small grains, cornell cap

Grow the future. Major in Agricultural Sciences.

Find the focus that fits among our four concentrations that will help you forge the future of our farm and food systems.

Agricultural Sciences Major

The Agricultural Sciences Major is preparing the next generation of farm and food system leaders — growers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, innovators and educators who will shape the future of agriculture.

Consistently ranked in the top five U.S. universities for agricultural sciences, this major gives you the flexibility to tailor your studies to meet your unique goals through four concentrations:

  • Animal Science
  • Agribusiness (Business Management or Policy Analysis tracks)
  • Soil Health Management
  • Sustainable Cropping Systems Management

Our program attracts academically diverse students, providing a strong scientific foundation while allowing specialization through focused electives that prepare you for diverse careers paths that require practical skills and technical expertise to ensure sustainable food and farm futures for the world.

Explore agriculture through hands-on experience

Through this college-wide interdisciplinary major, you will have access to Cornell’s world-class agricultural resources and facilities. Students gain hands-on experience through labs, internships, and course field trips to a number of campus-area farms.

Four people walk through the interior of a large barn with pens of cows on each side.
A student working at Dilmun Hill Student Farm
Two students wearing white coats make ice cream in a Food Science lab.
A student inspecting plants in a greenhouse.
Jake Manley '19 and Nadya Kandel '21 study in the Cornell University Insect Collection.
Equipment in the teaching winery located in Stocking Hall.
A faculty member and student inspect apple trees in an orchard.
A greenhouse facility
Rows of grape vines in a field at Cornell AgriTech Gates farm.
Student and faculty member inspecting wheat at Musgrave Farm

The Cornell University Dairy Research Center houses about 600 dairy cows and an additional 500 head of youngstock. It includes multiple freestall barns, a tiestall-metabolism barn and milking parlor.

Dilmun Hill is a student-run farm that practices sustainable agriculture on campus. The farm provides students with opportunities for experiential learning, group collaboration and research.

Each year, students in the Food Science 1101 class make ice cream for their final project in the Cornell Dairy processing plant.

Students gain hands on experience maintaining and harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and basil in our Hydroponic Food Production course.

The Cornell University Insect Collection includes over 7 million insects specimens representing about 200,000 species, or roughly 20% of the world’s described insect fauna.

The CALS Teaching Winery in Stocking Hall includes state-of-the-art fermentation tanks and a modern microbiological and chemical lab.

Cornell Orchards serves as a 22-acre living laboratory providing hands-on experience with fruit production. Focus areas include pomology, viticulture, orchard management and agricultural engineering.

The Guterman Bioclimatic Laboratory contains growth chambers, controlled atmosphere storage rooms, an isolated facility for herbicide and weed science research and adjacent greenhouse facilities.

In the grape research fields at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY, our researchers explore grower needs in the spectrum of grape breeding, best horticultural practices and disease and pest management.

Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora, NY, provides 450-acres of productive, arable land for applied agricultural research, teaching and outreach with a focus on field crops and soil science research.