Our full-time, on-campus Master of Industrial and Labor Relations (MILR) program is ideal for career-driven professionals interested in the human side of organizations and the workplace. It is a two-year, leading degree program in the area of human resources and labor relations. This program will provide you the opportunity to customize your academic experience; acquire relevant and practical knowledge from expert faculty in their fields; and gain access to our employer and alumni networks, who actively recruit our graduates for career placement and advancement.
Concentrations include: Human Resources and Organizations, International and Comparative Labor, Collective Representation, Dispute Resolution, and Labor Market Policy.
Degree Requirements
The MILR degree requires a minimum of 48 credit hours, encompassing at least 16 courses comprised of 6 core courses, 6 concentration courses and elective courses.*
6 required core courses:
- ILRLR 5000 Labor Relations
- ILRLR 5010 Labor and Employment Law
- ILRST 5110 Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences
- ILROB 5200 Organizational Behavior
- ILRLE 5400 Labor Economics
- ILRHR 5600 Human Resource Management
*Courses offered by the ILR School and the 14 other colleges at Cornell provide an opportunity for cross-disciplinary work.
Courses taken toward fulfillment of the MILR degree requirements must meet all of the following criteria:
- 5000 level or above
- Taken for a letter grade (pass/fail and S/U grade option courses do not count)
- Final course grade must be C or above
- 3 or more credits. Courses that carry less than 3 credits do not count unless combined with another less-than-three credit course. Such instances will count as 1 course and must be taken for credit.
MILR/MBA Dual Degree Program
The dual degree MILR/MBA program from ILR and Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management offers a unique opportunity that places you in the center of today's fast changing workplace. The MILR/MBA program will:
- increase your career options
- develop management and technical skills
- increase your earning power
- gain two degrees in 2.5 years
One-Year MILR Degree
Applicants with a JD or MBA degree from an accredited U.S. institution or a BS ILR degree from Cornell University may apply to complete the MILR degree program in one year. Not all applicants will be approved for the one-year option, but each application will be evaluated individually by the admissions committee. 30 credit hours including the 6 MILR core courses are required. Students in the one-year MILR program must:
- Complete a total of 30 credits
- Complete 2 full-time semesters in the MILR program
- Complete or waive all 6 of the MILR required core courses
- Complete or waive four of the six concentration courses
- Complete as many relevant and appropriate electives as needed to fulfill the 30 credit requirement
What do ILR students do after graduation? There are many job and career field options available to those who earn a degree from the ILR School, including corporate HR, labor relations, labor, government, law, non-profit, consulting, and financial services.