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.

News

Sarah Evanega Joins BTI Faculty

Boyce Thompson Institute is pleased to welcome Professor Sarah Evanega as the newest addition to our faculty. Evanega joins BTI from Cornell University, where she was a research professor in the Department of Global Development and the School of Integrative Plant Sciences (SIPS). She will remain an adjunct associate professor in SIPS at Cornell.

  • Boyce Thompson Institute
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Health + Nutrition
A group meeting outside

Spotlight

Sowing a more equitable future

  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Agriculture
Listeria on a petri dish held by a purple gloved hand

News

Food scientists create national atlas for deadly listeria
The pathogen listeria soon may become easier to track down in food recalls, thanks to a new genomic and geological mapping tool created by Cornell food scientists.
  • Food Science
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
Larry Smart checks industrial hemp plants in a greenhouse

News

Hemp goes ‘hot’ due to genetics, not environmental stress
Growing hemp for CBD (cannabidiol) is a burgeoning industry, thanks to the compound’s use in treating everything from pain, anxiety and depression to easing cancer-related symptoms.
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
  • Crops

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.