B.A./B.S. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

This degree will prepare students to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. Global warming, dwindling energy resources, inadequate water supplies, political strife over strategic minerals, and mega-disasters threatened by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami, and hurricanes: these are but a few of the headlines that appear with increasing frequency.

The program features small classes and a high ratio of faculty to students, yet its location within Cornell allows students to choose among a rich variety of elective courses and extracurricular activities. In addition, the gorgeous landscape of upstate New York and the Cornell campus provides an incredible real-life laboratory to study the environment.

The program is unique in that it incorporates fundamentals of earth science with the emergence of a new and more complete approach, encompassing all components of the earth system—air, life, rock, and water—to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world as we know it.

Students may choose to focus on one of a number of disciplinary specialties such as geophysics or tectonics, or develop the broad expertise needed to understand the interactions between the diverse elements of earth and life in the past, present and future.

Earth and atmospheric sciences graduates will be able to seek careers dealing with energy, mineral and water resources, natural hazards, weather and climate forecasting, ocean resources, and a host of environmental issues through employment in academia, government and the private sector. The major also prepares students for careers in environmental management and policy, law or medicine, science journalism and K-12 science education.