ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Communication at Cornell University is the focal point at which the principles of basic communication converge and coexist with media, science, and technology. The specific topics we address are as diverse as the faculty and student population who explore these areas in their research projects and courses. A sampling of these topics are below.

• How do people get to know and trust each other when they work together via the Internet?

• When do community groups trust governmental representatives, and what makes the government listen?

• Do museum visitors use palm-sized computers to get information about art or to chat with other visitors?

• How may biotechnology information be presented so that people understand the real risks and benefits instead of scare tactics or bland reassurances?

• What is real on TV, and how can adults and children tell?

• Are the environmental news reports that journalists provide based on scientific issues or convenient narratives?

• Do laptops in the undergraduate classroom lead to better or worse grades?

• How have citizens persuaded city officials to become environmental backers instead of industry backers in order to clean up Ithaca Falls?

• Is it better if people see you on the web, or if they don’t?

Our research is supported by Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Microsoft, and many other agencies and organizations.

We are proud of our home in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences - a world center for genetic research, community sociology, applied business and economics, biotechnology, and numerous other specialties that advance vital scientific and sustainability issues. Our department has an established record of interdisciplinary collaborations across the university.

Communication at Cornell is vitally linked to the university's initiative in Computing and Information Science, where our faculty are among the leaders in examining the social impacts of technology.

Cornell communication students are students who want to challenge themselves. They may be interested in changing how institutions collaborate to improve natural resource management, or in exploring how teenagers combine their 'real-life' encounters with the presence of the internet, television, and print media. Students come to Cornell skilled in communication as an art and leave with a scientific appreciation of the process.

Whether you are a prospective, current, or former student; a collaborator or potential one, a colleague or a job applicant, you will find much to be excited about in our department.