Uploaded April 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
At the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University students take the opportunity to combine their interests in wide ranging areas of study. What they soon learn is that any combination of disciplines can forge a unique path of exploration and discovery.
“Combining technology and the humanities brings a lot of variety to the work that I do,” says Lauren Stechschulte ’17, a computer science and German studies major. “I like the combination of doing more problem-solving work and also exploring literature.”
In the College of Arts & Sciences, two-thirds of a student’s coursework is taken outside of their major, encouraging students to explore a variety of topics that interest them.
Kevin Beaulieu ‘17, a computer science and philosophy major, took a freshman writing seminar on how the mind works, sparking an interest in philosophy.
“Philosophy has taught me how to look at big questions and break them down, examining all of the different parts and factors that are affecting how we might find solutions,” he said. “That’s something you can apply to any field.”
An education in the College of Arts & Sciences allows for the exploration of many ways of thinking, because the biggest questions and the greatest challenges require skills that belie singular modes of understanding.
At the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University students take the opportunity to combine their interests in wide ranging areas of study. What they soon learn is that any combination of disciplines can forge a unique path of exploration and discovery.
“Combining technology and the humanities brings a lot of variety to the work that I do,” says Lauren Stechschulte ’17, a computer science and German studies major. “I like the combination of doing more problem-solving work and also exploring literature.”
In the College of Arts & Sciences, two-thirds of a student’s coursework is taken outside of their major, encouraging students to explore a variety of topics that interest them.
Kevin Beaulieu ‘17, a computer science and philosophy major, took a freshman writing seminar on how the mind works, sparking an interest in philosophy.
“Philosophy has taught me how to look at big questions and break them down, examining all of the different parts and factors that are affecting how we might find solutions,” he said. “That’s something you can apply to any field.”
An education in the College of Arts & Sciences allows for the exploration of many ways of thinking, because the biggest questions and the greatest challenges require skills that belie singular modes of understanding.
