U.S. House seat
Stansbury, a Democrat and New Mexico state representative, was elected to New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the city of Albuquerque. The seat had previously been held by Deb Haaland, who now is serving as the U.S. secretary...
  • Department of Global Development
  • Climate
  • Global Development
A researcher injects AquaDust into leaves

News

Nanoscale sensors measure elusive water levels in leaves
A breakthrough technology developed by Cornell researchers uses nanoscale sensors and fiber optics to measure water status just inside a leaf’s surface, where water in plants is most actively managed. The engineering feat provides a minimally invasive research tool that will greatly advance the understanding of basic plant biology, and opens the door for breeding more drought-resistant crops.
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
  • Agriculture
Group of students pose for a photo after a hike in Malaysia

News

Global conference to explore community-based service learning
The 2021 International Conference on Community-Based Service-Learning in Borneo brings together students, faculty and community partners on June 14-15 to reflect on the process and experience of service-learning partnerships and community-based...
  • Department of Global Development
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Global Development

Ready to take the next step?

The E&S major can be found in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). Prospective students may apply through either CALS or A&S admissions.