Cornell University offers three strong options for undergraduate business education: the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management (AEM) with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the Industrial Labor Relations School (ILR), and the School of Hotel Administration.
Businessweek recently ranked AEM as the third best undergraduate business school in the US. Students can choose from a variety of practical and applied specializations ranging from entrepreneurship to finance to strategy, preparing them for a wide range of careers in business. AEM is uniquely situated within CALS, so students often combine their business degree with courses the life sciences and applied social sciences.
ILR explores the domestic and international workplace from a multidisciplinary perspective, with required courses in management, economics, psychology, history, law and government. ILR is the only undergraduate school in the US devoted to this field. Students enter a broad array of careers post-graduation with 26% going into human resources, 15% to business, and 13% to financial services (2011 ILR post-graduate report). Additionally, one-fifth go on to law school.
The School of Hotel Administration grants students a Bachelors of Science degree. In addition to the hospitality-related concentrations of HOLD (Hospitality Leadership) and SMOM (Services Marketing & Operations Management), students can major in FARE (Finance, Accounting and Real Estate) or pursue a Real Estate minor. The curriculum balances theory and practice, with a requirement of 800 hours in a hospitality-related practicum prior to graduation. The majority of graduates enter the hospitality industry, and one-quarter go into real estate/consulting and banking/financial services (Hotel School post-graduate report).
On the graduate level, Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management provides MBA and PhD. Degree programs. The 2-year MBA program features Immersion Learning, a semester of integrated course and field work. The Johnson School provides opportunities for undergraduates to take courses and attend talks by leaders in business.
In exciting recent news, NYC Major Bloomberg selected Cornell and its partner Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) to develop a leading age NYCTech Campus on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, a $2 billion project. The school will offer masters and doctoral degrees in technical fields such as computer science, information science and computer engineering, and will house the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute. The unique partnership between NYC, Cornell and Technion is poised to make powerful advances in entrepreneurship and applied science education.