UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS STUDY
GENERAL INFORMATION
The areas most often pursued include applied economics and business management (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), economics (College of Arts and Sciences), engineering, hotel administration, consumer economics and housing (College of Human Ecology), industrial and labor relations, and sociology.
Applied economics and business management. This program is designed to prepare students for a career in business or in public service. Emphasis is placed on the application of economic theory and management principles. Graduates of this program typically choose careers in investment banking or finance or with firms offering opportunities in sales and marketing. Areas of specialization include business management and marketing, farm business management and finance, and food industry management.
Economics. This program provides a broad view of that social science concerned with the description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, the understanding of monetary systems, and the comprehension of economic theories and models. It is viewed more often as preprofessional than as training for immediate practice in business or economics.
Engineering. This area provides much of the management personnel of modern industry. Engineers frequently climb the ladders of technological management that lead to more general management responsibilities; more than half of the management-level personnel of major corporations such as General Electric, Xerox, IBM, and Du Pont have engineering degrees. In addition to becoming managers by being effective technical supervisors, many students enter engineering explicitly anticipating graduate business education, judging that an engineering background is particularly appropriate for management in a technology-oriented society.
Hotel administration. The undergraduate program in hotel administration prepares individuals to be mid- to upper-level managers and entrepreneurs for the hospitality industry (lodging, food service, and travel) and allied fields. Instruction is provided in the areas of administration and general management, human-resources management, accounting and financial management, food and beverage management, law, properties management, communication, science and technology, economics, and marketing.
Consumer economics and housing. Study in the department develops an understanding of the market economy from both buyers' and sellers' perspectives. The focus is on the economic behavior and welfare of consumers in the private, public, and mixed sectors of the economy. An understanding of economics, sociology, and government policy provides the basis for an analysis of consumers' rights and responsibilities.
Industrial and labor relations focuses on the interactions among human beings, organizations, and institutions. It encompasses not only the relationships between employer and employee but the political, economic, social, and psychological factors that affect those relationships. It includes the study of the hiring, training, and motivating of individual workers; negotiation and conflict resolution; and the economic and technological changes that affect the jobs that people perform. Finally, it embraces the many regulations and regulatory agencies created by our society to protect and help both employer and employed.
Sociology. The program provides disciplined understanding of society and social issues. The insights and analytical skills you will acquire are applicable to corporate, government, and nonprofit settings, and the department's focus on social organization and institutions will prepare you well for graduate or professional programs in business schools. (Also see the description of the Society and Economy Concentration in the Department of Sociology section of Arts and Sciences.)
Related Areas
Courses in areas directly related to these business programs are found in many of the university departments. For example, quantitative methods may be studied in the departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, and courses in public administration are found in the departments of Government, and City and Regional Planning. There are additional programs that allow students with an interest in business to focus on a particular geographic area. Examples are the Latin American Studies Program, the South Asia Program, and the Africana Studies and Research Center. Such interdisciplinary programs as the Program on Science, Technology, and Society and the various programs in international agriculture provide additional opportunities for study of interest to business students.
Combined Degree Programs
Because Cornell has the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, special opportunities exist for highly qualified undergraduates to combine their undergraduate programs with graduate study in that school. Students in the double-registrant program generally receive a bachelor's degree after four years of study and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree after the fifth year of study, rather than the usual sixth year. Students in all Cornell undergraduate colleges and schools are eligible to explore this option. There is also a program with the College of Engineering that allows qualified students to earn a B.S., M.B.A., and Master of Engineering degree in six years. Admission to these combined degree programs is limited to particularly promising applicants. Careful planning is required for successful integration of the work in the two schools.
