Cornell School of Hotel Administration

What Cornell School of Hotel Administration does

The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration is the only Ivy League institution dedicated to hospitality business education, founded in 1922 and operating as a unit of Cornell University's SC Johnson College of Business. The school offers an AACSB-accredited portfolio spanning undergraduate (BS in Hotel Administration), graduate (MMH, MS/PhD, Baker Program in Real Estate, Cornell-Peking MMH/MBA dual degree), and executive (Executive MMH) programs. Its instructional platform is anchored by 85 faculty experts and six wholly-owned centers and institutes — the Center for Hospitality Research (1992), Center for Real Estate and Finance (2009), Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations (2013), Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship (2006), Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures (2015), and Cornell Institute for Food and Beverage Management. The Statler Hotel operates as an on-campus learning laboratory and Grailer Food Labs support applied instruction.

The school operates on a hybrid academic revenue model: tuition and fees from undergraduate, graduate, and executive degree programs form the primary recurring revenue stream, supplemented by corporate partnerships, advisory board sponsorships, and donations from hospitality and real estate industry firms. Distribution is multi-channel: Cornell University admissions for residential degrees, the Cornell-Peking bilingual dual-degree for the China market, eCornell for online executive education, and the Handshake recruiting platform for employer-student connections. Corporate partners — including Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Brookfield, KKR, Morgan Stanley, and Blackstone — engage through recruiting, research collaboration, guest speaking, mentorship, and donation streams via the Dean's Advisory Board and the CREF advisory board of 50+ firms. Marketing reach spans the institutional website (sha.cornell.edu), LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Cornell Business News, and industry conferences. The school was renamed in 2022 following a major gift from Peter and Stephanie Nolan and is currently led by Dean Ceridwyn King (2026).

Name

Cornell School of Hotel Administration

Legal name

Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration

Website

https://sha.cornell.edu/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration is the only Ivy League school dedicated to hospitality business education, offering undergraduate, graduate, executive, and research degrees supported by 85 faculty and six industry-focused centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Hospitality Business

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate & Construction Management Schools (within Business Schools) (EDAHAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary (EDAGABAM), Faculty-Led & Custom Group Study Abroad Programs (EDAIAAAA)

Keywords

• Hospitality business education
• Hotel administration degrees
• Executive hospitality programs
• Real estate finance education
• Hospitality research institutes

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Programs: Revenue from undergraduate, graduate (MMH, EMMH, MS/PhD), and executive education programs. The school offers AACSB-accredited degrees blending business rigor with hospitality expertise.
2. Corporate Partnerships and Donations: Financial support from corporate partners for faculty research, student travel, campus resources, and educational programs. C&I member companies sponsor internships and provide engagement opportunities.
3. Real Estate and Finance Research: CREF advisory board memberships, sponsorships, and giving opportunities support center activities and student engagement in real estate and finance education.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration delivers AACSB-accredited hospitality business education across undergraduate (BS in Hotel Administration), graduate (MMH, EMMH, Baker MPS in Real Estate, MS/PhD), and executive education levels. The school supplements degree programs with six specialized research centers and institutes covering hospitality research, real estate and finance, labor relations, entrepreneurship, food and beverage management, and healthy futures, while leveraging the on-campus Statler Hotel as a learning laboratory. Programs are delivered on the Ithaca campus, the Cornell NYC campus, and via the Cornell-Peking dual degree partnership in Shanghai, with online components delivered through eCornell.

