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.

Two students stand in the Ag Quad.

News

Program promotes African links, diversity in plant sciences
The Cornell Assistantship for Horticulture in Africa (CAHA), a program that brings master’s students from sub-Saharan Africa to Cornell to complete doctorate degrees in horticulture, has now added a second assistantship for African Americans, with the goal of increasing diversity in the plant sciences – a field that lacks minority representation.
  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
The CALS Ag Quad

Spotlight

CALS assesses curriculum to improve diversity, equity, inclusivity in teaching
This is the second in a series of stories detailing actions CALS students, faculty and staff have taken over the past year to make our community a more diverse, equitable and inclusive place for everyone. Here, we highlight college efforts to design a more inclusive curriculum and detail some of the courses CALS faculty have developed or adapted to address issues of racial, social, gender, economic and environmental justice.
  • Department of Entomology
  • Global Development Section
  • Natural Resources and the Environment Section
Students in William Miller’s horticulture class document the growth of plants in the Kenneth Post Greenhouse

News

$2M bequest to benefit students in plant sciences
The gift from the estate of late professor Raymond Fox ’47, M.S. ’52, Ph.D. ’56, will support scholarships and fellowships as well as student participation in supplemental educational programs for undergraduate plant science students.
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
  • Plants
2021 inductees pose for a group shot

News

Pi Alpha Xi welcomes new members
Pi Alpha Xi (PAX), the national honor society for horticulture and plant sciences, welcomed 26 new members during a November 15, 2021 ceremony. “It was another large group of inductees this year, and it was great to see in person many of last...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plants
  • Horticulture

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.