World's first college-level school for workplace issues, training labor and management leaders since 1945.
ILR is organized into six academic departments: Global Labor and Work, Human Resource Studies, Labor Economics, Organizational Behavior, and Statistics and Data Science. The school uniquely offers a four-year B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations (BSILR) requiring 120 credit hours, combining foundational social sciences with technical workplace expertise. Graduate programs include the Master of Industrial and Labor Relations (MILR), Executive Master of Human Resource Management (EMHRM), Master of Professional Studies (MPS), and doctoral degrees. All undergraduates complete a required summer work-training program across industrial, government, and labor organizations.
The main Ithaca campus occupies a quad near Cornell's center, featuring Ives Hall (academic building), Martin P. Catherwood Library (one of two official International Labour Organization depositories), ILR Research Building, ILR Conference Center, and Dolgen Hall. The school also operates from the General Electric Building in Manhattan (40,000 sq ft, ~100 staff) housing seven institutes and programs. Additional locations serve students in Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester. Students participate in credit and non-credit internships, international opportunities, and student organizations including a SHRM chapter that won national HR Games titles in 2002 and 2004.
Undergraduate applicants must submit the Common Application through Cornell's Undergraduate Admissions Office, selecting ILR as both school and major. The school evaluates academic success, exposure to ILR-related topics, and a supplement essay demonstrating strong interest in workplace issues. ILR does not consider demonstrated interest in admissions decisions. As a New York State contract college, in-state residents pay reduced tuition. Graduate admissions vary by program (MILR, EMHRM, MPS, doctoral).
Faculty conduct groundbreaking interdisciplinary research drawing from economics, sociology, psychology, history, statistics, and law. The school publishes the Industrial and Labor Relations Review (quarterly since 1947) and operates centers including the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS), K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, and the R. Brinkley Smithers Institute for Alcohol-Related Workplace Studies. As a New York land-grant college, ILR extends its influence through cooperative extension programs reaching every county in New York State, offering training and consulting to labor and management.