MEng in Civil & Environmental Engineering

Undergraduate degree in engineering, mathematics, or science, conferred by an accredited college or university.

Unofficial Transcripts from each college or university previously attended

Letters may be submitted by faculty members or those familiar with your professional performance.

This short essay complements your academic statement of purpose and should be reflective, describing your personal motivations and sharing insights into your potential contributions to the Cornell M.Eng. community. Explain how your background has influenced your decision to pursue a professional degree.

1. Introduce yourself and your academic interests - - Provide simple background information on your area of interest and how it became of particular interest to you. - Here you can also share with them how and why you decided to pursue a graduate degree in this field. 2. Describe your academic background, preparation, and training - Discuss the skills you have learned from academic, lab, or research experiences (e.g., undergraduate coursework, research opportunities, scholarly writings, jobs in the field, presentations, etc.). - Talk about the research you conducted – project title or focus, research mentor, your specific role, what you learned, and the outcome. - List important papers or thesis project you completed, as well as anything scholarly beyond your academic degree requirements. - Share relevant work or internship experience as related to the field you are applying to. 3. Show them you are making an informed decision - Indicate what you would like to study in graduate school in enough detail to convince the faculty that you understand the scope of research in the discipline and are aware of research trends. - Show them that you have thoroughly researched the program, its faculty, and research focus areas and why you are applying to this program specifically. - Describe why you are a good fit for the program and why the program is a good fit for you. - If there are specific faculty you are interested in working with, check the program’s ASOP instructions and determine how best to mention this in your essay. Some programs require you to name a professor(s) with whom you would like to work. - Are there any aspects of the program that are of particular interest to you (immersion program, opportunities for collaboration with others outside of the institution, research centers associated with the program, etc.)? - Include information that is important to you outside of the program – supportive environment for first-year students, access to amazing literary resources, opportunities to participate in professional/career development programming, etc. - Professional goals – you may wish to outline what you plan to do after you complete the program as a way of underscoring the importance of your choice to pursue graduate study. - Share any extracurricular opportunities you have had that show leadership, ability to work with a diverse group of people, teaching skills, etc. - Research degree applicants should identify specific faculty members whose research interests align with your own interests.

IELTS/TOEFL