S.C Johnson Graduate School of Management - Cornell University
Cornell Business School is part of Cornell University, a private Ivy League School founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. Among Cornell’s alumni are award-winning scholars, billionaires, Olympic medalists, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
Cornell Business School, known as the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, is consistently listed among the top business schools in the world. The business school has been recognized for social and environmental stewardship and sustainability.
S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management is located in Ithaca, New York. The idea for the business school came from Cornell’s founder, Ezra Cornell. Cornell expressed his desire for a Department of Trade and Commerce at the university, which was a radical idea at the time. The first business school at the collegiate level was not established until 16 years later at the University of Pennsylvania.
The idea started to make some headway in 1914, when a committee led by economics professor Allyn Young met to discuss a business school. The committee decided to create a two-year graduate program that would confer a master’s in business and public administration. Unfortunately, the school would not actually be established for 27 more years due to World War I, then later the Great Depression. Finally, in 1941, the School of Business and Public Administration was unanimously approved. It opened five years later in 1946.
In 1984, the school was renamed the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management after Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr. donated $20 million, the largest gift a business school had ever received at that time.
Cornell Business School Overview
MBA programs at the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management includes one-year, two-year, and Johnson Cornell Tech degrees. For the traditional two-year program, MBAs start by taking core curriculum courses, then complete an immersion program in the spring and intern in the summer. During the second year, students choose their own electives to complete their coursework.
| School Rank according to US News: | #15 |
| Acceptance Rate: | ~30% |
| Course Duration: | 1-year and 2-year full-time MBA programs |
| Median GMAT: | 710 |
| GMAT Range: | 80% range from 650-750 |
| Avg. Work Experience: | 5 years |
| Tuition Cost (per year): | $74,026 |
| Average Age of Student: | 28 |
| Average Salary | $74,026 per year |
| Average Consulting Salary: | $142,019 |
| % Employed after 3 months: | 93% |
| Location: | Ithaca, New York |
Degrees Offered
- Accounting
- Consulting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Ethics
- Finance
- General Management
- Health Care Administration
- Hotel Administration
- Human Resource Management
- International Business
- Leadership
- Manufacturing and Technology Management
- Marketing
- Management Information Systems
- Not-For-Profit Management
- Production/Operations Management
- Organization Behavior
- Portfolio Management
- Real Estate
- Supply Chain Management/Logistics
- Quantitative Analysis/Statistics and Operations Research
- Technology
Specialty:
- Executive MBA
- Executive Education
- Full Time MBA
- Tech MBA
- Dual Degree
- MPS Management
- MPS Management, Accounting
- PhD Programs
What Makes Cornell Business School Unique?
Part of what makes Cornell Business School unique is the wide range of student organizations available – with over 80 on-campus clubs and groups, there is something for everyone. Popular clubs include the Women’s Management Council, Black Graduate Student Association, Old Ezra Finance Club, and Johnson Pets Society. Students also have the opportunity to participate in international treks, leadership expeditions, and case competitions.
Cornell Business School also hosts a variety of conferences and events each year for folks from a number of backgrounds. Johnson Women in Business is a student-hosted event designed to give information to prospective applicants. Johnson Means Business is an LGBTQ student-hosted event. Johnson Military Preview is a veteran student-hosted event.
The Johnson Graduate School of Management has 58 full-time faculty members. According to the Economist, professors were given a rating of 4.67 out of 5.
What is the Cornell Business School campus like?
Cornell’s main campus is located in Ithaca, New York, a four-hour drive from New York City or Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Classes for Johnson MBA students are held towards the center of campus in Sage Hall. The hall is known for its Victorian Gothic architecture that features a soaring atrium where events are held.
Located on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in Central New York, Ithaca is known for its natural beauty. Ithaca is home to multiple waterfalls, lakes, organic farms, and wineries. Ithaca also has a charming downtown with a variety of restaurants, bars, music venues, and theaters. This, in combination with the three colleges in the area, gives the city a thriving social scene.
Notable Alumni
Notable alumni from S.C. Johnson School of Management include:
- Meredith Amdur, CEO, Rhetorik Solution
- Paul Kavuma, Founder and CEO, Catalyst Principal Partners
- Michael Chen, President, Strategic Initiatives Group, NBC
- John R. Clark Sr., President, and CEO, The 4-Clark Management Group, Inc., and former deputy assistant secretary for resource management of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science
- Ken Derr, retired Chairman and CEO, Chevron Corporation
- Martha Gallo, Executive Vice President, General Auditor, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
- Byron Grote, CFO, BP
- James N. Hauslein, Managing Director of Hauslein & Company, Inc., and Chairman and CEO of Atlas Acquisition Holdings Corp.
- John Hillen, President, Global Strategies Group, LLC, and former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs serving the administration of President George W. Bush
- Mzamo Mangaliso, president and CEO, National Research Foundation of South Africa
- Mary Meeker, Partner, Kleiner, Perkins Caufield & Byers
- James Morgan, Former Chairman, Applied Materials Inc.
- Roy Park Jr., President, and CEO of Park Outdoor Advertising
- Jeffrey Parker, Managing Director, Parker Family Limited Partnership
- Wilbur Parker, CPA, first black budget director for the city of Newark, first black secretary of Newark’s Board of Education, first black student to graduate from Johnson, and former U.S. Army Air Force Tuskegee Airman
- Arete Passas, President and CEO, Manhattan Toy
- Rick G. Sherlund, Managing Director, Nomura Securities International, Inc.
- Zhu Shen, Senior Director, Business Development, Immusol, Inc.
- Warren Staley, retired Chairman and CEO, Cargill Inc.
- Laura Wilkinson, Partner, Weil Gotshal & Manges
Cornell Employment Report
According to the 2021 Cornell Employment Report, the average salary for MBAs was $139,121. The average salary for management consultants was almost $10,000 above that at $148,389. Consulting was the industry with the highest average base salary.
A high percentage of Cornell MBAs were offered employment within three months at 97% and over a third of Cornell MBAs accepted jobs in the financial services industry. Consulting was the second leading industry at 27%.
To find out what the prospects are for you to break into consulting from Cornell Business School, see our breakdown of the Cornell Business School Employment Report here.