A primary distinction of Cornell University’s College of Engineering is that it exists within a broad social and academic community. Far from being isolated on the Engineering Quad, our students are an integral part of the ebb and flow of the university’s campus life. In fact, Cornell engineering students agree that a large part of their education occurs outside the college’s classrooms and labs and away from the formal engineering curriculum.

And the College of Engineering believes these experiences are important. Engineering students are encouraged to explore their interests wherever they may lead—across the college and across the university! Whether external to academics or profoundly integrated with academics, participation in student life provides balance and perspective to classroom learning. After all, learning from other cultures, experiencing different ways to approach and solve problems, gaining exposure to varying intellectual views, and meeting interesting people are all important and can only improve the ways in which our engineering students will interact with the world they will encounter after they leave our campus.