Current Students

Occasionally a professor may offer a class that meets only for seven weeks. A half-term class may be added to or dropped from your schedule only according to the deadlines stated in the Courses of Study course description.

The Hotel School began in 1922 as a department in what was then the School of Home Economics in the New York State College of Agriculture. A four-year course of study from its inception, Cornell’s program in hotel administration—the first of its kind anywhere—began with a single professor, Dr. H. B. Meek, and a class of 21 students. The faculty, curriculum, and student enrollment expanded gradually over the years, until today, more than eighty years later, we have more than sixty faculty members, 850 undergraduates, and 100 graduate students. Our facilities have also grown, from the small original area within the university’s statutory divisions, to a separate building and 50-room Statler Inn built in 1950, to our current Statler Hall, with the spacious Robert A. and Jan M. Beck Center academic space addition, and the 153-room Statler Hotel and J. Willard Marriott Conference Center. For more information on the School’s history, refer to Hospitality Leadership: The Cornell Hotel School, and Hospitality Goes Global: The Cornell Hotel School, available in the school’s library.

This student organization gives aspiring business-minded Hotel School students a confidential forum in which to discuss prospective business ideas. It creates professional and academic opportunities for students pursuing a future in entrepreneurship.

The Hospitality Law Society is the first and only university hospitality law organization in the US. HLS seeks to foster the academic, social, and professional growth of its members by sponsoring legal scholarship activities, to aid students with the law school admissions process, to educate students about legal issues in hospitality, and to increase the representation of Hotel School undergraduates in law school and in the legal profession. Students will be able to participate in legal debates, research for corporate hospitality firms, roundtables, and in an exclusive internship program.

The Hospitality Real Estate Club is a group of students sharing their passion for all aspects of hospitality real estate finance, banking, and development. The group works to foster an understanding of the industry and the trends in the marketplace, providing opportunities for networking with hospitality professionals.

HSMAI provides insights into the marketing profession and opportunities to gain valuable marketing experience in the hospitality industry.

HSI, the Hotel School’s largest special-interest organization, celebrates and explores internationalism and cross- cultural diversity; works to increase multicultural awareness within the Hotel School through social, educational, and professional activities; provides support for international students; serves as a source of information and interaction; and cultivates a truly global network of social and professional contacts with alumni members, international industry leaders, and hospitality schools abroad.

To be on the HEC Board of Directors, students must:

1. be in good standing with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher; and
2. receive approval of the faculty at large and the course instructor.

HEC gives the students of the Hotel School an opportunity to showcase their skills to alumni and industry leaders through a weekend management of the Statler Hotel. A year’s coordination built on more than seventy years of tradition leads up to the extravaganza in April. Up to 3 credits of H ADM 4491 may count toward Hotel Electives, and count for 50 hours of Practice Credit.

HGSO is a volunteer organization that gives graduate students the opportunity to get together for nonacademic or social events. The organization holds numerous social functions and fund-raising events for charities.

HIC enhances the learning of the membership through the application of classroom-taught, hospitality-finance material and provides opportunities to learn from and network with finance professionals.

Hotelies Serving Society (HS2) encourages Hotel School students to develop a lifelong spirit of service. The organization, formerly known as Hotelies Volunteering Today, is committed to helping Hotel School students find opportunities to volunteer in their community and apply what they have learned about service in the classroom to making better their community.

A grade of Incomplete is given when a student is unable to finish the work for a course on time due to highly extenuating circumstances. In order to receive a grade of Incomplete, the student must have substantial equity in the course. The final decision as to whether a grade of Incomplete will be given rests with the instructor of the course.

If the work is completed within the designated time period agreed upon by the instructor and the student, the Incomplete will be changed to a regular grade on the student’s official transcript. A course that receives a grade of Incomplete will be noted with an asterisk on the student’s official transcript when the final grade is recorded. If the work is not completed within the designated time period, the grade of Incomplete automatically will be converted to an F.

Note: A student may not graduate with an Incomplete on the transcript.

Forms for undergraduate independent study projects (which may be conducted only with resident faculty) are available in the Office of Student Services, 180 Statler Hall, or online. These must be turned in at course enrollment time, and they will not be accepted without an outline and faculty sponsor’s signature. The usual Add/Drop deadlines apply to independent study projects.  For more information about the course requirements, see H ADM 4499.

The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Entrepreneurship, a unit of the Hotel School, supports and enables innovation and new business formation in the hospitality industry. The Institute provides students with guidance on entrepreneurship study, introduces students to hospitality entrepreneurs, and encourages students to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.

The Institute is also a platform for knowledge about forming new hospitality businesses, managing small and family-run businesses, franchising, corporate venturing, new venture funding, and innovation. To learn more, contact Joe Strodel, Jr., in the office of the Associate Dean for Industry Research and Affairs at 255.4646.

Some insurance companies require verification of your registration in the university. Should you need such verification for insurance or other purposes, visit the Certification website at certification.cornell.edu.

The International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO), B-50 Caldwell Hall, 255.5243, provides a broad range of services to international students. All international students should maintain regular contact with the ISSO.

Full-time undergraduate students at Cornell may petition the Hotel School to enroll in courses at Ithaca College. If the petition is approved, the student pays regular full tuition to Cornell and only special fees to Ithaca College, where applicable. Students are allowed to register for one course per term and a maximum of 12 credits in four years.

The program is available only during the fall and spring semesters. For further information, contact the Office of Student Services, 180 Statler Hall, or the School of Continuing Education, B20 Day Hall.

Wells College has a similar program.