Welcome to Cornell University and, in particular, to the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. We hope your year here will be an academically rich and personally rewarding experience. Graduate fields at Cornell develop and disseminate a handbook to support their graduate students in critical ways throughout their progression through the program, from admission to completion. Prospective students also use the handbook to learn about our degree requirements and resources available to support them once admitted.
This handbook has been prepared to simplify the orientation and registration process of new candidates for the Master of Engineering degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Additional information can be obtained from the graduate program office in 219 Hollister.
The School has a strong educational tradition, supportive alumni network, and is ranked as one of the top civil and environmental engineering programs in the United States. It currently has twenty-two active faculty members, as well as other individuals that serve as lecturers, research associates, and staff. Professors and Senior Lecturers are listed in Appendix A. In addition, we have several thousand alumni who hold positions in engineering, construction, research and development, manufacturing, sales, education, consulting, and government in the United States and around the world.
The Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Master of Engineering degree is a coursework and project-oriented graduate program designed to develop a higher level of competence in disciplines within civil and environmental engineering to prepare students for professional practice. It requires thirty (30) credit hours consisting of coursework in a student’s chosen concentration and area of specialization, as well as a 3-credit hour capstone design project course. The M.Eng. degree is two semesters of intensive study. A three-semester program is available; additional coursework is mandated and applying directly into a three-semester program is required.
M.Eng. Candidates in Civil and Environmental Engineering may elect to pursue one of the three concentrations listed below.
Environmental Engineering (specializations listed below)
- Environmental and Water Resource Systems
- Sustainable Energy Systems
- Environmental Processes
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology
*Students in the Environmental Engineering concentration may mix and match among the specializations.
Structural Engineering (specializations listed below)
- Behavior and Design
- Advanced Materials
- Advanced Computation
Transportation Systems Engineering
The M.Eng. program in Transportation Systems Engineering prepares students for professional careers with both private companies and public agencies. The core curriculum focuses on transportation planning, design and analysis. Students then have an opportunity to specialize in an area of particular interest.
Preparation
Students from all fields of engineering and the physical and natural sciences are welcome. However, a student without adequate preparation may be required to take additional preparatory coursework, which will be determined by faculty in the student’s chosen concentration. This preparatory work does not count toward the Master of Engineering graduation requirements. Any preparatory coursework that is required will be listed in a student’s letter offering admission.
Program Requirements
A minimum of thirty (30) credit hours of course and project work is required for the M.Eng. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Program core course requirements for each of the three major concentrations are provided in Appendix B. The remainder of each student’s program is designed and approved individually in consultation with an academic advisor based on their professional aspirations.
Planning and Registering for the M.Eng. Degree Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Assignment of Advisor
You will be assigned an advisor in your concentration area to help you design a program of study, and to generally assist and advise you throughout your degree program. You may request to change your advisor to another faculty member within the same concentration with permission of the faculty member whom you would like to serve as your new advisor.
Course Registration
Course registration is done online by logging onto Student Center with your Cornell NetID*. Enrollment dates, drop/add dates, etc. Fall and Spring, are shared with incoming and current students (as they vary year-to-year). Students will be notified of an opportunity to pre-enroll for Spring courses; the announcement for this window comes out during the Fall semester. Early admit or students beginning their program in the Spring semester cannot participate in pre-enroll, they must wait for add/drop to begin.
Any changes in your course registration after the deadlines (i.e., add/drop, credit hour changes, etc.) requires a submission of a Course Enrollment Petition to the Engineering Registrar’s office within the College of Engineering. The petition must be signed by both your advisor and the course instructor. Please note that petitions are not automatically approved.
*Cornell NetID: You should have received your Cornell NetID and information from Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) over the summer. If you did not, please contact the CIT Office at HelpDesk@cornell.edu. Please be sure to check your Cornell email regularly.
Planning your M.Eng. Program
Please study the pertinent materials in this handbook for both required core courses for your chosen concentration and appropriate elective courses before meeting with your advisor. It would be worthwhile to spend some time with the online Class Roster to identify possible courses for both the Fall and Spring terms. The Spring roster becomes available during the Fall semester. In the meantime, you can refer to the previous year’s Spring catalog, as many of the same courses will be offered. Courses listed may not always be offered, course offerings vary by semester and year-to-year. In addition, students may want to consult the course listings in the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and various other departments within the College of Engineering.
