Cornell University
AC-4: Graduate Program

The professional Master of Architecture program (M.Arch.1) is administered through the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. It is a three-and-a-half-year course of study dedicated to preparing graduate students from diverse disciplines and backgrounds for careers in architecture. The program builds on the excellence and distinction of Cornell’s renowned B.Arch. degree, but is specifically crafted to engage the unique strengths and needs of the graduate student. Committed to the view that the question of appropriate practice must be continually investigated and reassessed in today’s globally expansive and technologically dynamic context, the program places this question at the center of the learning process, seeking to empower the student’s sense of inquiry, responsibility and creativity. Teaching in the program complements basic skills and knowledge essential to the profession with engagement in emergent social, cultural, technical and environmental concerns that characterize architecture’s expanded field in the 21st century.

The Master of Public Health program is a two-year program which draws on the unique strengths of Cornell University’s multiple colleges and prepares its graduates for careers as public health leaders. The program equips students to combine knowledge of human, environmental, animal and agricultural health for a One Health approach to addressing public health needs. Students may select from two concentration areas: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, and Food Systems for Health, both of which draw on the expertise of Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and College of Human Ecology, along with instruction from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Johnson Graduate School of Management. This multidisciplinary approach equips graduates with the core competencies necessary to lead public health initiatives at the municipal, state, national, and international levels.

The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in International Development (ID) degree under the field of Global Development is a 12 month interdisciplinary graduate-level program aimed at the successful development of professionals who require a combination of skills that include knowledge of the substantive areas for which they are responsible and analytical tools by which such knowledge is transformed into action. Developing countries are facing many critical problems that require increasing attention by their governments and civil society. However development programs often lack enough planners, administrators, evaluators and others well trained on the emerging problems and processes of development. For example, persons with training in such areas as demography, nutrition, agriculture, or engineering often find themselves charged with functions of policy planning and program administration for which they are not fully prepared. Similarly, persons with training in economics, city planning, law, or public administration often find themselves working on substantive development problems for which they have limited preparation and technical knowledge. The goal of the MPS program is to provide graduates with the knowledge to solve and assess critical real world problems, hone technical skills and capabilities through technical tools, and subject matter and laboratory and/or field studies to enhance problem solving abilities related to fields of interest. Graduate students, in consultation with their advisors, select appropriate courses from the wide variety of offerings at Cornell. Half the course work is in some combination of the following areas of analysis: development administration and planning, development economics, communication and related analytical tools and the other half is devoted to one of five substantive concentrations: International Nutrition, International Planning, International Population, Science and Technology Policy, or Development Policy in some designated area such as natural resource management or gender in development proposed by the student and accepted by the faculty.

The Atkinson Center provides links to other graduate fields and degree programs related to sustainability: http://www.acsf.cornell.edu/education/grad.php

This minor field integrates a number of approaches from the natural and social sciences to cope with decision making under uncertainty, especially for the environment. It complements disciplinary efforts ranging from engineering (infrastructure safety, decision theory, waste management) to life sciences (toxicology, food and water safety, resource conservation, invasive species/pest management). Quantitative and qualitative methods from the sciences are used not only in assessing risks but also in communicating them between affected parties and in the development of stewardship and public policies. Students must be admitted into a major field (not restricted by the minor), select one of the field members as a minor member for their committee, and then complete basic courses in risk analysis (requires some background in calculus and statistics) or ecological risk assessment, risk communication, public policy, and a seminar in risk issues. The foregoing applicable courses may come from the student's major or other minors, to expedite and focus this effort in some area of thesis research.

This minor field offers qualified engineers and scientists an opportunity to broaden their knowledge in physical, chemical, and biological areas related to environmental-quality problems and their control. It is intended to encourage interdisciplinary study. The objective is to understand human interaction with the environment. Students in this minor take the combination of courses, seminars, and projects considered best for them. Master's degree candidates ordinarily take a minimum of three courses; the courses must be in at least two areas outside their major field. Doctoral degree candidates ordinarily take a minimum of five courses in at least two areas outside their major field. This is a minor field. Application for admission is made only to the major fields. After matriculation, a student may select minor subjects from the major or minor fields.

MPA Fellows concentrating in Environmental Policy tailor their courses to gain an understanding of current economic, social, political, technical and legal issues regarding the restoration and management of our natural environment, as well as engineering, economic and legal perspectives for analyzing and formulating policy at the national, sub-national and international levels. Study topics can include, for example, the impacts of climate change on our environment and economies, and the interdependencies of the food, water, and energy nexus as society attempts to meet its demands for food, water and energy and reduce its risks from floods, droughts and the pollution of water, air and soil.

(1) American Indian and Indigenous Studies - https://aiisp.cornell.edu/academics/minor (2) Civil and Environmental Engineering concentrations: Environmental & Water Resources Systems Engineering, Environmental Fluid Mechanics & Hydrology, Environmental Processes - http://www.cee.cornell.edu/cee/academics/graduate/ms_phd/index.cfm (3) Environmental Information Systems concentrations: Environmental Information Science and Environmental Management (M.P.S. only) - https://scs.cals.cornell.edu/graduate/environmental-information-systems (4) Master of Public Administration: Environmental Policy Concentration - http://www.cipa.cornell.edu/academics/curriculum/concentrations/Environmental-Policy.cfm (5)Water Resources- https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academics/fields-of-study/field/water-resources-minor (6)Peace Studies - https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academics/fields-of-study/field/peace-studies-and-peace-science-minor (7) Urban Studies- https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academics/fields-of-study/field/urban-studies-minor (8) Conservation and Sustainable Development- https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academics/fields-of-study/field/conservation-and-sustainable-development-minor

Cornell also offers four Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) programs for graduate students. These are: -Cross-Scale Biogeochemistry and Climate (CSBC): http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/igert/ -Food Systems and Poverty Reduction: http://igert.ciifad.cornell.edu/ -Earth-Energy Systems: http://www.earthenergyigert.cornell.edu/ -Materials for a Sustainable Future: http://www.igert.org/projects/230