One Course At A Time + Ingenuity
What is it? It's what makes your education at Cornell College different than any other college or university.
One Course At A Time is a fully immersive academic experience. It is a block plan calendar that allows you to learn the same way you’ll live and work after college. When you don’t have three or four different subjects pulling your attention in different directions, you get an in-depth knowledge of the material—and you can become truly focused. This is how learning comes to life.
Ingenuity is our curriculum it's all about building foundational skills that will help you succeed in college, then encouraging you to explore and make connections between classroom subject matter and hands-on experiences so you gain understanding of what is meaningful to you and where you want to go after college.
Why is One Course At A Time a great way to learn?
One Course At A Time gives you the time and space to completely dedicate yourself to the one subject you’re studying that block. You’ll learn to manage tight deadlines and live up to high expectations. You’ll gain experiences you can’t get on a traditional semester plan— like taking on internships that feel like full-time jobs, doing real research, and building strong relationships with your professors and classmates.
What you'll learn
Your education should prepare you for the problem-solving challenges faced in the workplace and demonstrate the timeline you have to get that work done. The block plan builds problem-solvers.
✔ Critical Thinking—you’ll meet challenges head-on and solve problems thoroughly and creatively.
✔ Teamwork and Collaboration—every class is a team, and you’ll take turns leading projects and discussions.
✔ Communication Skills—debate, papers, and reflection help you articulate your ideas.
✔ Global Fluency—take courses on and off campus that investigate worldwide cultures.
✔ Time Management—you’ll be a pro after four years.
An experience tailored for you
You’ll be able to make your experience your own at Cornell: you have the freedom to explore and customize your undergraduate education based on what interests you. If those interest change along the way? No problem. You aren't locked in for a full semester, you can adjust your course schedule every three and a half weeks. And you never have to figure it out on your own—you’ll have a faculty advisor invested in your success to help you map out your plan.
Owning your experience is a great way to love what you're learning.
YOUR CORNELL EXPERIENCE
Block plan vs. traditional semesters
Cornellians consistently complete their degrees in four years or less—and you will, too. On the block plan you check classes off one by one and doing something unusual, like studying in another country or doing research full time for a block doesn't impact your other classes at all. So you get to try everything you want, and graduate on time.
See how One Course At A Time’s block plan compares to a typical semester schedule. You’ll learn how credit hours are calculated and how long each block is.
Block plan semester comparison