CAU Summer Courses: From Wine Pairings to Town-Gown History

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Registration is now open for the two sessions of weeklong offerings, with the option to stay in a newly renovated Balch Hall

By Beth Saulnier

If you miss being a student on the Hill, there’s a way to revisit those days—including dorm life, but minus the grades. Each summer, Cornell’s Adult University—which also runs faculty-led study tours worldwide—marries education and vacation, with a variety of weeklong classes held on and around the Ithaca campus.

Taught by Cornell faculty and other experts, the noncredit courses are open to all; they cover topics from cinema to cycling, humor to art history, watching birds to writing memoirs. While some classes repeat from year to year, others offer a novel twist on a favorite subject—or they explore a topic that's new to CAU.

Participants have the option of living in North Campus's Balch Hall, which was fully renovated in recent years; they can also stay at the Statler at a discounted rate, or find other local lodging.

While some classes repeat from year to year, others offer a novel twist on a favorite subject—or they explore a topic that's new to CAU.

CAU’s summer programs began with a single course in 1968; in 2026, it will offer two dozen, split between two sessions in July (one starting on the 5th, the other on the 12th).

Enrollment costs, which vary according to the course type, range from $1,700 to $2,400 per week, not including lodging. There are also optional Wednesday afternoon seminars (offered at a discount to Balch residents), on topics like labor relations, cyanotype printmaking, canoeing, and sailing.

Booking is open for 2026; as of early February, several courses were either full (with a waiting list) or had only a few spots left. Registration closes on June 5.

Here’s a small sampling of some of this summer’s CAU courses, accompanied by photos from past classes. Click each title to view its description on the CAU site; the full course roster can be found here.

Cultivating the Epicurean Palate

Categorized as an "ultra premium" course, it explores the art and science of wine and food pairings. In addition to lectures and tastings, it includes a multi-course restaurant meal, a catered lunch, a cooking session, a visit to a local winery, and more.

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Town Meets Gown: Exploring the Interwoven History of
Ithaca & Cornell

Each summer, Cornellians columnist and Big Red history expert Corey Ryan Earle ’07 teaches a CAU course with his brother, University Archivist Evan Earle ’02, MS ’14. This year, they team up with Ben Sandberg, MPA ’17, executive director of the History Center in Tompkins County, to delve into Cornell's relationship to its hometown—and notable local history from the silent film industry to the invention of the ice cream sundae.

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Sinners: How Religion Shapes Popular Culture

Taught by a professor from Africana studies, this class examines how religion and spirituality are depicted in visual art, film, music, and TV. Topics range from the hit horror film Sinners to Hindu-inspired spiritual jazz to the play Angels in America, and outings include a visit to the Johnson Museum.

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Engineering the Roman Empire

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From concrete to catapults to aqueducts, a classics professor will dig into key engineering accomplishments of ancient Rome, and their military and sociological importance. Students will parse classic texts that address the innovations, test out the tools of ancient land surveyors, and more.

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Reading Jane Austen

The beloved author and her world are the subject of this course, which includes a close reading of her Pride and Prejudice. Students will also read excerpts from Austen’s other works as well contemporary political texts, critical commentary, and more; they'll also view scenes from film versions of her novels and experiment with their own Austen adaptations. 

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How We Show Up: Community Psychology & the Stories
We Tell

Human Ecology alum Misha Ailsworth ’16, an assistant professor of psychology, teaches this inquiry into the study of community and how it shapes us. The class will include not only lectures, discussions, and case studies but experiential exercises and the writing of a personal narrative by each participant.

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Wings of Discovery: A Beginner's Guide to Birds

This intro to birding class includes early morning outings in Sapsucker Woods and elsewhere. Participants will learn the basics of bird identification, go behind the scenes at the Lab of Ornithology, and much more. It's one of several bird-related courses offered this summer, along with one devoted to raptors and another focused on wild birds and human interactions.

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American Art: From the Hudson River School to Louis Comfort Tiffany

Based at the Johnson Museum and taught by a retired curator, this course includes behind-the scenes access there and at Kroch Library archives. Students will take art-viewing field trips to Corning (for the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rockwell Museum) and Rochester (for the Memorial Art Gallery and the George Eastman Museum).

Top: Students work on their swings in a CAU golf class. (Sreang Hok / Cornell University)

Published February 3, 2026

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