Graduate ICS Scholars

Commitment to the ICS Scholars program means taking courses that will prepare you to be a great candidate in compensation. Our track covers all the fundamentals and dovetails with requirements or electives in several graduate degrees.

The ICS Scholars program is a track of study. It will not be recorded on your Cornell transcript; however, Scholars complete an eCornell certificate that grants a formal qualification to add to your resume.

Requirements

Full requirements are on the program's homepage. They include participation the Cornell Compensation Club, completion of an ICS mentorship in compensation and the academic requirements below.

ICS Scholars must complete at minimum before graduation:

1 Statistics course (3 credits)

1 Finance course (3 credits)

1 Accounting course (3 credits)

1 Spreadsheet course (3 credits)

3 Compensation courses (4.5 credits)

plus

eCornell’s Compensation Studies Certificate (4 online non-credit courses)

**GUIDANCE ON CREDIT POLICIES BELOW IS SUBJECT TO REFINEMENT. **

Courses used for other Cornell requirements may be applied to ICS Scholars program requirements. We encourage students to take advanced courses in our required topical fields that we may not list and submit this work to meet requirements.

You must enroll in Compensation courses at Cornell.

Credit recognition from work experience or prior studies: Students may petition for credit recognition of course credits previously earned or experience demonstrating mastery of required subject areas. Credit recognition does not supersede 12 month+ engagement with the Scholars program including club participation and mentorship.

Application available here.

Profile

ICS has sought out mentors who are recent graduates and have 1-2 years of experience in the compensation field. Mentors may be or may not be Cornellians.

Commitment

Mentorship for graduate students starts with a six-month commitment from both parties. Scholars will initiate and schedule monthly sessions. More frequent interactions could be arranged by mutual agreement.

Activities

mentors will discuss with you::

• An overview of the kinds of work in which they are involved.
• Their knowledge of firms and specialties from a career foundation perspective.
• Counsel and referrals on how to secure internships and full-time employment in compensation.
• Advice on the relative advantages and disadvantages of potential opportunities.