Undergraduate Student Experience

Round out your academic experience (which usually includes research and internship/co-op components) with extracurricular activities that develop your leadership experience, communication skills and new perspectives, all while having fun!
Student sits outside on study abroad exchange to Cantabria, Spain.

Student Organization Lists and Directories

Undergraduate students wearing lab coats work with computers in the Olin Hall Unit Operations Lab.
Undergraduate students stand with ChemE car and winning poster titled
Undergraduate students in active learning initiative ALI classroom sit working at a table

Cornell Engineering advises several student-run groups on topics ranging from video gaming and sustainable design to diversity and inclusion. Outside Cornell Engineering, Cornell University recognizes more than 1,000 student organizations. There’s something for everyone!

Popular Experiences for Chemical Engineering Majors

  • M.Eng. student Keerthivasan Muthukumaran gives a preliminary presentation on his team’s immersive final project on PV thermal management

    Cornell Engineering Project Teams

    Nearly 30 teams with more than 1,000 student participants. Project teams mimic real-world engineering scenarios and bring students, faculty and staff together for the sake of team building and innovation. Many teams compete across the region, nation and globe and others work on service learning projects and programs. Project teams are dedicated to sustainability, programming, robotics, design, healthcare, watersports, public service and more.

  • ChemE Car project team holds trophy at the 2024 national championship

    Cornell University ChemE Car

    Open to all majors, ChemE Car is a student-run project team of around 50 members who compete to build model cars that are entirely operated by chemical reactions. The team has won several first-place titles at regional and national conferences. In preparation for competitions, members work in smaller sub-teams to design and execute a specific car component. The goal of each car is to carry a certain load over a given distance – both parameters are undetermined until declared at the competition, so the cars must be extremely adaptable.

  • Graduate students stand at the AICHE conference sign in San Diego California 2024.

    AIChE Cornell Chapter

    The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals with more than 60,000 members. AIChE aims to connect the world’s chemical engineers for personal and professional growth and act as a hub for tackling societal challenges with chemical engineering solutions. The AIChE Cornell Chapter supports social, professional, and philanthropic programming to strengthen Cornell’s chemical engineering community.

  • Student sits outside on study abroad exchange to Cantabria, Spain.

    Study Abroad

    Engineering is an international field, and undergraduates who study abroad will greatly benefit from experiencing a new culture. Spending a full semester abroad (typically the fall semester of junior year) takes careful planning in coordination with your academic advisor. To learn more, speak with the Engineering Advising Office. Applications are handled through the Office of Global Learning.

  • Student drawing figures and numbers on a black board.

    Undergraduate Teaching

    Sharpen your communication and leadership skills, give back to the younger undergraduate community and learn much more about a subject.  If you’re planning to pursue a Ph.D. and work in academia, being a TA can act as a great starting point in your teaching career.

  • a student in a lab coat working on an experiment in the Alabi Lab

    Undergraduate Research

    Most faculty advise undergraduate research. Students often present their research at Cornell and scientific meetings, and some become authors on scientific papers.