MPS in Applied Economics and Management Degree

Examine the personal influences and biases that impact everyday investment and financial decisions. Bringing together aspects of psychology, economic theory, and finance, this concentration prepares you to better understand how emotion can impact financial decisions. Studying behavioral finance can help you make more accurate predictions and provide sounder guidance to the organizations or individuals you’re working with. 

Core and elective class options include: 

• Behavioral Economics & Managerial Decisions
• Behavioral Finance
• Financial Modeling & Analysis
• Valuation of Corporate Investment

Learn what makes your target audience tick. A concentration in behavioral marketing combines business and the social sciences to give you a better understanding of today’s consumers in general—and prepares you to apply what you’ve learned to your specific niche. Throughout your coursework, you’ll learn how to use data to attract the right users, nurture those relationships, and boost performance (and the bottom line). 

Core and elective course options include: 

• Behavioral Economics & Managerial Decisions
• Consumer Neuroscience
• Advertising Strategy 
• Brand Management

Grow your awareness of economic, marketing, and management issues facing food production and distribution. Grounded in the sustainable production and consumption of food, this multidisciplinary concentration offers a wide range of courses and practical learning experiences. The Dyson School’s connection to Cornell’s agricultural roots means you’ll have opportunities to collaborate with faculty and students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

Core and elective class options include: 

• Supply Chain Strategy and Supermarket Simulation
• Economics of Food and Malnutrition
• Sensory Evaluation of Food
• Agriculture, Food, Sustainability, and Social Justice

Expand your knowledge of market forces and economic challenges around the globe. 

Whether you’re looking to lead an NGO, get more involved on the policy side of business, or pursue a career in research, this concentration will broaden your understanding of pressing societal issues, from public health and human rights to infrastructure and the environment.

Core and elective class options include:

• Emerging Markets
• Global Food, Energy, and Water Nexus
• Product Design and International Development
• Natural Resources and Economic Development

Study the interrelationships among business, the economy, and the environment. In this concentration, you will examine the role of sustainability in business and economic development, from clean technology to environmental protection. You’ll also learn how to design policies and management strategies that help organizations become better stewards of natural resources. 

Core and elective class options include: 

• Environmental and Resource Economics
• Strategies for Sustainability
• Business and Economics of Energy 
• Corporate Sustainability

Deepen your understanding of management strategies surrounding innovation and entrepreneurship. In the technology management concentration, you’ll learn about business processes and practices that facilitate the creation and successful launch of new technologies. You’ll develop the entrepreneurial mindset needed to enact change in organizations and markets. 

Core and elective class options include: 

• Digital Business Strategy
• Predictive Analytics in Business Strategy
• Strategic Management of Innovation
• Industrial Organization, Consulting and Business Strategy

At the Dyson School, students take on real global challenges through an immersive and collaborative learning experience. By studying in our Applied Economics and Management program (it’s more than just an applied economics major), you will develop critical thinking skills, an analytical approach to problem-solving, proficiency in data analysis, and knowledge of financial and economic concepts.

The tuition rate for the 2023–2024 academic year is $32,602 per semester, and the MPS in Applied Economics and Management program is two semesters long. As a general guideline, Cornell has experienced an average annual tuition increase of 3 to 5 percent in recent years. MPS students typically fund their tuition and expenses with a combination of federal and private student loans. US citizens and permanent residents are eligible for merit-based scholarships, and most aid is awarded in the earlier rounds of admission. For more information on tuition and the costs of attendance for the MPS in AEM, see the Graduate School page on costs and funding.

Yes, Cornell undergraduates can begin working on MPS requirements during their final semester of undergraduate studies.

If you are a Cornell undergraduate who wants to pursue the MPS in Applied Economics and Management, we offer an early admission option that allows you to get a head start on your graduate work. You may apply during your junior year of undergraduate studies if, at the start of your senior year, you will have no more than eight credits remaining to complete your bachelor’s degree. Once you are accepted, you may begin work on your MPS AEM program while you are completing the requirements for your undergraduate degree.

Eligibility

Minimum requirements for early admission to the MPS AEM program are:

• Be in your junior year as a Cornell undergraduate.
• Have no more than eight credits left to complete your undergraduate degree at the start of your senior year.
• Have a GPA of at least 2.7—but please note that most admitted applicants have a substantially higher GPA.

To be considered,you must:

• File a complete application for admission to the MPS AEM degree program online through the Graduate School. Be sure to select “early admission” on the educational history page of the application.
• File an early admission petition and course record form with the Graduate field coordinator in the MPS AEM program.

Application Deadlines and Field-Specific Requirements:

You must apply for early admission during your junior year. Refer to the admissions page for deadlines and application requirements.

Please note: The grades of MPS AEM courses you take during your early-admission semester will count toward your undergraduate cumulative GPA.

Deferrals are rarely granted. In most cases, requests to defer enrollment result in an invitation for a candidate to reapply.

If you are not an applicant: Postpone applying to the program until the application year you intend to enroll.

If you are an applicant: Withdraw your application from consideration and apply again in the application year you intend to enroll.

If you have been admitted: Do not submit the nonrefundable enrollment deposit; notify the admissions office that you are not able to accept the offer of admission.

Graduate student housing is available on and off campus within walking, biking, or a bus ride’s distance from campus. Visit the Graduate School website for more information on housing and living in Ithaca.

Yes. Cornell’s Office of Global Learning assists international students with student visa applications.

No. You are required to select a concentration when you apply. Your application is reviewed by a faculty committee specific to your concentration, and your offer letter will be specific to your concentration.