Program planning is done with the aid of an M.Eng. Proposal Form (see Appendix B). There are unique forms for each of the three concentrations. You will fill this form out with the help of your advisor, who must also approve your program.
You have approximately two (2) weeks to enroll online for Fall classes. This time period allows you to sit in on an extra course or two, if you wish, for a couple of weeks, to assist you in making up your mind about your exact program. Course choices for the second or third semester should never be listed as TBD, a default set of courses that meet the requirements should be listed. These courses may change with approval; a full plan should be established for advisor review and approval at the beginning of your program.
All courses should be listed, whether or not they count toward your M.Eng. degree program requirements. No more than 20 credits per semester may be taken, except by petition to the College of Engineering’s Master of Engineering Committee.
All three CEE M.Eng. concentrations require three (3) credits of a project design course.
Credit for seminars count toward the M.Eng. degree. A maximum of two credit hours graded on an S/U basis.
Filing Your Course Program
After a final program of courses for the entire year is agreed upon between you and your advisor, please submit your approved Proposal Form to the Assistant Director of Graduate Programs via the Smartsheets Proposal Submission Form. These should be submitted about the third week into the semester, deadlines will be shared with students and may vary by concentration.
Program Changes
Students often propose changes to their program at the start of their second semester that reflect changes in interests and/or course availability. All changes to your M.Eng. program must take the form of a revised proposal and be submitted to the Assistant Director of Graduate Programs via the Smartsheets Proposal Submission Form.
It is important that any changes in your program be submitted and approved promptly because the current version of your Proposal Form that is on file serves as a checklist for determining compliance with graduation requirements.
Petitions
Cornell University has a long-standing tradition of considering petitions from students relative to special situations or circumstances that could justify exceptions to the normal rules or requirements. Most petitions are considered by the Director of Graduate Studies. While we are not encouraging use of a petition to circumvent requirements, we do want to point out the existence of this process. It provides an opportunity to communicate cases for special consideration, and therefore it is an important part of the operational procedures for students attending Cornell University. You may find a list of Petition Forms on the Engineering Registrar’s website.
Financial Aid and Work Obligations
Financial aid administered by the College or School can be in the form of fellowships or half-time assistantships. If you have the latter, you will be given eight hours per week of grading-related duties. M.Eng. students typically serve as graders, hold office hours, prepare labs, etc. The faculty will make grading assignments during the first two weeks of classes.
Grade requirements
The College requires a minimum grade point average of 2.5 for graduation from the Master of Engineering Program. Students admitted on a Provisional Basis must achieve a 3.0 average during their first term in the M.Eng. program to continue in the second term. Typical graduate student grade point averages are much higher than this. At Cornell decimal grade points are assigned to grades with (+) or (-), i.e., A+ = 4.3, A = 4, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, etc. A grade of less than C- in a course will result in no credit being granted toward satisfaction of the 30-credit hour minimum requirement. However, these courses are included in calculating grade point averages.
Facilities
Most of the facilities for the School are housed in Hollister Hall, except for the Bovay Lab, which is a large-scale infrastructure testing laboratory in Thurston Hall.
Building Access
Your Cornell ID card will open the outside doors to Hollister Hall when they are electronically locked.
Career Services
The College of Engineering offers Career Services specifically for Master of Engineering students. “The M.Eng Career Advisors work with students to navigate professional development resources, network with alumni and employers and strategize to develop a customized job/internship search plan.” Students may schedule appointments with one of the Career Advisors, available throughout the week. They are located in Carpenter Hall.
Career Services offers an extensive recruitment program with many interviewers coming to campus each year. You will receive information from the Career Services Office regarding events they host throughout the academic year. Cornell Career Services is part of Cornell’s Division of Student and Campus Life. Their comprehensive services are in Barnes Hall and open to all students. They complement the services offered through career offices in the undergraduate colleges that are tailored more to college-specific academic and career goals.
