What is the application deadline?
Regular applications for the fall semester are due by February 1. If no financial aid is requested, the deadline for applications from international students is April 1, and July 1 for domestic students (not needing a visa). The regular application deadline for students wishing to start in the spring is October 1st.
How can I obtain an application form?
The application process is coordinated by the Cornell Graduate School. Please visit the College of Engineering’s site related to applying to the M.Eng. program to learn more about the process and to access a number of related links for the Graduate School.
What is the minimum grade point average (GPA) required?
The College of Engineering sets a minimum grade point average of 2.7 for admission. However admission is based on the entire application, not on a fixed grade point cutoff. An effort is made to interpret grades from schools other than Cornell on a comparable basis to Cornell undergraduate grades. The maximum GPA at Cornell is 4.3. Applicants from schools using other grading systems (for example, some schools outside of the United States) can report GPA scores on the Cornell basis, but should also report the original GPA, backed up by an official transcript.
Must I take the GRE?
Yes, GRE scores must be submitted by applicants through the testing agency system, unless they have (or will have) an undergraduate degree from Cornell. Scores should be reported to code 2098, which is Cornell's code number. You may submit a photocopy as a temporary record, but the official scores must be reported to code 2098 as soon as possible afterwards.
What are the minimum required GRE scores?
There are no set minimum required scores. Applicants who have taken the GREs and are accepted into the program generally have a Quantitative score of 730 or better, have scored in a high percentile in the Analytical portion, and have above-average Verbal scores. To repeat, however, there are no minimum scores and other factors are very important in the application.
What is the minimum TOEFL score for non–native English speakers?
Students with a native language other than English and who have not spent at least two years at a college or university in a country where the native language is English, the TOEFL examination is required. The minimum scores for admission are:
Reading: 20
Writing: 20
Listening: 15
Speaking: 22
Tests must be taken within two years of the application date.
TOEFL requirements are set by the Graduate School. Current information on TOEFL requirements can be found on the Graduate School’s website by clicking here.
What academic records should I submit?
Your undergraduate transcript and transcripts for any graduate work you have taken should be submitted in a sealed envelope from the registrar of the institution. If the transcript is not in English, provide an official translation. If the grading system is not based on letter grades corresponding to a 4 or 4.3 point scale, try to provide information that would facilitate a translation into that scale.
How do I list an alternative field of study?
If you wish to be considered by another M.Eng. program at Cornell in the event that you are not admitted to the MS&E program, indicate that in your statement of purpose. This information is reviewed only if you are not admitted to your first choice program. In that case, your application will be forwarded on to the alternative field of study to be considered with other applications.
What if circumstances change after I accept admission and I will not be registering in the semester for which I applied?
If you will not be able to attend, it is important that you contact us as soon as possible.
If you would like to defer admission to a later time, let us know as soon as possible by email or telephone. Then follow up with a letter by postal mail (so that we have your signature). Deferral is normally granted and you will receive a response by postal mail. Deferral for one or two semesters will not be a problem. Longer periods may be more difficult to accommodate.
If you do not come to Cornell in the original or following semester, the deposit paid with your acceptance of admission is forfeited.
If you have accepted any financial aid from Cornell, the rules of the Council of Graduate Schools to which Cornell belongs require that you cannot accept an offer of admission from another institution without obtaining a written release from us.