Plants in the greenhouse complex at Guterman Lab.

SIPS Degrees & Programs

Gain critical skills to advance your knowledge and address local and global challenges.

The School of Integrative Plant Science is the largest academic unit in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is composed of five sections with interrelated activities in the plant sciences: Horticulture, Plant Biology, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, and Soil and Crop Sciences.

Degree programs

students at dilmun hill student farm
Undergraduate

The Cornell CALS plant sciences major prepares students for careers or further study in fundamental biology, plant breeding, pest and disease management and production of plants for food, fiber and ornamental uses.

students looking at rice plants
Graduate - M.S./Ph.D.

Graduate study in SIPS is organized into five graduate fields. Collectively these fields provide unparalleled opportunities to connect disciplines, creatively solve problems and integrate complex systems. Includes graduate fields of Horticulture, Plant Biology, Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, and Soil and Crop Sciences.

people driving a hemp harvester in the field
Graduate - Integrative Plant Science MPS

The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree in Integrative Plant Science is a one-year, course-based master's degree, ideal for individuals who are interested in in-depth study of the issues and advancements in plant and soil sciences.

Continuing education

Our school is committed to lifelong learning, offering a wide range of programming and skill building for children and adults alike. See featured education programs to take advantage of these opportunities, including online courses and seminar, garden tours and more.

News from the School of Integrative Plant Science

Learn about the many ways we are addressing some of the world's most urgent challenges.

a bald man stands in a greenhouse

News

Algal genome provides insights into first land plants
The report, “ The Penium margaritaceum Genome: Hallmarks of the Origins of Land Plants,” was published May 21 in the journal Cell. Penium margaritaceum belongs to a group of freshwater algae called charophytes, and specifically to a subgroup...
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Boyce Thompson Institute
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
pink flowers in front of a clock tower

Spotlight

Celebrating the CALS Class of 2020
As this semester draws to a close, we would like to take moment to recognize the CALS graduating class of 2020 and echo the sentiments President Pollock shared in her recent address to the Cornell community. During their time at Cornell, members...
  • Animal Science
  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science

Spotlight

Elizabeth Brock, M.S.’06, D.V.M. ’15, brings love of dairy cows to National Board for Bovine Practitioners

“I think where most girls have their horse phase at 10 or 11, I was obsessed with cows instead,” she says. When she took a course at the University of New Hampshire that gives students experience managing a registered herd of Holsteins, her mind...

  • Cornell Dairy Center of Excellence
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section

Spotlight

An inside look at the Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center’s plant breeding programs

Horticulture Professor Mark Bridgen serves as the director of the Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, NY. There, the 68-acre facility is dedicated to providing research and extension services that support Long...

  • Long Island Research & Extension Center
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section

Land Acknowledgment

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ 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:nǫɁ dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ leadership. Learn more from the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program website.