Professional Conduct and Special Needs
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Absolute integrity is expected of every Cornell student in all academic undertakings. Integrity entails a firm adherence to values most essential to an academic community, including honesty with respect to the intellectual efforts of oneself and others. Both students and faculty at Cornell assume the responsibility of maintaining and furthering these values. A Cornell student’s submission of work for academic credit indicates that the work is their own. All outside assistance should be acknowledged, and the student’s academic position should always be reported truthfully. In addition, Cornell students have the right to expect academic integrity from each of their peers. It is plagiarism for anyone to represent another’s work as their own. As stated in the University Code of Academic Integrity, “The maintenance of an atmosphere of academic honor…is the responsibility of the student and faculty…”
Gray areas sometimes exist when students study and work together. It is important that faculty make clear what is expected and that students understand what authorship citations an instructor expects. To become better acquainted with academic integrity responsibilities, each student should have a copy of the Policy Notebook for Students, Faculty and Staff (available in the Dean of Student’s Office). Also, a copy of the “University Code of Academic Integrity” is included in the Handbook of Engineering Students available from the Engineering College’s Office of Admissions and Undergraduate Programs located near the north entrance of Hollister Hall.
Student Disability Services
Cornell University is committed to assisting those persons with disabilities who have special needs. Please consider registering with Student Disability Services if you require an accommodation. Also, a brochure describing services for persons with disabilities may be obtained from the Office of Equal Opportunity, Cornell University, 234 Day Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853-2801.
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty, Senior Lecturers, and Professors of Practice
For a complete list of faculty, visit the [Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty directory].
Program Concentration Requirements
[Link to Degree Requirements page?]
M.Eng./MBA Program
What is it?
A joint venture between the College of Engineering and the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management (JGSM) that allows students to acquire a Master of Engineering degree and an MBA degree in five (5) semesters (usually based on Fall admission to the M.Eng. program). The dual-degree program consists of 75 credit hours, 30 of which comprise the regular two-semester M.Eng. program. For those admitted to the MBA program, JGSM allows some (occasionally all) of these M.Eng. credits to be transferred to the MBA program, usually resulting in saving one semester’s time compared to taking the M.Eng. and MBA degree programs separately.
What are the requirements?
Applicants must have already earned a baccalaureate degree in engineering, applied science, or equivalent from Cornell or elsewhere and be accepted for admission or be presently enrolled in the M.Eng. program. The two programs require separate application forms and review processes, and materials submitted to one program are not available to the other. JGSM places great emphasis on relevant work experience, and this will be taken into consideration when evaluating applications. All requirements of the CEE Master of Engineering program are to be completed. No credit toward the M.Eng. degree is allowed for coursework done outside Cornell. All requirements of the Master of Business Administration curriculum are to be completed. Coursework done outside Cornell normally will not be credited toward the MBA degree.
If you have been admitted to or are attending the M.Eng. program, you must formally apply to the Johnson Graduate School of Management by the second semester of your M.Eng. program at the latest. You must fill out a separate JGSM application form and pay their application fee. You should also notify your M.Eng. advisor of your intention to do the MBA program so your advisor can take this into consideration when planning your M.Eng. program schedule.
If you have not already done so, you must apply to take the GMAT, which is required by JGSM, using January of your M.Eng. year as your last possible test date and have the scores directed to JGSM.
If you are admitted to the JGSM, your Master of Engineering degree will be awarded when all requirements of that degree are completed (usually after 2 semesters), and the Master of Business Administration degree will be awarded when all requirements of that degree are completed (usually after 3 more semesters). The two degrees cannot be awarded simultaneously.
In general, financial aid is not awarded to those doing the MBA portion of the program except through the Knight Joint Degree Scholarship Program, which has very strict requirements. [Information and an application to the Scholarship Program]. Questions about this Scholarship Program should be directed to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, engr_grad@cornell.edu).
Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA)
After the award of the M.Eng. degree, CEE M.Eng. students who aspire to a leadership or management position in formulating, implementing, or evaluating public policies can benefit from a program that offers an accelerated path to a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA). CIPA offers a flexible and challenging two-year program of graduate professional studies in public affairs that prepares degree recipients for careers in public affairs, public administration, and public policy.
Concentration areas offered in CIPA include Environmental Policy; Science, Technology, and Infrastructure Policy; Economic and Financial Policy; International Development; and Public and Nonprofit Management.
The two-degree programs (M.Eng. and M.P.A.) have separate admission processes; so you may apply to the accelerated M.P.A. program upon completion of your first semester in the M.Eng. program. A CEE M.Eng. graduate can obtain the M.P.A. degree in three additional semesters. Applicants should plan on meeting with the CIPA Director of Graduate Studies to discuss which M.Eng. credits would be transferable for the MPA program.
Please contact the CIPA office at 607.255.8018 or cipa@cornell.edu to set up an appointment. More information is available on the CIPA website.