Matching

If you enter your graduate field via pooled admissions on a first semester fellowship or assistantship (the most common situation for PhD students in MAE), then three weeks after the start of your first semester, the graduate school will automatically set your field’s current DGS as your primary advisor.  In certain (typically rare) cases, you will begin your degree program with an advisor already identified.  In this case, and only with prior approval from the Associate Director for Graduate Affairs (ADGA) you should set your advisor in student center within the first three weeks of your first term.

Everyone entering their field on a first semester fellowship has almost the entirety  of their first semester (until December 1st) to match with their primary advisor.  All matching is done through the ADGA.  Even if you come in knowing that you want to work with a particular faculty member, and they also wish to work with you, you must still engage in the matching process, and the match must be confirmed by the ADGA. The current matching process requires you to have 3 ‘significant interactions’ with 3 different faculty members in your graduate field. Throughout the semester you will be polled as to your group preferences. Faculty recruiting students will similarly be polled on their needs and preferences.  After the sixth week of the semester (typically in early- to mid-October), you will be allowed to request a match with a faculty member.  If confirmed, the graduate field office will notify you that you have been successfully matched.

There is absolutely no need to rush to match with faculty.  Take your time in getting to know multiple faculty members and their groups.  Most importantly, speak with current graduate students to understand how various groups function – there is a very wide range of group dynamics and mentoring styles, and fit is very important.

Setting Your Primary Advisor in Student Center

Once you have matched with a faculty member, you are responsible for setting them as your special committee chair.

This is done via your Student Center: http://studentcenter.cornell.edu/. Upon logging in, you should see a link titled ‘Graduate committee Selection’:

Upon clicking the link, you will be shown your current committee, which should consist of only your DGS at this stage:

Click ‘Add New Member’, and select ‘Chairperson’.  A drop-down menu should appear allowing you to select your advisor (if they are not in the list, consult the GFA). Once selected, another drop-down menu should appear allowing you to select your primary concentration (you should discuss what this should be with your new advisor before proceeding).  After making the selections, click ‘Save’:

Once you have selected your new advisor, you will be returned to the main Graduate Committee Selection screen.  Click the ‘remove’ button next to your DGS’s name (if you attempt to submit your new committee request with the DGS still listed, the system will throw an error).  You should now see only your new advisor listed.  Click ‘Submit Committee Request’.  Your request will then be routed to your new advisor and the graduate field office for approval. Once all required approvals are registered, you will receive a confirmation from the graduate school, and your new advisor’s name will appear in the ‘Program Advisor’ box in Student Center.

Selecting Your Special Committee

The graduate school requires that you select your full special committee by the end of your third semester for PhDs and by the end of the second semester for MSs.  It is possible to petition to extend this deadline, but is generally discouraged, unless you have special circumstances (such as switching advisors in your first year).  You should select your special committee in consultation with your advisor, and (if you desire) with input from your DGS.  Once you select your full committee, you will follow the same student center procedure described above to add your minor committee members.  Both of your minor committee members should be added with the role Minor Member and you should add both minor committee members (and any additional members you wish to have on your committee) in the same request.

Fields, Subjects, and Concentrations

In the Cornell Grad School, a major Field is a group of faculty that administer a graduate degree program (see this page). Fields can be partitioned into Subjects. Most fields have only one subject and the distinction between Field and Subject is uncommon for PhD students, so most people have never heard or thought about Subjects (see the complete list here–one example of a Field with multiple subjects is Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, which has an Ecology Subject and an Evolutionary Biology Subject).  This handbook covers the fields of Mechanical Engineering (ME), Aerospace Engineering (AE) and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM). All three of these fields currently have a subject with the same name as the field (that is the Mechanical Engineering subject in the Mechanical Engineering field, etc.).  In addition, as of 2024, both ME and AE have a second subject called Robotics. Robotics is a cross-disciplinary program split amongst multiple fields (currently AE, ME, Computer Science (CS) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)).

