Cornell

Cornell University

Cornell
#17 / #11
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#14
Most Desirable School
Private and statutory land-grand research university in Ithaca, New York, USA

Cornell University Featured Rankings

About Cornell University

By James Barham, PhD

Cornell University was founded in turbulent times. With the Civil War winding down, and less than two weeks after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the Governor of New York signed the school’s official charter in the state capital, Albany, where only the day before Lincoln’s funeral procession had passed through the city’s streets.

Two men were behind the drive to establish a first-class university in upstate New York: wealthy businessman Ezra Cornell, the founder of Western Union, who was originally from Ithaca (where the new school was to be located), and Andrew Dickson White, a prominent historian and educator, who hailed from nearby Syracuse. Later on, White would be best remembered as the author of A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (1896), and from the beginning he envisioned Cornell as a rigorously secular institution with a special emphasis on the natural sciences.

This lack of an original religious orientation, as well as its geographical isolation from the American center of cultural gravity on the East Coast, make Cornell a bit of an odd-man-out among the eight schools that make up the Ivy League. However, the university’s right to a place among that elite grouping is more than justified by the intellectual firepower of its faculty. Moreover, despite its rural setting, Cornell’s sprawling campus and its total university population of over 23,000 (more than twice the size of the town of Ithaca itself) easily make it a rival of the other Ivy League schools in scale.

One of Cornell’s areas of particular strength is medicine. The Weill Cornell Medical School, located in Manhattan, is one of the most selective in the nation. Cornell also runs the Weill Cornell Medical College located in Doha, Qatar.

An astonishing 50 Nobel laureates are connected with Cornell, not to mention many other highly influential thinkers and authors. For example, among Nobel Prize– winners in physics, we many mention:

  • Hans Bethe
  • Richard Feynman
  • Hannes Alfvén
  • Kenneth Wilson
  • Steven Weinberg
  • Sheldon Glashow
  • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
  • Kip Thorne

Cornell-connected chemistry Nobelists include:

  • Peter Debye
  • Richard Ernst
  • Manfred Eigen
  • Roald Hoffmann

In physiology or medicine, we may mention:

  • George Beadle
  • Fritz Lipmann
  • Barbara McClintock
  • Peter Medawar
  • Harold Varmus
  • Jack Szostak

Four Cornell-connected economists have won the Nobel Prize in their field:

  • Amartya Sen
  • Robert Engle
  • Richard Thaler
  • Robert Fogel

No fewer than four Nobel Prize laureates in literature have studied or taught at Cornell:

  • American novelists, Pearl Buck and Toni Morrison
  • Mexican poet, Octavio Paz
  • Nigerian playwright, Wole Soyinka

However, perhaps the most distinguished of all Cornell-connected literary figures (and one of the Swedish Academy’s worst oversights) is the great Russian émigré novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, who taught here from 1948 until 1959, when the international succès de scandale of his novel Lolita (1955) permitted him to retire from teaching.

Among other distinguished Cornell-connected individuals (in addition to the above), we may mention:

  • Physicists, Freeman Dyson & Huber Reeves
  • Novelists, Kurt Vonnegut & David Foster Wallace
  • Novelist, short-story writer, and essayist, Junot Díaz
  • E.B. White, author of the beloved children’s book, Charlotte’s Web, and co-author of the ubiquitous writer’s manual, The Elements of Style
  • Philosophers, John R. Perry & Thomas Nagel
  • Psychoanalyst, Abraham Maslow
  • Political scientist, Benedict Anderson
  • Journalist, Raj Patel
  • Television personality, Bill Nye
  • Political author and columnist, Ann Coulter
  • Actors, Christopher Reeve & Gillian Anderson
  • Indian industrialist, Ratan Tata
  • Former President of the Republic of China, Lee Teng-hui
  • President of the Republic of China, Tsai Ing-wen
  • US Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

According to Wikipedia, Cornell University is a private Ivy League land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. The university was founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. Since its founding, Cornell has been a co-educational, non-sectarian institution where admission has not been restricted by religion or race. The student body for the fall 2022 semester consisted of more than 15,000 undergraduate and 7,000 graduate students from all 50 American states and 130 countries.

Cornell University's Online Degrees

Certificate in Digital Photography
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Certificate in Digital Transformation
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Certificate in Advanced Hospitality Revenue Mgmt Pricing and Demand Strategies
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Certificate in Hospitality Management 360
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Certificate in Brand Management
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Certificate in Business Analytics
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Certificate in Hospitality Management
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Certificate in Food and Beverage Management
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Certificate in Business Economics
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Certificate in Product Management
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Certificate in Project Management
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Certificate in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management
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Certificate in Management Accounting
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Certificate in Business Statistics
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Certificate in Financial Management
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Certificate in Project Management 360
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Certificate in Change Management
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Certificate in Corporate Communication
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Certificate in Accounting
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Certificate in Business Strategy
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Certificate in Restaurant Revenue Management
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Certificate in Commercial Real Estate
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Certificate in Human Resources Management
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Certificate in Hotel Revenue Management
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Certificate in Revenue Management 360
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Certificate in Compensation Studies
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Certificate in International Public and NGO Management
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Certificate in Digital Leadership
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Certificate in Digital Marketing
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Certificate in Executive Leadership
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Certificate in Executive Presence
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Certificate in Executive Women Leadership
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Certificate in Financial Success for Nonprofits
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Certificate in FinTech
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Certificate in Hospitality Digital Marketing
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Certificate in Hotel Planning and Design
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Certificate in HR Analytics
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Certificate in HR Transformation
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Certificate in Human Resources Essentials
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Certificate in Integrated Marketing 360
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Certificate in Entrapreneurship
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Certificate in Leadership Essentials
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Certificate in Leading a Culture of Service Excellence
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Certificate in Marketing Analytics
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Certificate in Marketing Strategy
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Certificate in PHR Prep
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Certificate in Project Leadership
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Certificate in Sales Growth
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Certificate in Servant Leadership
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Certificate in Social Media HR From Policy to Practice
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Certificate in Strategic Hospitality Marketing
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Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Leadership
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Certificate in Talent Acquisition and Planning
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Certificate in Data Analytics
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Certificate in Data Analytics 360
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Certificate in Design Thinking
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Certificate in Machine Learning
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Certificate in Systems Design
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Certificate in Systems Thinking
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Certificate in Web Design and Development
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Certificate in Employment Law
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Certificate in Critical Thinking
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Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion
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Certificate in Public Sector Leadership
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Certificate in Women Leadership
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Certificate in Nutrition and Healthy Living
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Certificate in Healthcare Management
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Certificate in Pharmaceutical Management
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Certificate in Healthcare Change Management
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Certificate in Strategic Healthcare Leadership
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Certificate in Executive Healthcare Leadership
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Certificate in Healthcare Facilities Planning and Design
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Certificate in Psychology of Leadership
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Certificate in Conflict Resolution
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Certificate in Engineering Leadership
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MS in Engineering Management
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MS in Systems Engineering
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Cornell University Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceGraduation RateMedian SAT ScoreMedian ACT Score
67,3809%94%147033

