Our Approach to Career Data and Outcomes

Cornell Career Services conducts annual surveys of bachelor’s degree recipients for six months following graduation, and produces outcomes data summarizing post-graduate activities for the university as a whole.

In addition, graduate degree recipients in several colleges complete the survey:

• Brooks School of Public Policy (MPA, MHA)
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MLA, MPS, MFS)
• College of Architecture, Art and Planning (All masters programs, except PhD)
• College of Engineering (All master’s programs except M.Eng.)
• Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Applied Statistics and Information Science MPS)
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations (MILR, MILR/MBA)

The primary method for collecting outcomes data is an online survey administered and managed by Cornell Career Services. Several strategies are used to distribute the survey including: centralized emails, college-specific emails, requests during capstone classes, and various college events. Requests to complete the survey are sent approximately one month before graduation, at graduation, three months post-graduation, and six months post-graduation. We collect data for six months past the May graduation date, closing data collection in late December. Direct surveys of graduates are our primary and preferred source of data. However, when survey data are not available, other sources of information are considered (e.g., LinkedIn). Response rates vary across colleges and majors. Our survey data are 99.9% student provided, with a very small number added from sources such as LinkedIn.

Cornell Career Services uses your data to help prospective students, families, current students, and alumni when making career-related decisions. Personally identifying information is removed from outcomes data and only reported in aggregate (data that has been collected from multiple sources and summarized into a report). We do not report data if there are less than 10 responses in any given program or major.

Access to data is restricted and maintained with strict confidentiality protocols to protect your privacy. We greatly appreciate the willingness of Cornell graduates to share their outcome information. In college and major salary analysis, in cases where we have fewer than 10 employed graduates, we do not provide salary information. More granular data is not available through this public tool.

It is helpful to understand key terminology that is used to define outcomes and categorize variables. When completing the online survey, graduates are asked about their plans for after graduation which are represented in the following categories on the student outcomes page:

First Destination Activity – the primary status upon graduation from Cornell (within six months after graduation)

• Employed – includes self-employed, paid internship, and service organization with compensation/stipend, such as PeaceCorps, AmeriCorps, or Teach for America. This category encompasses: working full-time, part-time and engaged in military service
• Graduate or Professional School
• Seeking Employment
• Seeking Acceptance to Graduate School
• Declined Offer, Still Seeking
• Other – includes: unemployed and not seeking, volunteering, family or other caregiving, travel, time off, or ‘other: write in

Response Rate – number of survey responses divided by eligible number of graduates. At Cornell, the post-graduate survey is not mandatory

Field of Occupation – area or field a particular job belongs to (e.g., research, accounting, human resources)

Employment Sector – area or industry of an employer/organization (e.g., manufacturing, technology, education)

Grad Field Areas – there are 26 larger categories that encompass multiple sub-fields. It is beyond the scope of this page to list all categories, but some categories are listed below:

• Medicine – includes Medicine, Nursing, Human Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Primary Care, Internal Medicine, Naturopathic Medicine, Pediatric Medicine, Pharmaceutical Science, Genetic Medicine, Rehab Medicine, Physician Assistant, Post-Bacc Pre Med, Chiropractic Medicine, Molecular Medicine, Medical Sciences, Medical Physics, and Control of Infectious Diseases
• Other Heath – includes 42 categories such as Athletic Training, Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Environmental Health, Health Administration, Health Policy and Management, Hospital Administration, International Health, Nutrition and Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Physical Therapy, Public Health, Speech Pathology, Sport Psychology and Physiology