Master's · Ithaca, New York

Is Hospitality Administration/Management at Cornell University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $97,209; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $113,377; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $71,071; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $75k (likely $75k – $75k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $44k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NY; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.6 years (likely 2.4–5.8); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $172k (likely −$23k – $401k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $729k (likely $296k – $1.24M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.