Cornell University Registrar

Graduate Field

Hotel Administration

Program Description

A Ph.D. in the SC Johnson College of Business is a research-focused degree in one of our main faculty areas of specialization as listed below. These are disciplines that are key to any business and are taught at different course levels by expert faculty in each of our three schools. The choice of which of our three school-oriented fields of study to apply into depends on your interests and long-term plans. A Ph.D. in the Dyson School’s applied economics and management field has a strong economics focus in its coursework, a Ph.D. in the Nolan School’s hotel administration field applies core business disciplines to hospitality contexts, and a Ph.D. in the Johnson School’s management field appeals to students pursuing traditional business topics. Students in all three fields regularly work with faculty from across the entire college.

The Nolan School of Hotel Administration’s highly competitive Ph.D. program is a research-focused degree grounded in the core business disciplines as applied to hospitality contexts. The program is designed for students interested in pursuing a career teaching hospitality management, service management, or real estate in a university setting and conducting groundbreaking research in hospitality and related fields.

As part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Ph.D. students in the field of hotel administration have many opportunities to collaborate across schools, where our faculty work and innovate together in targeted disciplines through faculty areas in:

• Applied economics and policy (real estate)
• Accounting
• Finance
• Management and organizations
• Marketing and management communication
• Operations, technology, and information management
• Services management
• Strategy and business economics

To learn more about the Ph.D. programs in the SC Johnson College of Business and our targeted discipline areas and research faculty, please visit the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business website.

Concentrations

• Financial management
• Food and beverage management
• Hospitality management
• Hotel accounting
• Human resource management
• Marketing
• Properties asset management (minor)
• Real estate management (minor)

Program Information

• Program Mode of Delivery: In Person
• Program Location: Ithaca, NY

Program Requirements

• Minimum Semesters for Degree: 6

Graduate School Milestones

• Responsible Conduct of Research Training: Required
• Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID): Required
• Student Progress Reviews (SPR) begin: Second year
• Examination for admission to candidacy (A exam): Spring of third year
• Defense of Dissertation (B exam): Spring of fifth year

Course Requirements

• Course requirements are determined by the student’s special committee.
• Enrollment in a GRAD research course or the equivalent field specific research course is expected of all students.

Graduate School Enrollment Requirements

Course Requirements

• Course requirements are determined by the student’s Special Committee.
• Enrollment in a GRAD research course or the equivalent field specific research course is expected of all students each semester through graduation. These courses include:
  • GRAD 8000 In Absentia
  • GRAD 9010 Graduate-Level Research
  • GRAD 9011 Doctoral Dissertation Research
  • GRAD 9012 Master's Thesis Research
  • GRAD 9016 Summer Graduate-Level Research
  • GRAD 9050 Global Hubs: Research Partnerships
  • GRAD 9060 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

University Graduation Requirements

Requirements for All Students

In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.

Academic Requirements

A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.

Non-academic Requirements

Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.

Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will become cutting-edge scholars in hospitality management and related fields.
  - Students will exhibit mastery of the methodological tools and techniques required for scholarly advancement in their subject of study.
  - Students will exhibit a mastery of the literature in their base discipline.
  - Students will exhibit a mastery of the literature in hospitality relevant to their base discipline.
  - Students will exhibit the ability to critically evaluate the work of other scholars.
  - Students will demonstrate the ability to develop and execute a novel research agenda.
  - Students will learn how to apply disciplinary knowledge to particular business and social problems.
• Students will become effective communicators and teachers.
  - Students will exhibit the ability to plan and deliver well-constructed course materials on topics relevant to their base discipline and the field of hospitality using the best pedagogical practices.
  - Students will exhibit the ability to communicate in writing and orally original research for scholarly and practitioner audiences.
• Students will seek out opportunities for professional career development.
  - Students will participate in scholarly activities including but not limited to seminars and conference presentations.
  - Students will contribute, wherever possible, to the discourse of the scholarly discipline through collaborative projects with faculty and peer mentors.
• Students will possess an ethical perspective and a service orientation.
  - Students will learn how to conduct research that exhibits research integrity and compliance with professional and institutional standards.
  - Students will engage in service activities that foster a diverse, respectful, collaborative scholarly community.

Admissions

Application Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadlines

Fall, December 15; no spring admission

Requirements Summary

Applicants for the field of hotel administration Ph.D. program will have earned a master’s degree from an accredited university or a bachelor’s degree from Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Also required:

• All Graduate School requirements, including the English language proficiency requirement
• GMAT or GRE
• Resume or CV
• Two letters of recommendation

Admission is offered for fall enrollment only. A personal interview is by invitation only after review of the application.

Admissions Contact Information

Email: jcb-phd@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-5430
Campus Address: 240 Sage Hall
Website: https://sha.cornell.edu/admissions-programs/graduate/ms-phd/