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.

Dry beans in a field

News

Cornell leads $3M project to grow organic dry bean industry

Cornell AgriTech is leading a multidisciplinary research project to increase the sustainability of the organic dry bean industry in the Northeast and upper Midwest by overcoming production challenges while developing improved management...

  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
(L-R), Steven Mana’oakamai Johnson, Natalie Cápiro ’00, Hale Ann Tufan, Chuan Liao, Shaila Musharoff, Michael Charles ’16.

Spotlight

CALS hires faculty cohort to address grand DEI challenges
This is the fifth in a series of stories detailing actions CALS students, faculty and staff have taken over the past several years to make our community a more diverse, equitable and inclusive place for everyone. In fall 2021, CALS announced its first-ever faculty cohort initiative focused on hiring a group of scientists whose work explicitly addresses systemic challenges facing marginalized communities through transdisciplinary collaboration. The first search was received with great enthusiasm and 381 people applied for the six positions.
  • American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Computational Biology
Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum Award

News

Borlaug Global Rust Initiative opens wheat award nominations
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) awards honoring exceptional early-career women scientists and mentors working in wheat.
  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
Carmen Catalá and Philippe Nicolas look at tomatoes growing in a greenhouse.

News

Study IDs genes that can help fruit adapt to drought

Researchers from Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell have identified genes that could help plant breeders develop drought-resistant fruit, through a study that provided the first-ever comprehensive picture of how a fruit’s gene expression...

  • Boyce Thompson Institute
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Water

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.