Concentrations and Minors

Students may choose from the options below:

Minor

Concentrations

What is a concentration? School of Hotel Administration undergraduate students can academically specialize in a particular area of hospitality through one of the school’s three concentrations – Finance, Accounting & Real Estate (FARE); Hospitality Leadership (HOLD); and Services Marketing and Operations Management (SMOM). Within each of these concentrations, students have flexibility to formulate a personalized course plan to gain knowledge in a focused area with their faculty advisor. Where minors are open to all students across the Cornell University colleges/schools, SHA concentrations are only available to Hotelies. A concentration is not a requirement to graduate, but many students pursue a concentration in efforts to learn more about a specific area of interest relative to their personal and/or career aspirations.

How to Declare a Concentration:

Step One: Research concentration options and think about not only the concentration subject (FARE/HOLD/SMOM), but the subcategory. Students must choose an area of focus from the list below and work with the Recommended Faculty member from that area of focus.
- Students are encouraged to meet with a Career Management Career Coach to learn more about what a concentration may add to your academic/professional goals. Career Coaching appointments can be made via the Student LaunchPad: Hotelie Launchpad (cornell.edu)
Step Two: Discuss your concentration plan with the Recommended Faculty member from your area of focus (listed below). Concentration coursework is not pre-prescribed, and courses are determined based on the area of study and student interest. The student and the recommended faculty member will determine what exact 12 credits of upper-level (3000-level and above) electives will make up their concentration.
- Find faculty contact information here: Faculty & Research | Cornell SHA
- NOTE: it is important to view the University Courses of Study and consider course offerings to ensure that the electives identified will be available during a given semester and that any prerequisites are able to be completed prior to planned enrollment.
Step Three: Complete the Election of Undergraduate Concentration Form: Election of Undergraduate Concentration Form (cornell.edu), and include concentration faculty signature.
Step Four: Submit the Election of Undergraduate Concentration Form to ha-registrar@cornell.edu for processing

Important Notes:

All courses toward the concentration must be taken for a letter grade (unless offered SX/UX only).
Students must achieve a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA within the 12 credits of concentration courses.
Concentrations must be declared prior to the start of the student’s final semester.
Students cannot complete or declare more than 1 concentration.
The concentration will not appear on your Cornell diploma, but it will appear on the official Cornell transcript.

Questions? Please e-mail ha-advising@cornell.edu!

Finance, Accounting, and Real Estate (FARE)

Areas of focus include:	Recommended Faculty AY 2020-2021:
Corporate Finance	L. Canina, S. Carvell, Y. Mao, P. Moulton
General Financial Management	L. Canina, S. Carvell, P. Moulton
Hospitality Controllership	M. MacAusland
Security Analyst/Investment Banking	L. Canina, S. Carvell, F. Liu, P. Moulton
Design	L. Chervinsky, B. Wellstead
Development	L. Chervinsky, B. Wellstead

Hospitality Leadership Concentration (HOLD)

Areas of focus include:	Recommended Faculty AY 2020-2021:
Human Resources	B. Tracey, T. Lakhani
Law	A. Klausner, D. Sherwyn
Managerial Leadership	T. Simons, K. Workman
Entrepreneurship	N. Tarallo

Services Marketing and Operations Management (SMOM)

Areas of focus include:	Recommended Faculty AY 2020-2021:
Beverage Management	D. Miller, C. Stanley
Business Analytics	A. Anderson, E. Belavina, J. Chestnut
Corporate Food & Beverage Operations	A. Adalja, M. Ozanne, G. Pezzotti, A. Susskind
Information Systems Management	A. Whitmore
Revenue Management	C. Anderson
Services Marketing Management	H. Chun, R. Kwortnik, K. LaTour, M. Lynn
Specialty Operations	L. Jan, R. Kingra, H. Kolakowski