How Much Does Cornell University Cost To Attend?

Tuition (in-state)
$61,015
Price by Family Income
IncomeAverage Net Cost
0 - 30K$5,244
30K - 48K$5,133
48K - 75K$9,785
75K - 110K$21,043
110K+$52,887

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

How Much Do Cornell University Graduates Make?

If you graduate from Cornell University, then you can expect to earn an average of $101,200 per year. You also have a 92% chance of being employed after 10 years.

Cornell University's Demographics

Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
24,48615,1839,303

Where is Cornell University?

Cornell University is located at 300 Day Hall, Ithaca NY 14853

How Safe is Cornell University?

Cornell University has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%. Ithaca has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%.

What Is Cornell University Known For?

Cornell University is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:

Cornell University's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Biology
#13
World Rank
#20
Historical Rank
#7
USA Rank
biology Degrees
Engineering
#12
World Rank
#14
Historical Rank
#8
USA Rank
engineering Degrees
Literature
#13
World Rank
#20
Historical Rank
#8
USA Rank
literature Degrees
Physics
#14
World Rank
#21
Historical Rank
#9
USA Rank
physics Degrees
Computer Science
#13
World Rank
#12
Historical Rank
#9
USA Rank
computer-science Degrees
Psychology
#12
World Rank
#16
Historical Rank
#9
USA Rank
psychology Degrees
Chemistry
#21
World Rank
#32
Historical Rank
#9
USA Rank
chemistry Degrees
Philosophy
#25
World Rank
#41
Historical Rank
#10
USA Rank
philosophy Degrees
History
#18
World Rank
#20
Historical Rank
#10
USA Rank
history Degrees
Anthropology
#19
World Rank
#23
Historical Rank
#10
USA Rank
anthropology Degrees
Sociology
#23
World Rank
#27
Historical Rank
#10
USA Rank
sociology Degrees
Earth Sciences
#27
World Rank
#41
Historical Rank
#10
USA Rank
earth-science Degrees
Business
#12
World Rank
#13
Historical Rank
#11
USA Rank
business Degrees
Political Science
#22
World Rank
#24
Historical Rank
#11
USA Rank
political-science Degrees
Education
#16
World Rank
#17
Historical Rank
#11
USA Rank
education Degrees
Mathematics
#28
World Rank
#49
Historical Rank
#12
USA Rank
math Degrees
Communications
#26
World Rank
#30
Historical Rank
#12
USA Rank
communications Degrees
Medical
#22
World Rank
#22
Historical Rank
#12
USA Rank
medicine Degrees
Economics
#20
World Rank
#24
Historical Rank
#12
USA Rank
economics Degrees
Law
#22
World Rank
#25
Historical Rank
#13
USA Rank
Religious Studies
#94
World Rank
#117
Historical Rank
#21
USA Rank
religious-studies-hub Degrees

Who Are Cornell University's Most Influential Alumni?

Cornell University's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Computer Science, Business, and Engineering. Here are some of Cornell University's most famous alumni:

Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener
An American mathematician, scientist in cybernetics and artificial intelligence.
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom
An American literary critic, scholar, and writer .
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
An American novelist .
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow
An American psychologist .
Thomas Nagel
Thomas Nagel
An American philosopher.
Sheldon Glashow
Sheldon Glashow
An American theoretical physicist.
Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci
An American immunologist and head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Francis Fukuyama
Francis Fukuyama
An American political scientist, political economist, and author.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg
An American theoretical physicist .
Leonard Susskind
Leonard Susskind
An American physicist.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
An Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic.

Who Are Cornell University's Most Influential Faculty?

Cornell University's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Computer Science, Business, and Engineering. Here are some of Cornell University's most famous alumni:

Karl Deisseroth
An American optogeneticist.
Ellis Horowitz
Ellis Horowitz
An American computer scientist.
Kate Manne
An Australian American writer, philosopher, professor.
Jon Kleinberg
Jon Kleinberg
An American computer scientist.
Justin Kruger
An American psychologist.
Sara Seager
Sara Seager
A Canadian astronomer.
Theodore Sider
An American philosopher.
Edward E. Baptist
An American historian.
Zachary Lippman
A Researcher.
Michael S. Engel
An American entomologist.
Olivia Judson
An Evolutionary biologist and science writer.
NoViolet Bulawayo
NoViolet Bulawayo
A Zimbabwean writer and educator.