Two-Year MBA Important Dates

Incoming international students are invited to attend a webinar specifically for international students to help prepare new students for the arrival to Ithaca and transition into their MBA journey at Johnson. More information will be part of the New Student Guides.

We strongly encourage you to arrive in the United States a minimum of a few days before the program starts so that you can begin to acclimate to the local time zone, settle in your apartment, and start adjusting to life in Ithaca.

Incoming international students are required to participate in in-person international student orientation (ISO), which is held just before check-in. The programming during this time will help international students build connections between key staff members and other students, help with cultural adjustment, and important recruitment preparation resources.

Students with significant previous experience in the United States may be eligible for a waiver for ISO. More information on the waiver will be shared in the New Student Guides in the spring.

Some core courses within our Two-Year MBA curriculum are eligible for core exemption. Students who successfully exempt a course will not receive course credit, but their schedule will be freed from that requirement.

The following core exemption exams will be held prior to the official program start:

• NCC 5000 Financial Accounting
• NCC 5030 Marketing Management
• NCC 5020 Microeconomics for Management
• NCC 5060 Managerial Finance

Exemption exams for NCC 5010 Data Analytics and Modeling and NCC 5080 Managing Operations will be held later. Dates will be announced once they are confirmed.

All students interested in sitting for exemption exams must register in advance. For more information about exemption exams, please review our Core Course Exemption page.

The Class of 2026 will check in and begin their program on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. All students are expected to be in Ithaca, ready to begin their MBA experience that morning.

At Johnson, Touchdown @ Johnson includes a mix of orientation activities, academic coursework, and recruiting preparation. It begins with check-in, professional headshots, and a welcome kickoff on August 7th and will continue with your first academic classes and recruitment preparation. Please note that Touchdown @ Johnson is mandatory for all first-year MBA students.

Your core courses in Accounting, Marketing, and Microeconomics will be in the first half of the fall semester. You do not need to register for classes; you will be automatically enrolled in all of your fall coursework.

Cornell observes the federal Labor Day holiday. Offices will be closed and classes will not be held.

This is your chance to take a break and catch up on career preparation. Please note that it’s possible there will be some career-related activities during the fall recess.

Your second-half core courses are Critical and Strategic Thinking, Finance, and Strategy. You do not need to register for classes; you will be automatically enrolled in all of your fall coursework.

Please note that we are unable to observe this Federal Holiday due to the accelerated nature of the fall core. We thank all of Johnson’s Veterans for their service.

No classes will be held during this period.

You will receive more details about your second-half core finals during the fall semester. In the meantime, please know this will be the last day of your second-half core final exams.

Your winter break begins! We will share information about the start of the spring semester in January when it is available. Please note that some students can expect to have summer internship interviews in late December; many others will have internship interviews in January.