The Inequality Studies Minor

Inequality lies at the heart of current debates about opportunity and equity, implicating numerous contemporary policy issues. Public and scholarly interest in inequality has intensified, not merely because of historic increases in income and wealth disparity in the United States and other advanced industrial countries, but also because inequalities of race, ethnicity, gender, and social class are evolving in dramatic and complicated ways. Cornell University is a leading center of scholarship on inequality, drawing strength from its many departments and colleges.

Popular Destinations

Fall 2022 Minor Course List Minor Overview and Requirements Watch: What is CSI?

Spotlight on the Health Equity Track.

The Minor in Inequality Studies’ Health Equity Track, launched in Spring 2019, affords interested students the opportunity to explore the social causes and consequences of inequalities in life expectancy, health outcomes, health-promoting behaviors, and access to health care. As with the general Minor in Inequality Studies, the Health Equity Track is open to any student in any major, and offers excellent preparation for students who are interested in careers in medicine, public health, social science research, or public policy.

More about the minor

The Minor in Inequality Studies, offered by Cornell University’s Center for the Study of Inequality, exposes students to scholarship on inequality through a breadth of approaches, methods, and topics while allowing them to tailor the program to their particular interests. The minor is open to students in all Cornell undergraduate colleges and can be completed in conjunction with almost any major by completing six required courses.

CSI News

The cover of Chiara Galli’s forthcoming book will feature this painting by Victor Interiano, a Salvadoran artist based in Los Angeles.

New book documents lives of unaccompanied minors

6/14/2022

For six years, Klarman Fellow Chaira Galli helped youths from Central America navigate the United States’ labyrinthine asylum process while doing an ethnographic study.

Women want to work, despite workforce precarity

3/28/2022

Despite persistent gaps in workforce participation, when it comes to wanting to work, the gender gap has all but disappeared over the last 45 years, according to Cornell sociologist Landon Schnabel.

A&S sophomore earns spot in summer program in D.C.

3/29/2022

Mar’Quon Frederick, a government major, will spend the summers of 2022 and 2023 in the Institute for Responsible Citizenship's Washington Program.

More than $12M donated to support students in 24 hours

3/21/2022

On Cornell’s eighth Giving Day, held March 16, 15,905 alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends from more than 80 countries made gifts totaling a record-breaking $12,268,629.