Five women walk through field in Africa

Global Development

Working to improve lives, reduce inequality and protect the environment

The world is complex, and the challenges can seem overwhelming. Here in the Department of Global Development, we unlock the energies and talents of experts from a range of disciplines to address some of the biggest problems facing humanity. We know solutions are hard. But we never stop asking questions, seeking answers and partnering with people and communities to make life better, everywhere. 

With a focus on education with impact, our transdisciplinary approach emphasizes real-world engagement with communities in New York state and around the globe. Our dynamic learning atmosphere and academic culture goes beyond purely technical work to provide deep analysis and transformative solutions.

This is what we do. We catalyze change and provoke fresh understanding. We develop next-generation leaders through engaged and active learning that connects students with field experiences. This is who we are. We are committed to justice, to science, to people, and we never stop striving to make direct social impact all around the globe.

Catalyzing change to build a more just world.

Students in Global Development engage with life-changing research and social impact through our two majors, four minors, innovative graduate programs, impact-driven professional development and projects spanning 30+ countries. 

Learn more about degrees & programs in Global Development
A student works with a teacher

60+

Faculty and academic staff

200+

Undergraduate students

70+

Graduate students

New undergraduate major in Global Development

Engage in critical scholarship and global field training while exploring some of the most urgent challenges facing people and the planet

Discover more about the major
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The world is complex. But we believe understanding is possible.

We take a multidisciplinary approach to tackle the biggest challenges of our time.

Food Security & Nutrition

Feeding 9 billion people by 2050 

Development Sociology

Understanding human behavior and interactions

Rural & community development

Solving local problems with homegrown solutions

Climate change

Sustaining a healthy Earth

Gender, race and ethnicity

Fighting for equality for everyone, everywhere

Economics

Confronting the cycle of poverty 

Education & leadership

Cultivating next-generation leaders  

Plant Sciences

Breeding crops for a food-secure world

Demography

Studying the structure of the human population

On the international stage

A home of global thought leaders.

We work to build an equitable, environmentally sustainable world through boots-on-the-ground practice, cutting edge research, innovative teaching and community-based extension.

Explore our 27 programs and projects.
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A woman with glasses on the top of her head sits at a desk in an office
Engaged research
Play Jump Start your Career in International Agriculture with IARD 6020 - Global Development at Cornell
Experiential learning

54+

Visiting scientists & fellows

from over 20 countries

Land acknowledgement

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York State and the United States of America. 

We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

Making a sustainable impact

Recent insights, news and events in the Department of Global Development

News

Stormy Weather, Community Resilience
Communities of all kinds are rocked by environmental issues that test their fortitude and adaptability. Shorna B. Allred, Natural Resources and the Environment, wants to help them build resilience to these shocks. Her own experience growing up on the Gulf Coast of Texas in a county with 30 petrochemical and oil refineries has a lot to do with that.
  • Department of Global Development
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Environment
U.S. Congress building

Field Note

From community-based organizing to the U.S. Congress
Melanie Stansbury, M.S. ’07 arrived at Cornell in 2006 searching for new tools and knowledge to make a difference in her hometown community in Albuquerque. Backed by new insights into the theory and practice of community sociology, she returned...
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development
A woman working in a field in India

News

New hub promotes farmer producer organizations in India
A new resource at the Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI) for Agriculture and Nutrition’s Center of Excellence in New Delhi will help empower India’s 125 million smallholder farms to take advantage of growing opportunities in the agricultural sector.
  • Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
  • Department of Global Development
  • Nutritional Sciences
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