Cornell University

The graduate education at the Cornell College of Engineering focuses on practice-based study. Students can graduate with a master of engineering in as little as one year, and studies culminate in a design project, not a traditional thesis. The master’s degree has 15 areas of specialization, including biomedical engineering and geological sciences. There are also doctoral degrees offered in each speciality, which take four or five years to complete.

There are more than 30 centers, laboratories, and institutes across campus for engineering students to get hands-on training in. The school is particularly focused in six research areas, including biomedical engineering and energy and the environment.

There are about 1,400 graduate students enrolled at Cornell, and all can find support for course schedules and career counseling through the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. Students enrolled in the school can get further career help through both Engineering Co-Op & Career Services and Cornell Career Services. Graduate students may live on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, N.Y., a student-populated town also home to Ithaca College.