The Cornell University Graduate School confers most professional and research master's degrees and doctoral degrees in various fields of study for the university. The departments under which instruction and research take place are housed in Cornell's other schools and colleges. The administrative offices for the Graduate School are located in Caldwell Hall, on the Ag Quad. For decades, the Graduate School was housed in Sage Hall which also included social areas and dormitory rooms for graduate students. The Graduate School does not have a faculty. Instead, it organizes the faculty of other colleges into "fields" representing distinct subject areas. Students apply for admission to a specific field, although once admitted, students are not limited to that field when selecting courses or faculty to serve of the committee supervising the student's research.

The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell Law School, and Cornell Veterinary School also confer graduate degrees, but not PhD degrees. The Weill Cornell Medical School and the Tri-Institutional MD–PhD Program have authority to confer PhD degrees independent of the Graduate School.