Three A.D. White Professors-at-Large on campus this spring
This semester, visiting A.D. White Professors-at-Large will explore themes of democracy, reparatory justice and Latin American narratives during public talks.
Read more
The Department of History thrives on its close relationship with many other departments, centers and area studies programs in the humanities and social sciences at Cornell. The faculty includes more than a dozen prize-winning authors as well as winners of Cornell’s prestigious teaching and advising awards.
History Events
Mar
13
Thursday
05:00 PM
Institutional Genes: The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism
Physical Sciences Building
120
Mar
17
Monday
12:15 PM
Mar
17
Monday
05:30 PM
Mar
18
Tuesday
12:20 PM
Mar
18
Tuesday
04:45 PM
Seymour Lecture in Sports History: Cricket and the Idea of India
Goldwin Smith Hall
G132
Mar
19
Wednesday
05:00 PM
Mar
27
Thursday
04:45 PM
Apr
07
Monday
04:45 PM
Apr
08
Tuesday
12:20 PM
Get to know history at Cornell
Department of History News
Cornell Center for Social Sciences names 2025-26 Faculty Fellows 
12 faculty members from seven colleges have been named 2025-26 Faculty Fellows with the Cornell Center for Social Sciences.
Read more
How Naval ROTC shaped my years on the Hill, and beyond
It wasn’t easy being in uniform during the Vietnam War era, but military service made Don Stanton '72 a better student—and a better man, he writes in a Chime In essay for Cornellians
Read more
After three years of war in Ukraine, Cornell experts assess endgame
On he third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Cornell University experts discuss sanctions and the state of US and European support for Ukraine.
Read more
U.S.-Canada relationship entering ‘sad chapter’
The U.S. president's collective actions against Canada have needlessly harmed a long-cherished and close relationship says Jon Parmenter, a professor of North American history.
Read more
New Klarman Fellows to join the College of Arts and Sciences
Fellows will pursue research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Read more
Explore home space in a teenage sitcom during upcoming lecture
"Sanctuary from the Storm: Making (My) Room with The Torkelsons," will explore Sheppard’s fondness for the 1990s television show and what the show’s representation of home spaces can tell us about the way television influences living practices.
Read more
Concerto Competition announces three winners
This year's Cornell Concerto competition honored three students as winners.
Read moreAcademic Pursuits
Undergraduate Study
History is valuable as preparation for graduate, professional, or law school and for any career that requires critical thinking and good writing; the reputation of the faculty for scholarship, teaching, and advising; and most of all, the intrinsic interest of the discipline.
Graduate Program
Cornell's Department of History has a topnotch faculty covering a wide range time periods, geographic regions and methodologies. As a student in our program, you will also be able to work with members of the wider Graduate Field of History, which includes scholars whose main appointment is in other colleges and programs at Cornell but who are able to supervise dissertations of Ph.D. students in History.
Connections through history
Public History Initiative
The Cornell Public History Initiative (CPHI) works to stimulate and deepen dialogue among undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and their wider communities about the sedimented histories that shape our contemporary world.