Inequality Studies

Minor Requirements

Inequality lies at the heart of current debates about opportunity and equity, implicating numerous contemporary policy issues. Public and scholarly interest in inequality has intensified, not merely because of historic increases in income and wealth inequality in the United States and other advanced industrial countries, but also because inequalities of race, ethnicity, gender, and social class are evolving in dramatic and complicated ways. Cornell University is a leading center of scholarship on inequality, drawing strength from its many departments and colleges. The institutional home for the minor is the Center for the Study of Inequality.

The Minor in Inequality Studies exposes students to inequality through a breadth of approaches, methods, and topics while allowing them to tailor the program to their particular interests. The Minor in Inequality Studies is appropriate for students interested in public and private sectors, policy, and civil society, as well as for those who wish to pursue graduate and professional degrees in various fields.

The Minor’s Health Equity Track affords interested students the opportunity to explore the social causes and consequences of inequalities in life expectancy, health outcomes, health-promoting behaviors, and access to health care. As with the general Minor in Inequality Studies, the Health Equity Track is open to any student in any major, and offers excellent preparation for students who are interested in careers in medicine, public health, social science research, or public policy.

An interdisciplinary minor, Inequality Studies is open to students in all Cornell undergraduate colleges and can be completed in conjunction with almost any major.

Website: inequality.cornell.edu

Minor Requirements:

Six courses are required to complete the minor. All students take the core course, Controversies About Inequality (DSOC 2220 /GOVT 2225 /ILROB 2220 /PAM 2220 /PHIL 1950 /SOC 2220 ), and ONE of the following overview courses:

DSOC 3700 - Comparative Social Inequalities
ILROB 6260 - [Managing Diversity: Policies and Practices]
PAM 3370 - [Race and Public Policy]
SOC 2208 - Social Inequality

An additional four electives complete the requirements for the minor. Students enrolled in the General Minor in Inequality Studies choose all four electives from the full list of elective courses, with choices available across over thirty academic departments. Those students who opted to enroll in the Minor’s Health Equity Track must complete two of their four electives from the selection of electives with specific health equity relevance. The other two electives should be chosen from the full list of elective courses. All courses toward the minor must be taken for a letter grade. The electives and overview course must be collectively distributed across at least three departments (all ILR courses are considered one department and cross-listed courses can be counted as any of their cross-listings). Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all minor courses. Completion of the minor will be recorded on the student’s academic record.

For a full list of approved electives, profiles of alumni, and to enroll in the minor, please visit The Center for the Study of Inequality.

Sample Elective Courses:

General Electives:

Health Equity Track Electives:

AEM 1600 - The Business of Modern Medicine
ANTHR 2424 - Culture and Mental Health: Anthropological Perspectives
ASRC 4002 - Diasporic and Indigenous Health (crosslisted)
BSOC 2051 - Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine (crosslisted)
DSOC 2200 - Sociology of Health and Ethnic Minorities (crosslisted)
NS 1150 - Nutrition, Health, and Society
PAM 3280 - Fundamentals of Population Health (crosslisted)