PhD

For the Ph.D. degree, a student must satisfactorily complete at least six semesters of full-time graduate study (which may include two semesters spend working toward the master's degree). An admission-to-candidacy examination is taken after the student's course work has been completed and prior to the commencement of full-time research. The thesis, which is an outcome of this research, must constitute an imaginative contribution to knowledge. A final examination is taken at the end of the program. The examinations and the thesis are overseen by the student's Special Committee. Students typically take five years to complete the M.S./Ph.D. program.

MS

For the M.S. degree, a student must satisfactorily complete at least two semesters of full-time graduate study, submit a thesis based on research, and pass a final examination. Doctoral students normally write a thesis and earn an M.S. degree before beginning work toward the Ph.D., but entering students who already have a master's degree are admitted directly to the Ph.D. program. PLEASE NOTE: Students are admitted to the MS/Ph.D. program with the expectation that they will go on to complete their Ph.D. degree. If you are only interested in obtaining a MS degree, you should consider applying to the M.Eng. Program.

MENG

The Master of Engineering (M. Engr) program is primarily intended for those who have a Bachelors degree or equivalent in an engineering or closely related science field from a college or university of recognized standing. Students in the M. Engr program must have an ABEN advisor who is a member of the graduate faculty, and must satisfactorily complete a curriculum approved by that advisor which satisfies the degree requirements of the graduate major.

Cornell students who are between one and eight credits short of their engineering baccalaureate degree may initiate their Master of Engineering program as “Early Admit students.” Early Admit students complete their Bachelors degree and spend at least one full time semester enrolled in the graduate school prior to the conferral of their Master of Engineering Degree. Early Admit students are classified as undergraduate students and pay undergraduate tuition during their Early Admit semester.

All M. Engr students must register for a minimum of one semester in the Graduate School. When enrolled in the graduate school, ABEN Master of Engineering students advised by a member of the ABEN graduate major, are charged statutory graduate tuition.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

1. At least 30 semester credit hours, of which at least 24 credit hours must be in the College of Engineering.

2. At least 28 hours must be taken for letter grade, with no grades below C-.

3. A minimum of 3 credits to a maximum of 9 credits of BEE 551-552, Master of Engineering Design Project. The design project requires a formal bound report and oral public presentation.

4. A minimum of 9 credits must be taken in Biological and Environmental Engineering (no more than 6 credits of Design Project can be used for these credits).

5. The remaining credits are approved by the faculty advisor, who must be a member of the Engineering College Faculty. Courses covering subject matter previously taken may not be repeated for credit.

The deadline for meeting the Master of Engineering degree requirements in the final semester of study is the same as the Master of Science degree. The timelines and deadlines for scheduling the formal M. Engr project presentation and submission of the bound project report are the same as the Master of Science. Project reports must be professionally bound in a black hard cover "thesis" format with gold lettering. In addition to providing a final report to your project advisor, two professionally bound copies of the report must be submitted, along with the completed degree checklist to the major coordinator prior to the published deadline.

The format of the design project may follow the format published by the graduate school for MS and PhD theses. This information is available on the Graduate School web page at: http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/index.php?p=13.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.7 may be admitted directly by decision of the ABEN graduate major. Students with a cumulative GPA between 2.5 and 2.7 may be admitted only by recommendation of the major and approval of the College of Engineering Master of Engineering Committee. (The GPA values are based on a 4.3 scale.)

Applicants may be admitted with minor undergraduate subject matter deficiencies. Before initiating their M. Engr coursework, applicants are expected to have completed 12 credits of engineering distribution and 24 credits of engineering science as defined in the ABEN undergraduate engineering program. These deficiencies may be made up during their M. Engr terms at Cornell, but such courses will not be counted for credit for the Master of Engineering Degree.

Applications to the program may be submitted directly to the ABEN Student Services office, 207 Riley-Robb Hall or to the College of Engineering ORGSPE office in 222 Carpenter Hall.

CONTACT PERSON
Applicants are encouraged to contact the M. Engr Program Representative directly to learn more about program requirements and project opportunities.

J.A. Bartsch
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
314 Riley-Robb Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-2800
fax: (607) 255-4080
e-mail: jab35@cornell.edu

MPS

1. Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours related to the candidate's professional interest as agreed to by the student's Special Committee.

• 20 credit hours must be taken within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and at least 24 credits must be in courses numbered 400 or higher, except with the approval of the MPS Committee.
• A maximum of 6 of the required 30 credit hours may be earned through the student's problem-solving project.
• A maximum of 6 credit hours earned outside the program at Cornell or elsewhere may be counted toward these requirements at the discretion of the students Special Committee. These credits must be appropriate to the subject of study and completed not more than five years before admission.

2. Completion of a minimum of 2 units of residence credit.

• One unit must be earned by carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours in a single semester.
• A second unit of residence credit many be earned by accumulating the remaining credit hours through part-time study in the School of Continuing Education and Summer sessions at Cornell, or through transfer of credit.

3. Satisfactory completion of a problem-solving project.

• Under the supervision of the student's special committee, students will undertake a case study relevant to his/her field of inquiry and professional interests. A formal project report must be submitted to and approved by the candidate's Special Committee. The final report will be placed in Mann Library.

Other requirements include:

• Minimum grade point average of 2.5.
• Completion of the degree with 4 years of admission.

Because some Fields of Study have special requirements, students should check with the Field's Director of Graduate Studies for specific details.

MPS-EM

Admission requirements for the MPS-EM Concentration include:

• Baccalaureate degree granted by a faculty or university of recognized standing, or completion of studies equivalent to those required for a baccalaureate degree at Cornell.
• Adequate preparation for graduate work in the chosen field of study.
• Fluent command of the English language
• Satisfactory completion of any standardized examination (e.g. GRE, Miller Analogy, etc.) required by student's chosen field of study.

If an applicant's academic records are outdated or not pertinent to the field of study, evidence of superior professional performance will be considered along with other indicators of ability (test scores, undergraduate record, special post-bachelors coursework, etc).

For all applicants whose native language is not English, adequate proof of competency must be documented. Acceptable proof includes:

• A degree from a college or university in a country where the native language is English;
• Two or more years of study in an undergraduate or graduate program where the native language is English; or
• TOEFL score of 550 or higher. Other language tests, such as the ALIGU, may be substituted.

Students enrolled in the Environmental Management Concentration must also meet the general requirements for the Master of Professional Studies Degree.

MPS with Peace Corps Option

The field of Agricultural and Biological Engineering offers a Master of Professional Studies in Agriculture Degree Program with a Peace Corps Option. For more information and instruction of how to apply, please visit the following webpage:

http://iap.cornell.edu/iap/

or contact:

The International Agriculture Programs
Box 14 Kennedy Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
phone 607-255-3037
email: mpsag_peacecorps@cornell.edu