The Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty outlines the core policies governing graduate education at Cornell. This handbook complements the Code of Legislation and Graduate School policies by offering additional academic guidance specific to students in the fields of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

To remain in good standing and demonstrate satisfactory academic progress, students must meet the academic requirements as outlined in the Code of Legislation, field handbook, and by the chair/special committee. These layers of governance work together to provide oversight and support for academic progress, while the policies help clarify and establish mutual expectations for achieving degree progress

To make satisfactory academic progress and remain in good academic standing in the Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics graduate programs, a student must (at minimum):

Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.25
Receive a rating of ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Excellent’ on their Student Progress Review (SPR).
Make timely progress toward degree requirements, including:
- Completing required coursework by established deadlines (only MS students have credit requirements, and all coursework should be completed by the M exam).
- Forming a special committee by the end of the third semester (for Ph.D. students; end of the second semester for ME MS students).
- Fully passing the:
  - Q before the start of the third semester
  - M by the end of the fourth semester (MS students only)
  - A before the start of the seventh semester
  - B (the timing of the B exam is ultimately determined by the student’s special committee based on readiness and progress toward completion.)
- Completing required teaching responsibilities (two TA semesters for PhD students only, no requirement for MS).
- Meeting all field-specific requirements as outlined in this handbook

Maintaining Good Academic Standing

Academic standing is primarily determined by each student’s special committee and special committee chair/advisor. The primary method for communicating academic standing is via the years Student Progress Review (SPR). All MS and PhD students are required to fill out yearly SPRs, including in their first year (for the first year, a shorter form of the SPR is used). All advisors are required to submit responses to the SPRs, including an overall rating of ‘Satisfactory’, ‘Needs Improvement’, or ‘Unsatisfactory’. A ‘Needs Improvement’ or ‘ Unsatisfactory’ rating on an SPR indicates that a student is not in good academic standing. In this case, the advisor must clearly state, within their SPR response, the steps the student must take to regain good academic standing, and the span of time they have to do so.

At times when a student is without a special committee chair (prior to matching, or after a special committee chair resignation or the student leaving a research group), the DGS/ADGA will be responsible for assessing academic standing. As having a special committee chair is a requirement of all of our degree programs past the first semester, if a student is without an advisor for any reason after their first term, they are considered to be not in good academic standing. Students in this situation will be provided with a specific set of milestones they must meet in order to regain good academic standing, and a specific timeline for doing so. Most importantly, students in these cases must find a new special committee chair within their field (or execute a program change to another field). While it is not the student’s responsibility to identify their funding sources, new advisor matches will only be approved after the student’s first term if the new advisor can provide the DGS/ADGA with detailed funding plans for the student.

If a student is not in good academic standing for longer than the duration of one academic year semester, continued funding of their program is not guaranteed, and they may be withdrawn from their degree program. Advisors are not limited to communications about student standing to only SPRs – an advisor can communicate a lack of academic progress to their students at any time, so long as it is done in writing, and the advisor provides specific requirements and a timeline for the student to regain good standing.