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The Cornell University Department of Economics offers a unique combination of theoretical and analytical rigor, and concern for real world problems. An unusually broad range of courses gives students an understanding of the way economies operate and an insight into public issues. Currently, the department has more than 50 faculty members, 500 majors, 100 Ph.D. students, and serves over 5,000 students on campus each year.
Erik Thorbecke, a Cornell University professor of economics since 1974 and one of the creators of the widely used Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) Index for measuring poverty, died on April 26 at 97. His work on agriculture, poverty alleviation and nutrition helped shape modern development economics.
Cornell College of Arts and Sciences professors Cathy Caruth and Francesca Molinari are among four Cornell faculty, including Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, elected in 2026 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for their excellence and leadership. The academy announced 252 new members April 22.
Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser will deliver the Frank Knight Lecture in the Department of Economics at Cornell University May 4. The College of Arts & Sciences event examines cities, housing, and infrastructure.
College of Arts and Sciences researchers are on a Cornell team receiving a $250,000 seed grant for AI moonshot restoring trust online. Backed by the Laude Institute, the Cornell team could secure $10 million to build transparent, verifiable AI auditing tools for public discourse.
Student Ambassador Alexandra Hui, Class of 2029, describes finding mentorship and belonging in Cornell Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.
Cornell admits the Class of 2030 emphasizing real-world impact, enrolling 5,776 students from 102 countries.
At Cornell University, the diverse cohort reflects the land-grant mission and applied learning goals across multiple colleges.
A live and online audience of nearly 1,000 tapped into a conversation between Bret Stephens and Seth Klarman.
Cornell University helped pioneer the collaborative field of behavioral economics, where economists and psychologists work side by side to uncover how human behavior drives decision-making in markets and beyond.
Click here to read more about the impact of our behavioral economics research
Location: Weill Hall, 224
Undergraduate Program
Why study at Cornell? The Economics Department is shared by both the College of Arts & Sciences and by the ILR School, and we offer a variety of services to the Cornell undergraduate community.
Graduate Program
Our Ph.D. program field faculty consists of 91 economists drawn from the Economics Department and other departments and colleges across the university, offering students many opportunities. Students can focus their doctoral research on a wide range of economics-related topics
