Master's of Engineering Program in Engineering Physics
A sound strategy for:
- a competitive edge in the job market with substantially higher starting salary offers than with a B.S. degree
- a transition to doctoral-degree programs
- a chance to pursue a new career
Advantages include:
- the challenge of applying physics to scientific and engineering problems
-
an opportunity to pursue a flexible interdisciplinary curriculum
-
an opportunity for research experience with top scientists at the leading edge of their disciplines
-
a chance to gain advanced technical experience and specialized laboratory skills at a world renowned research institution
This one-year master's program offers advanced study and training in Applied Physics. It provides valuable graduate training and research/design project experience sought after by industry, government and R & D organizations. It combines an interdisciplinary curriculum with a research or design project focused on applying physics to scientific and technological problems. The curriculum is tailored to fit the needs of individual students, and the project offers an opportunity for independent research under the supervision of leading scientists and engineers.
The Curriculum
Students combine a research or design project with electives selected from a variety of applied physics related graduate fields. Thirty credit hours are required which includes six to twelve credits for the design project. Courses include a core curriculum of applied quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and applied mathematics in addition to electives in areas of applied physics, computer science, engineering, or biotechnology. The flexibility of the curriculum allows students, in consultation with their advisor, to select a program of study to meet their individual interests and educational goals.
Research and Design Projects
The project is chosen by the student in consultation with the representative of the program and is carried out under the direction of an appropriate member of the Engineering or Science graduate faculty at Cornell. The following are examples of some recent research and design projects completed by students in the program.
- Chemical Synthesis and Nonlinear Optics in Microchannels
- On-Chip DNA quantification
- Fabrication of Graphene-Based Devices for the Study of Atomic Membrane Interfaces
- Silicon Nanocrystals for Solar Cells
- Engineering a radio-frequency Scanning Tunneling Microscope
- Spatially-Resolved Photocurrent Imaging of PbSe Quantum Dots
- Characterization and Measurement of Femtosecond Pulses using Autocorrelation Techniques
- Computational Simulation of Electrohydrodynamic Systems Pertaining to Micro and Nano scale Fluid Flow Phenomenon
- Compensation of wake-field-driven energy spread in Energy Recovery Linacs
- 1550nm Normal-Dispersion Femtosecond Mode-Locking Fiber Laser
- Technology Demonstration of the Scanning Double Half Wave Interferometer (DHWI) for use on the Stratosphereic Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIE)
- Vacuum ultraviolet photo ionization studies of fuel-rich ethylene flames
Career Options
Master of Engineering Physics recipients chose a variety of career options. Many have chosen employment in industry, government, private research and development, and the military; some have gone on to medical school, while others have gone on to complete their Ph.Ds in a wide range of technical fields.
Approximately one half of recent graduates are employed in industry or research positions while the remaining portion attend Ph.D. or professional programs in fields from biomedical engineering to acoustics and medicine to law.
Starting salaries for degree recipients average 20-25% percent higher than those for students with a B.S. degree.
Joint Master of Engineering/Master of Business Administration Degree
If you are interested in a management career in an engineering-based industry, you may want to earn master's degrees in both engineering and business administration. A cooperative arrangement between the College of Engineering and the Johnson Graduate School of Management enables you to earn both a Master of Engineering and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in five semesters or in four semesters and a summer. If this program interests you, please contact us for further information.
Eligibility
Individuals with an undergraduate degree in physics, engineering physics, or applied physics are eligible to apply. Those with a strong background in physics and a degree in a related area, such as chemistry, engineering, materials science, biophysics or mathematics are also encouraged to apply.
Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York, a small city at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake, one of the scenic Finger Lakes. Ithaca and the surrounding area offer many opportunities for cultural, intellectual, and outdoor recreational activities.
Ithaca is easily accessible by plane and bus. An Amtrak rail station is located in Syracuse. Once in Ithaca, it is fairly easy to negotiate the campus and the city on foot, by bike, by bus, or by car. Cornell's transportation system meshes with that of the city and the county to provide easy access to campus, the city, and nearby communities.
A variety of housing options are available. Some students live on campus, others rent apartments or join cooperative houses in the city of Ithaca, and yet others choose to live in the surrounding countryside.
On-campus housingfor single students includes university apartments, small residences, and residence halls. These accommodations offer comfortable multinational atmospheres for study, recreation, and socializing. Family housing in culturally diverse university apartment complexes is available on the outskirts of campus. There are a variety of off-campus housing options.
Master's of Engineering Application
Contact Information
