Built for the future of work

80 years of pioneering research, education, and real-world impact.

ILR by the Decade
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Undergraduate Admissions

Our flexible, interdisciplinary major lets students pursue a wide range of academic interests and careers.

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Graduate Programs

Study the workplace comprehensively with the world’s highest concentration of workplace faculty.

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Professional Education

Invest in your career by learning from instructors who blend world-leading research with business-tested practicality.

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ILR, Unions Offer NYC Construction Workers Innovative Emotional First Aid

New York State Public Impact

The ILR School’s Worker Institute and unions have launched an innovative peer support initiative to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in New York City’s construction industry.

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Arianna Schindle (left) and Jeff Grabelsky (right) of the ILR School’s Worker Institute talk with Paul Schwan (center), a member of the Ornamental and Architectural Ironworkers Union Local 361 and an instructor in the peer supporter program.

Research by EMHRM Faculty Shapes Future of HR

Earning a master’s degree from ILR means learning from and collaborating with faculty members who are respected worldwide as thought leaders in human resources, work, labor and employment issues.

Our graduates become Cornell alumni, granting them access to Cornell's extensive network. Learn the skills that directly translate to strategic leadership capability and business impact. EMHRM is designed for seasoned HR executives, while the MILR degree is geared toward recent undergraduates, career changers and young HR professionals.

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ILR School Events

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Protecting Care in Times of Disruption

As we confront a national “care crisis”—where care support is inaccessible and unaffordable for many, and there is a shortage of care workers who are often devalued and poorly paid—care work should be widely recognized as an essential foundation of our society. Instead, we are in a moment of escalating political and economic attacks that threaten care workers at multiple levels. Sharp cuts to healthcare and attacks on the rights of workers, people of color, and immigrants put care workers and our entire care infrastructure at risk.

In home care nurse helping elderly woman go down the stairs
Protecting Care in Times of Disruption
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“My time at the ILR School helped me understand both labor and management perspectives, which has proven to be a solid foundation for my career.”
– Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Major League Baseball

Get to Know: Claire Daviss

Faculty Spotlight

Claire Daviss joined the ILR faculty in fall 2025 as an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior. She hopes her research into how workplaces contribute to inequality will lead to real-world solutions. 

Claire Daviss
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ILRies Change
the Future of Work.

Learn about ILR's impact

Catherwood Library

The Martin P. Catherwood Library is the most comprehensive resource on labor and employment in North America, offering expert research support through reference services, instruction, online guides and access to premier collections.

Studying in the window bay at the Catherwood Library
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Latest News and Research

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We generate and share knowledge to solve human problems, manage and resolve conflict, establish best practices in the workplace and inform government policy.

Businesses, Investors ‘Flying Blind’ When Trust in Government Statistics Declines

Cornell Chronicle
Even a temporary loss of trust in official data may be costly, with an economic impact many times the budgets of the agencies that report key indicators, according to Erica Groshen, senior labor market adviser at the ILR School.
Sheet of paper with an unemployment and inflation graph
Businesses, Investors ‘Flying Blind’ When Trust in Government Statistics Declines

Community-Engaged Learning Celebrated, Buffalo Co-Lab Honored

Cornell Chronicle
ILR School’s Buffalo Co-Lab has played a vital role in western New York, working in partnership with business, union, government, education and community organizations.
ILR Buffalo Co-Lab celebration event, "Education in Action"
Community-Engaged Learning Celebrated, Buffalo Co-Lab Honored

Mass Timber Industry Offers Sustainable Construction, High-Quality Jobs

Cornell Chronicle
The ILR School’s Climate Jobs Institute presented its primer on how the production of mass timber can create jobs and accelerate affordable housing at an event held in Albany on May 11.
CJI mass timber illustration created by Seung Yeon Kim/Cornell University
Mass Timber Industry Offers Sustainable Construction, High-Quality Jobs

NYS Can Protect Workers with Disabilities, Strobel Gower Tells State Senate

Cornell Chronicle
Wendy Strobel Gower, executive director of YTI, testified before the NY State Senate that individuals with disabilities face numerous challenges in the workplace and a growing threat from recent federal policy changes – but that New York state can mitigate these harms.
Wendy Strobel Gower testifies before the NY State Senate
NYS Can Protect Workers with Disabilities, Strobel Gower Tells State Senate

Campus Life

Follow us @cornellilr

ILR students are making a difference at Cornell and beyond! Check out the ILR Instagram for a taste of campus life, student internship experiences, engaged learning opportunities and more.

⏪ Looking back at the spring semester 🌸📚

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Earlier this month, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan officially declared May 7 as ILR Day in Buffalo! 🤝 Since the Buffalo Co-Lab’s founding in 1946, the ILR School has played a vital role in western New York, working in partnership with business, union, government, education and community organizations. On…

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Get to know Claire Daviss, assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the ILR School! Daviss joined the ILR faculty in fall 2025, and her work focuses on labor markets, organizations and gender inequality. Her recently published research has covered topics such as the…

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Undergraduate Global Scholars from the Einaudi Center for International Studies, including Jonathan Lam, ILR Class of 2027, spent the year brainstorming how to build effective, community-engaged international aid. 🌏 Last month, students presented their projects at @global_cornell's annual…

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ILRies making a difference: After graduating from ILR, Scott Alter '01 spent several years working in investment banking and real estate investment. Then the financial crisis of 2008 happened. Instead of pivoting away from real estate, Alter and his friend Jeff Jaeger decided to lean in: they…

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Good luck with finals, ILRies! 📚

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