Admission to the Ph.D. program is highly competitive. Successful applicants generally present a grade point average above a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, a quantitative GRE score above 160 and a verbal GRE score above 153.
Note that GRE scores are not being accepted as part of our M.S. and Ph.D. applications for Fall 2024.
Application and Fee Waiver
The Graduate School application must be submitted online. The application fee is $105; in cases of extreme financial need, the Graduate School will consider a request for a fee waiver please refer to the Application Fees page on the Cornell University Graduate School website.
Deadline
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December 1
Ph.D. applications are accepted for the fall semester only. Reasonable amount of time is allowed for letters of recommendation and official test scores to be received once the application has been submitted.
Required Admissions Items for Ph.D. Applicants
Do not submit any hard copy materials of any kind, they will not be considered or added to your online application materials.
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Academic Statement of Purpose
The first paragraph should be a summary (150 words) highlighting the topics or areas you are interested in studying, naming faculty members or groups with whom you would be interested in working, and outlining academic and research experiences that distinguish you. The statement of purpose should be no more than two pages.
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Personal Statement
The personal statement should provide the Admissions Committee with a sense of you as a whole person, and you should use it to describe how your personal background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. For additional information about the personal statement please refer to the Graduate School.
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English Language Proficiency Scores
TOEFL or IELTS exam is required of all international applicants from countries where English is not the official language unless the applicant has studied for at least two years in a country where English is the official language and the language of instruction was English.
Please visit the Graduate School website for information on the English Language Exam Requirement.
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Unofficial Transcripts
An unofficial transcript from each university you have attended is required for submission. The transcript(s) must be in english. You will upload your transcript(s) yourself in your online application.
Admitted students are required to submit official electronic transcripts directly to the Graduate School Admissions Office after accepting the offer of admission and before enrolling.
For more information, please consult the Graduate School’s Transcript Requirements webpage.
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Letters of Recommendation
Three letters of recommendation are required and should be sent electronically. Recommendations may be requested electronically by providing the name and email address of each recommender on the application. Letters need to be received by December 15.
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CV or Résumé
You are not required to submit a CV or résumé; however, if you wish, you may upload a scanned copy of your CV or résumé into your application; include a list of publications, if applicable, with your CV.
Selecting a Field
The Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is home to four graduate fields: mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, robotics and theoretical and applied mechanics; you must choose one field at the time of application.
Selecting a Concentration
Each field has a number of concentrations from which to choose. Faculty members in the field can represent one or more concentrations within the field. Please refer to the Graduate School for concentrations and faculty research interests listed in each of the fields.
Do Not Send
Please do not send unpublished papers, CVs or any additional materials not listed above. A writing sample is not required.
The Review Process
After the application deadline faculty will begin reviewing applications as soon as they are complete. Admission decisions are made by faculty committees taking the entire applicant pool into account.
When your application is complete that will be indicated in the online application status. You will be emailed if something is missing once the applications are processed. Please refrain from inquiring about the status of your application; inquiries will only delay the timely processing of applications.
All admitted Ph.D. applicants are invited to come for a visit weekend in March.
You will be notified of the admission decision by email, usually no later than mid-March.
For additional questions please refer to our FAQ.
Contact Information
Assistant Director for Graduate Affairs
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
343 Upson Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-5250