International Programs

Beginning with its founding, Cornell University has been international in scope and aspiration. Included in Cornell’s earliest classes were students from Canada, England, Russia and Brazil; by the early 1900s, Chinese students were a significant presence on our campus … Ezra Cornell’s determination to “found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study,” as expansive a goal as any in the history of higher education, included the assumption that the dream would not be limited to New York or to the United States.

David J. Skorton
President, Cornell University

Source: Bringing Cornell to the World and the World to Cornell: A Presidential White Paper. March 2, 2012

Greetings from Ithaca!

• Among our 226,000⁺ alumni, around 7% report a current address outside of North America. Check out the International Demographics chart to see the number of Cornellians in countries/regions outside of North America.
• Fall of 2012 saw a total of 4,098 international students (19.1% of total enrollment) joining us from 119 countries. For further details, please visit the ISSO Annual Statistical Report.
• Each year, roughly 1,400 graduate and undergraduate students study, conduct research, or engage in service learning projects in about 90 countries worldwide through Cornell Abroad, CALS International Programs, CIIFAD's Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Team (SMART) Program, Global Health Program's summer programs in Tanzania and India, and ILR's International Programs, etc., to name just a few.
• Established university-wide alumni groups/contacts can be found in close to 40 countries/locations worldwide.
• Between Cornell Hotel Society (CHS) and Johnson School’s regional alumni clubs, there are 40⁺ international chapters worldwide.
• Cornell Alumni Admission Ambassador Network's (CAAAN) 9,000⁺ volunteers represent an even broader reach across the globe.

Once a Cornellian, always a Cornellian. Near or far, Cornellians across the globe make vital contributions to the life of the university by serving on advisory councils and boards, sharing ambassadorial messages about the university, providing leadership in their professional fields and local communities, recruiting future Cornellians, nurturing young alumni, giving to the university, and organizing dynamic events and programs that engage, inform, and enrich each other.

Thank you for all that you do for each other and for Cornell. We look forward to staying in touch with you or even better, welcoming you and yours back at reunion in June, homecoming in September, Cornell Adult University in the summer, or any time when you are in your Big Red mood! With the Wi-Fi enabled Campus-to-Campus bus, we are now a couple of movies or a few emails away from NYC. What are you waiting for?