Students who are self-motivated and self-directed with strong quantitative backgrounds and a keen interest in and curiosity about the Earth are encouraged to apply. While helpful, prior study of geology is not a requirement for admission, applications from students with undergraduate degrees in other fields are welcome.
A baccalaureate degree from a college or university of recognized standing.
University minimums for the iBT version of the TOEFL are: Writing, 20, Listening, 15, Reading, 20, Speaking, 22. You must receive the minimum score on each subsection. TOEFL IBT - 77
The Graduate School requires an overall band score of a 7.0 or higher on the IELTS.
You should specify the field of geological sciences as there is no graduate field of earth and atmospheric sciences. In your essay, please indicate clearly the discipline(s) within geological sciences in which you are interested (e.g., active tectonics, low temperature geochemistry, global change, etc.). Your essay, and indeed your entire application, will be stronger if you have carefully investigated Cornell's strengths via these webpages and individual faculty pages, the published literature, and have contacted individual faculty with whom you might be interested in working.
We strongly recommend that potential applicants contact faculty members with whom they are interesting in studying before applying.