Arts Quad

Cornell’s iconic Arts Quad is surrounded by historically and architecturally significant buildings. The lush central common space is a year-round hub of activity, from Ultimate Frisbee to concerts, pop-up art installations, study groups and outdoor classes.

Media Gallery

A dramatic sunset bathes Uris Library (left) and McGraw Tower (right) in streaks of purple and blue light.

Students decorate pumpkins on the Arts Quad during a fall celebration. McGraw Tower stands in the background.

A bronze statue of Ezra Cornell, taken from below. Cornell's face looks to the left of the frame.

A class gathers on the unique architecture outside Milstein Hall.

A multi-pronged exhibit space in the Milstein Hall Dome.

A wide-open studio space with very large sunlight windows and several easels with nearly finished paintings on them. There are more than a dozen portable art cabinets - white but with lots of markings on them.

Students (who are out of focus) descend a spiral staircase with stone railings and beautiful inlay artwork on the wall.

Several dozen students parade a large dragon art project, created from wood, fabric and other materials. It has a red head and very large white teeth.

About a dozen people sitting in chairs, seen from behind, watching someone standing and speaking to them. Behind them is the skyline of Manhattan, including the Chrysler Building.

An overhead view of Klarman Hall's atrium, where students can collaborate in small groups, study quietly or enjoy a bite from the Temple of Zeus café.

A student wearing safety goggles performs an experiment in one of the Physical Science Building's labs for applies and engineering physics.

A research associate and student work together on a biochemistry project in Baker Lab.

Ten dancers with their arms raised in a dance studio.

Its members sitting on the floor, a Korean drumming troupe practices in Lincoln Hall, home to the Department of Music.

Wide shot of a person in silhouette walking between two multi-story library stacks.

Two students eat at a booth. Behind them is a large plate-glass window looking out onto an academic quad covered in snow.

A magnifying glass is held over 35mm slides on a lightbox. Many of the 15 slides feature Queen Latifah, who is wearing a red headdress.

Inside the top of McGraw Tower, a chimesmaster performs on the carillon while a group of parents and students look on.

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

College of Arts and Sciences

Cornell University Library

McGraw Tower and the Cornell Chimes

⭐ College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Situated at the north end of the Arts Quad, the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) offers renowned undergraduate degree programs in architecture, fine art and urban and regional studies.

AAP undergraduates join a rigorous and supportive community, enjoying resources in Ithaca and at global programs in Rome (Cornell in Rome) and New York City (Gensler Family AAP NYC Center). In principle and practice, AAP prepares the next generation of architects, artists, designers and urbanists to build a more just, sustainable and equitable world.

🌟 College of Arts and Sciences

The largest college at Cornell, the College of Arts and Sciences offers more than 2,000 courses to 4,600 students in foundational disciplines including English, mathematics, chemistry, economics, foreign languages, music and performing arts. With no core curriculum, classes build upon each other, crossing traditional academic boundaries to further interdisciplinary understanding.

Many Arts and Sciences students take advantage of special academic pathways, like the Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity, the Humanities Scholars Program and the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program, which allows participants to create their own major.

⭐ Cornell University Library

Rich library collections empower groundbreaking scholarship by Cornell students and faculty in all fields of study. Students may access millions of digital and print resources, including treasures like a 1623 Shakespeare folio and the Cornell Hip Hop Collection. Library staff help students navigate the collections and hone research skills to be successful at Cornell and beyond.

Cornell’s 18 libraries provide spaces for quiet study collaboration, with some — such as Olin and Mann — offering cafés to refuel. The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections in the Carl M. Kroch Library mounts annual exhibitions and holds approximately 1.3 million volumes across 97,000 square feet.

⭐ McGraw Tower and the Cornell Chimes

McGraw Tower, located at the south end of the Arts Quad on Ho Plaza, is a beloved campus landmark. Adjacent to the tower is Uris Library, one of numerous libraries operated by the university and home to the stunningly beautiful A. D. White Reading Room, a favorite study space for generations of Cornellians.

Nestled atop the tower are 21 chimes played three times daily by Cornell chimesmasters, student performers with a repertoire of over 2,500 songs. Listen closely and you’ll hear the alma mater, “Happy Birthday” and the Star Wars theme, as well as familiar hits by the Beatles, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. The chimesmasters even take requests!

Daily concerts can normally be viewed in person, though the tower will be closed to visitors until late 2024 due to construction.