Each Subject is partitioned into Concentrations.  For example, the Mechanical Engineering subject has 7 concentrations: biomedical mechanics, dynamics and control, energy and sustainability, fluid dynamics, micro- and nanoscale engineering, solid mechanics and materials, and thermal science. Aerospace Engineering also has 7 (partially overlapping) concentrations, while Theoretical and Applied Mechanics has four. The Robotics subject has only one concentration, also called Robotics.

A minor Field is a Field that offers no admission and no degrees, it serves only to provide minor Subjects. Faculty can represent those field as minor subject members, but not as Special Committee Chairs.  The only minor Field that is likely relevant to the MAE Fields is Computational Science and Engineering.

Subject Representation on Special Committees

The graduate school specifies the constituents of a committee in terms of major and minor Subjects. Because most Fields have only one Subject, most people describe committee requirements in terms of Fields as shorthand, however, as both ME and AE have two subjects, the distinction is important for us.  More information on majors and minors is available from the graduate school here: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/policies/majors-and-minors/

As the Robotics subject is governed by the rules of the Robotics program, the procedure for assembling a special committee for a student whose special committee chair represents the Robotics subject/concentration under either AE or ME is slightly different from that for other AE/ME/TAM students.  We will first describe the procedure for non-robotics students, and then cover the procedure for robotics students, below.  Additional information on special committees is available from the graduate school here: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academic-progress/requirements/making-academic-progress/nominating-your-special-committee/

Assembling the Special Committee for Non-Robotics Students

A PhD committee must include a minimum of 3 members (chair plus two minor members).  In all of the MAE fields, at least one Subject other than the major Subject must be represented on the committee, although both minor committee members can represent Subjects other than the major Subject. In addition, the ME and AE field rules state: “Students are required to take at least one minor subject outside of the fields of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering.” (TAM field rules do not include this restriction).  This means that for ME and AE students, their committee must include at least one member representing a field other than ME or AE. For TAM, the committee must include at least one member representing any subject other than TAM (which includes AE/ME).

In the case where one of the minor committee members represents the same Subject as the committee chair,  the minor member must represent a different concentration from the chair within the major Subject. All three fields’ rules state: “The concentration studied for each minor subject must be distinct from that of the major subject.” TAM rules also state: “The student’s special committee must reflect three distinct concentrations.”

An MS committee must consist of a minimum of 2 members (chair plus one minor member).  The same rules for minor Subjects apply as for the PhD.

These rules can be interpreted as follows:

1. The chair of your special committee must be a member of the field that you matriculated in. Your chair must be selected as representing a concentration within that field on the special committee.
2. Your second committee member must represent a subject different from that of the committee chair.  This committee member may be a member of the special committee chair’s field as well, but on the special committee, they must represent a different field.  The second committee member must represent a concentration that is different from the concentration represented by the committee chair. For AE and ME students, the second committee member must represent a subject that is not AE or ME.  For TAM students, the second committee member must represent a subject that is not TAM.
3. For PhDs only: the third member of the special committee may represent the same subject as either of the first two committee members, or a different, third subject.  The third committee member must represent a concentration that is different from the concentration represented by the committee chair. The concentration represented by the third committee member may be the same as that represented by the second committee member for AE and ME students, but must be different for TAM students.

Here’s a practical example.  Let’s say that you are a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering.  You match with your advisor and set them as your special committee chair, representing dynamics and controls.  You are highly interested in robotics and AI, and after some discussion with several faculty, you choose your second committee member to represent the subject of Computer Science (in the field of Computer Science), representing the concentration of Artificial Intelligence. It turns out that this person is also a field member of Mechanical Engineering, but that’s ok – on the special committee form, they’ll be listed as representing Computer Science.  For your third committee member, you’re trying to decide between two faculty: one who is only a member of Mechanical Engineering (ME), and another who is only a member of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).  You can pick either one! If you pick the person who is only a member of ME as your third committee member, you just have to make sure that they represent any of the ME concentrations that isn’t dynamics and controls.  If you pick the ECE faculty, they can represent any of the ECE concentrations on your committee (since ECE has no dynamics and controls concentration).  Or – you can actually pick both and have a committee of four members (or even more) – three members is just the minimum.  The only thing you are not allowed to do is to pick a committee where you have three members all representing ME /AE, or a committee where you have the chair and another member both representing the same concentration.

