Students are encouraged to take advantage of Cornell's extensive course offerings in other departments as well and can arrange programs specifically adapted to their own interests and career plans. Special topics and independent study courses are offered for interested undergraduate as well as graduate students. Many courses include hands-on experience for students in the department orchards. This ensures that students will be taught the very latest information about fruit production methods. In many cases, students hear about new discoveries before growers or other scientists.
Students often get course credit for working on research projects with a professor.
All faculty members are willing to give students academic help and assist them with career planning. A major advantage of studying Fruit Science at Cornell is that New York produces an extremely diverse number of fruit crops, and is one of the leading producers of apples and strawberries. Fruit growers and winery owners are eager to host Cornell students at their farms, and much can be learned from these experiences. The 65-acre orchard at Ithaca contains plantings of apples, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, and currants. The salesroom at the Ithaca orchard offers fruit, vegetables, and cider to the public and provides an excellent opportunity to learn about marketing.