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When you start at Cornell Engineering, you’ll be assigned a Faculty Advisor who will guide you until you affiliate with a major. Even if this advisor isn’t in your future field, they’ll still support you during this time.
Once you affiliate with a major, you’ll be assigned a new advisor from that department. Throughout your studies, you can also get additional help from the Engineering Advising Office and Undergraduate Coordinators in the major departments.
Consult your Faculty Advisor for questions about academic requirements, course changes, and electives. You should meet with them before adding or dropping courses and discuss any petitions for exceptions to college rules, as they need to sign off on these requests.
Faculty Advisor Responsibilities
- Meet with individual students (office hours/appointments) to provide guidance related to college and major curriculum requirements.
- Advise students on substitutions for required courses, and on the process for gaining approval for any deviation from curricular requirements.
- Provide guidance on Cornell Engineering and Cornell University resources supporting students’ goals and challenges.
What to Expect
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Advice
Students should use their Faculty Advisor as a resource for planning their academic program, identifying academic and career goals, and general advice on graduate degrees and careers in engineering and science.
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Assistance and Referrals
Faculty Advisors may provide general information about and referrals to special programs including Engineering Co-Op, study abroad, and concurrent degrees. They may also be helpful in obtaining tutoring services or evaluating transfer/advanced placement credit, as appropriate.
Students often ask their Faculty Advisors to provide letters of recommendation for scholarships, study abroad, employment, or graduate school.
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Availability
Students should expect to have ready access to their faculty advisors. Most Faculty Advisors set aside several hours each week for advising and will usually make appointments outside those hours if necessary.
What Not to Expect
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Assessment of Effort or Study Time Required for Specific Courses
Faculty Advisors may help you determine the appropriateness of a given course in your curriculum plan, but they cannot predict how difficult the course will be or how much effort or study time it will require for individual students.
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Tutoring/Study Skills
Faculty Advisors may help you identify the need for tutoring, remedial course work, or improved study skills but should not be expected to provide the necessary assistance. Students in need of such assistance are generally referred to other resources, such as the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Learning Strategies Center or the Engineering Advising Office.
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Help with Personal, Financial or Housing Issues
Students are encouraged to make their Faculty Advisors aware of problems that may interfere with academic progress, but Faculty Advisors are not trained to provide counseling for personal problems, nor should they be expected to resolve housing or financial issues. However, they will refer students to the appropriate university office or program.
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Internship/Job Search Assistance
While students are encouraged to discuss their career interests with their Faculty Advisors, it is not the Faculty Advisor’s responsibility to provide assistance for employment searches. Students should contact Engineering Career Center in 201 Carpenter Hall or Cornell Career Services in 103 Barnes Hall for help in finding employment.