Music at Cornell is taught within an environment that views the arts as fostering aesthetic appreciation, creative thinking, and experimentation. As part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Music offers a single undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Arts. Yet at the same time, the department engages with programs and departments from around the campus; the Concentration in Computing in the Arts is but one example. Whereas music education is not taught at Cornell (nor does Cornell offer pre-professional undergraduate degrees in performance, music theory, or music therapy), music majors have gone on to varied careers: musicology, composition, performing, conducting, teaching at the primary or secondary level, and arts management. Others have pursued careers outside of music, in medicine, law, and many other areas.

careers: musicology, composition, performing, conducting, teaching at the primary or secondary level, and arts management. Others have pursued careers outside of music, in medicine, law, and many other areas.