Courses of Study 2024-2025 
    
    Oct 03, 2024  
Courses of Study 2024-2025

Graduation Requirements


In the School of Industrial and Labor Relations .

Undergraduate Major Requirements


Undergraduate major requirements are outlined under the Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations  degree program page.

University Requirements


Exception: Students who externally transfer, with the equivalent of two full-time semesters, to the School of Industrial and Labor Relations from another accredited college or university are exempt from the physical education requirement and swim test.

Physical Education

Successful completion of two credits (two courses) of non-academic PE Cornell courses with a satisfactory grade (SX). Students are expected to complete the Physical Education Requirement in their first two semesters at Cornell.

Note: Physical education credit does not count toward the 120 credits needed to graduate.

Swim Test

Successful completion of the swim test. Swim tests are recommended to be completed as part of the orientation process.

Total Undergraduate Credit and GPA Requirements


  • Students must complete a minimum of 120 credits, 105 of which must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Physical Education credits and 10XX course DO NOT count toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
  • Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 to successfully graduate.

Undergraduate Test Credit


Students admitted to the ILR School may have up to 12 credits of Advanced College Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Examination (GCE) test credit applied toward completion of their bachelor of science degree. Any additional AP course work can only be used for course placement purposes. 

  • Test credit may be used to fulfill the Science and Technology distribution, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Introductory Statistics requirements.
  • Foreign language test credit will be counted as general elective credit and cannot be used for ILR Elective credit.
  • Students cannot receive test credit and credit for the equivalent course taken at the collegiate level.

For further information on score requirements please see the complete list of test credit  accepted by Cornell University.

Undergraduate Transfer Credit


Students who matriculate as transfer students may transfer a maximum of 60 credits from an accredited institution.

To earn transfer credit, students must take the course for a letter grade and earn a grade of C or higher. Transfer credits will only be accepted from an accredited institution. Transfer credits must be equivalent to Cornell courses. Equivalence will be assessed by these criteria:

  • Course content (at least 80% of material covered in a similar Cornell course)
  • The use of a textbook similar to that used in the parallel Cornell course
  • The use of examinations, writing assignments, projects or other submitted work that is substantially similar to those required in a similar Cornell course
  • Substantial similarity in meeting hours of the Cornell and non-Cornell course

Students who matriculate as first-years may apply a maximum of 15 non-Cornell credits earned toward the 120 credits required for graduation. These credits include test credit and college credits earned elsewhere.

Once matriculated, all students are limited to a total of 15 extramural credits throughout the course of their degree. Extramural credits include credits taken during the summer or winter session at Cornell or at another institution. These limitations do not apply to approved study-abroad programs. Total transfer credit cannot exceed 60 credits, including test credit and credit from approved study abroad programs.