Product overview

The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration offers a portfolio of hospitality business education programs forming a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offerings include undergraduate and graduate degree programs (Undergraduate BS in Hotel Administration, Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH), Executive MMH, Baker Program in Real Estate, Cornell-Peking MMH/MBA Dual Degree, and MS/PhD Programs) supported by six specialized research centers and institutes (Center for Hospitality Research, Center for Real Estate and Finance, Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations, Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures, and Cornell Institute for Food and Beverage Management). The degree programs build upon each other from undergraduate to graduate levels, while the centers provide supplementary research, industry engagement, and experiential learning opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Program in Hotel Administration Four-year Bachelor of Science degree blending top-tier business and hospitality education with hands-on experiential learning, preparing students for careers in hospitality, real estate finance, and business.
• Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) Flexible graduate program combining business education with deep hospitality expertise, featuring a core curriculum, specialized electives, internship, consulting projects, and industry conferences.
• Executive Master of Management in Hospitality (EMMH) Part-time program designed for working professionals with 16 online courses and one residency week, providing advanced hospitality business skills through flexible online and in-person sessions.
• Baker Program in Real Estate (MPS in Real Estate) Comprehensive graduate program combining real-world learning, international experiences, and robust curriculum to prepare students for diverse career opportunities in real estate.
• Cornell-Peking MMH/MBA Dual Degree Bilingual dual-degree program offered in partnership with Peking University's Guanghua School of Management in Shanghai, preparing next-generation hospitality leaders in China with residential components in Ithaca, NY and New York City.
• MS and PhD Programs in Hotel Administration Research-focused graduate programs preparing students for university-level teaching or groundbreaking research, offering highly individualized degrees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top-ranked hospitality school in the Ivy League with AACSB accreditation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Peking University Guanghua School of ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership offering Cornell-Peking MMH/MBA dual degree program; bilingual curriculum preparing hospitality leaders in China; US residential component at Cornell Ithaca and NYC campuses
• HandshakecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline recruiting platform used by Nolan School for posting full-time positions, internships, externships, and connecting employers with students and alumni
• HiltonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHilton sponsors Big Red Threads professional clothing closet for students, supporting professional attire needs for interviews and recruitment events
• Center for Real Estate and Finance (CREF) Advisory Board CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 50 real estate and finance firms serve on CREF advisory board including Brookfield, Hines, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, Wyndham, Blackstone, Crescent Heights, and others
• eCornellcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for delivering online executive education, webinars, and professional development programs in hospitality topics

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL): EHL is widely regarded as the premier global hospitality management school and the most internationally comparable peer to the Nolan School. Both institutions specialize in business-oriented hospitality education, target global student cohorts, and compete for the same elite hospitality leadership pipeline.
• UNLV Harrah College of Hospitality: UNLV's Harrah College is the largest hospitality school in the US by enrollment and a top direct competitor for students interested in hospitality business careers. Both schools focus on hospitality management education and compete for industry talent and corporate partnerships.
• NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality: NYU's Tisch Center offers hospitality and tourism management programs at a major NYC research university, overlapping significantly with Cornell Nolan's graduate and executive offerings while leveraging a similarly strong urban and global brand.
• Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management: FIU's Chaplin School is one of the largest hospitality programs in the US, with strong ties to Latin American hospitality employers and a similar model combining business education with industry partnerships.
• Johnson & Wales University College of Hospitality Management: Johnson & Wales operates one of the largest hospitality-focused colleges in the US with deep industry recruiting relationships. It competes directly with Cornell Nolan for students seeking hospitality business careers, particularly at the undergraduate level.
• Penn State School of Hospitality Management: Penn State's School of Hospitality Management is a long-standing hospitality business program at a major public research university. It competes for the same applicant pool and offers comparable degrees blending business and hospitality expertise.
• Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership (University of Houston): The Hilton College is a hospitality-focused college within the University of Houston system, combining business and hospitality education with strong industry ties including Hilton naming support, comparable in mission and structure to Cornell Nolan.
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management: Les Roches is a global hospitality management school with campuses in Switzerland, Spain, China, and the UAE. It targets a similar international student demographic and competes for the same global hospitality leadership talent as the Nolan School.
• Glion Institute of Higher Education: Glion is a Swiss-based hospitality management school with a luxury hospitality focus and global campuses. It competes for the same international student pool and offers comparable undergraduate and graduate hospitality business programs.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Business School: Harvard Business School is the preeminent US business school and a broader incumbent in the same academic space; it competes for the same high-aptitude students who might otherwise consider a specialized hospitality MBA, offering an alternative path into hospitality leadership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4uNGYE6aV8zzLlOlqL9sdg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/cornellsha
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornellnolanschool
• Xx.com/CornellSHA
• Facebookfacebook.com/cornell

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornell School of Hotel Administration