Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration -- the oldest, most prominent hospitality education program in the country -- and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. -- the nation's leading school of culinary arts -- have teamed to offer a cooperative degree program that gives students the best of both worlds.

The Hotel School has a managerial and research focus, the CIA a culinary one.

The cooperative degree program is part of a broader alliance the two colleges formed in 2003 to enhance students' educational experience and serve the hospitality industry through education, research and professional skills development.

"This program will give students a distinctive education reflecting the best of both institutions and is exactly the kind of innovative educational offering that we envisioned in forming this alliance," said Leo Renaghan, associate dean for academic affairs at the Hotel School.

"We are pleased to partner with the Cornell Hotel School to create a unique program serving students who have a passion for food service and hospitality operations," said Kathy Merget, dean of liberal arts and management studies at the CIA.

In the new, intensive four-year, cooperative degree program, undergraduates enrolled in Cornell's Hotel School earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in hotel administration from Cornell and an associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) degree in culinary arts from the CIA. Eligible juniors and seniors can enroll in the first full class, beginning in May.

At the Hotel School, students will spend most of the academic year taking such hospitality-oriented core courses as human resource management and organizational behavior as well as learning restaurant design, development and management and studying food service in hotels, resorts, spas, stadiums, institutions and other settings.

At the CIA, students will gain the culinary knowledge, techniques and skills used by leading restaurants, hotels and resorts worldwide, through such courses as Cuisines of Europe and the Mediterranean, taken in three-week blocks over the course of the calendar year, including summers and winter intersessions.

In addition, qualified CIA students interested in earning a B.S. in hotel administration at Cornell's Hotel School can transfer into the program, with a substantial number of pre-approved transfer credits.

The Hotel School was founded in 1922 as the nation's first collegiate course of study in hospitality management. Today it is recognized as the world leader in its field and has taught many of the people now at the helm of the world's best hotels, restaurants and hospitality chains. Founded in 1946, the CIA offers bachelor and associate degrees in culinary arts, baking and pastry arts and is credited with training some of the world's great chefs.

For more information contact Emily Franco, director of the Cornell Hotel School-CIA Alliance, at CIA_Alliance@sha.cornell.edu or (607) 255-4611.