Our flexible, interdisciplinary major lets students pursue a wide range of academic interests and careers.
Study the workplace comprehensively with the world’s highest concentration of workplace faculty.
Invest in your career by learning from instructors who blend world-leading research with business-tested practicality.
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.
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.
ILR School Events
See all eventsEvan Riehl Disparate Impacts of Teacher Certification Exams Abstract: We use Texas administrative data to assess the long-standing claim that teacher certification exams discriminate against underrepresented minority (URM) candidates. In a regression discontinuity design, we find that failing a certification exam delays entry into teaching and costs the average candidate $10,000 in forgone earnings. These costs fall disproportionately on URM candidates both because they are more likely to fail and because their earnings losses from failing are 50 percent larger on average. To examine whether these disparities are justified by racial/ethnic differences in teaching quality, we develop a new measure of disparate impact and estimate it using a policy change that increased the difficulty of Texas' elementary certification exam. The harder exam reduced the URM share of new teachers but had no significant benefits for teaching quality or student achievement. Taken together, our findings show that certification exams have a disparate impact in the sense that they impose much larger economic costs on URM teaching candidates than on white candidates with similar potential teaching quality.
Meet with labor unions, law firms, and organizations dedicated to worker rights to learn about summer internship and full-time opportunities. NEW this year: Engage in informal chats with ILR alumni to explore careers in the labor movement, hear directly about the work, and build meaningful connections.
Groat & Alpern Awards
Join us for an evening of celebration!
The Plaza Hotel, New York City
March 26, 2026 | 6 - 9 PM
Justine Modica joined the ILR faculty in the summer of 2025 as an assistant professor in the Department of Global Labor and Work. She is a scholar of care work and, more broadly, reproductive labor.
ILRies Change
the Future of Work.
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.
Latest News and Research
See all newsWe generate and share knowledge to solve human problems, manage and resolve conflict, establish best practices in the workplace and inform government policy.
Campus Life
Follow us @cornellilrILR 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.
Cornell Giving Day is HERE! 🐻 Now’s the moment to show your ILR and Big Red pride. Make your gift today, via the link in our bio! Every contribution, big or small, energizes our students and provides them with opportunities and growth. 🌸🌱 Let’s rally together, give, and make the most of this…
The Cornell University ILR School is proud to announce the launch of the Building Trades Peer Support Network! 🏗 The program, co-created by the ILR School’s Worker Institute and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (BCTC), is an innovative peer support program designed…
Save the date, ILRies! The Labor Advocacy Career Fair will be held on Wednesday, March 18, from 12:00-4:00 p.m. in Biotech G10. 💫 This unique career fair offers the opportunity to engage with employers and alumni to explore career opportunities in the labor movement. Check out Handshake for more…
