Cornell University
Summary
Cornell University is a private Ivy League university founded in 1865. Based in Ithaca, New York—about 220 miles northwest of New York City—the university enrolled more than 21,000 students in a recent year, including around 65% at the undergraduate level. Approximately 20% of the students were international. Tuition fees are identical for domestic and international students, and residential choices include themed residence halls and graduate and professional student apartments.
Cornell consists of 14 colleges and schools, with seven undergraduate divisions and graduate/professional programs based in Ithaca, New York City, and Doha, Qatar. Undergraduates may pursue courses in agriculture and life sciences; architecture, art, and planning; arts and sciences; business; engineering; human ecology; and industrial and labor relations. The semester system is used for the academic calendar, and English is the main language of instruction. International students may participate in English language courses, a language partner program, and other support.
Research opportunities exist for both graduate and undergraduate students. For instance, the Food Science Summer Scholar Program is a 10-week program that comes with stipends. The university also has research centers such as the Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics, the Center for the Study of Inequality, and the Center for Advanced Computing.
Rankings
Cornell University is ranked #16 in Best Global Universities based on widely used performance metrics.
Global Universities Rankings
#16 in Best Global Universities (tie)
Subject Rankings
#13 in Agricultural Sciences
#51 in Arts and Humanities (tie)
#19 in Biology and Biochemistry (tie)
#21 in Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology
#62 in Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems
#8 in Cell Biology
#48 in Chemistry (tie)
#16 in Clinical Medicine
#55 in Computer Science
#141 in Condensed Matter Physics (tie)
#16 in Ecology
#27 in Economics and Business
#285 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (tie)
#96 in Endocrinology and Metabolism
#248 in Energy and Fuels (tie)
#152 in Engineering
#19 in Environment/Ecology
#27 in Food Science and Technology
#67 in Gastroenterology and Hepatology
#47 in Geosciences
#155 in Green and Sustainable Science and Technology
#12 in Immunology#44 in Infectious Diseases
#90 in Marine and Freshwater Biology (tie)
#111 in Materials Science
#73 in Mathematics
#76 in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences#9 in Microbiology
#15 in Molecular Biology and Genetics
#181 in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (tie)
#56 in Neuroscience and Behavior
#3 in Oncology
#116 in Optics (tie)
#120 in Pharmacology and Toxicology
#179 in Physical Chemistry
#19 in Physics (tie)
#7 in Plant and Animal Science
#100 in Polymer Science (tie)
#154 in Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
#39 in Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging (tie)
#40 in Social Sciences and Public Health
#21 in Space Science
#31 in Surgery
#94 in Water Resources
2025-2026 Indicator Rankings
Thirteen indicators drive Cornell’s overall Best Global Universities ranking. Below is how it ranks in each area:
Global Universities – #16 in Best Global Universities (tie)
Global Score – 83.6
Global Research Reputation – #21
Regional Research Reputation – #13
Publications – #41
Books – #26
Conferences – #94
Normalized Citation Impact – #93
Total Citations – #30
Top 10% Most Cited Publications – #28
Percentage of Top 10% Most Cited Publications – #70
International Collaboration (Relative to Country) – #346
International Collaboration – #1002
Top 1% Most Cited Papers – #23
Percentage of Top 1% Most Cited Papers – #68