The same goes for students in AE and TAM, and also for MS students in ME, except that MS students do not need to worry about a third committee member (unless they want one).

How can you tell which faculty are members of which field?  Just check the field rosters.  The one for the MAE-associated fields are linked in the navigation menus, above.  For all other fields, go to: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/admissions/degrees-fields/cugradfos/

Assembling the Special Committee for Robotics Students

The special committee for a robotics Ph.D. student consists of a chair, who will be the thesis advisor in the final composition of the committee, along with at least one member for each of two minor subjects, who are the minor advisors. The student decides whom to ask to be on their committee. The committee chair must be a member of the graduate field that the student is enrolled in.

One of the two minors must be done in the field in which the student is enrolled, i.e. a robotics Ph.D. student in the ME field must complete a minor in the ME subject and a robotics student in AE field must complete a minor in the AE subject. This requirement ensures the disciplinary technical depth of the student in their chosen field. The second minor may be chosen from any field at Cornell. A minor subject typically involves two to four graduate level courses determined by the minor advisor in consultation with the student. Required courses may count toward a minor. The role of each minor subject is to enhance the exposure of the student to the subject, in breadth or in depth, beyond the courses that would generally be included as part of the major program of study. At least one minor should be entirely satisfied by courses different from the required robotics Ph.D. courses. No course may be used to count simultaneously towards two minors.

These rules (along with the general AE/ME rules) can be interpreted as follows:

1. The chair of your special committee must be a member of the field that you matriculated in. Your chair must be selected as representing the Robotics concentration within the Robotics Subject of that field on the special committee.
2. Your second committee member must represent the subject of the same name as your field.  That is, a student in the AE field must have the second committee member represent any concentration in the AE subject, and a student in the ME field must have the second committee member represent any concentration in the ME subject.  This committee member may be a member of the robotics program, but on the special committee, they must represent the subject of the same name as your field.  The second committee member must represent a concentration that is not Robotics.
3. The third member of the special committee must represent a different subject and concentration from both the first two committee members.

A practical example: You matriculate in the Robotics program in the Mechanical Engineering field.  You match with your advisor, who is an ME field member affiliated with the robotics program, and set them as your committee chair in student center, representing the Robotics concentration. For your second committee member, you select another ME field member and set them as your second committee member, representing the concentration of dynamics and control systems under the ME subject. For your third committee member, you are trying to decide between a faculty member who is a member of both ME and AE, and a different faculty member who is a member only of the CS field.  You can choose either one! If you go with the first option (the faculty member who is in both ME and AE) then on your committee, they must represent the AE subject and a concentration that is not dynamics and controls.  If you go with the CS field member, they can represent any concentration in CS.

Flowchart

All of the above can be confusing.  To add to the confusion, here’s a flowchart of the whole process:

Additional and Ad-Hoc Committee Members

Your committee may have as many members as you’d like beyond the minimum requirement (3 for PhD and 2 for MS).  The primary committee members must be members of a graduate field. If you are unsure whether a person you wish to serve on your committee belongs to any graduate fields, go to https://gradschool.cornell.edu/admissions/degrees-fields/cugradfos/, select ‘Filter by Faculty’ under the search-box on the right-hand side, and enter the last name of the person of interest.  If no results come up (or if only results for other people with the same last name appear) then this person is not currently a member of any graduate field.  Note that this is very rare for tenured or tenure-track faculty, except for when they are just starting at Cornell, but is fairly common for adjunct, visiting, and teaching faculty. However: this person can still be on your committee as an ad-hoc committee member. Similarly, anyone not at Cornell can also be an ad-hoc committee member.  Ad-hoc committee members are added via different process than regular committee members.  To ad an ad-hoc member, you must fill out the Ad Hoc Member Request Form, which can be found on the Graduate School’s Forms page: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/forms/.

In summary: as you are constructing your committee, 3 of the members (for PhD, 2 for MS) must be members of some graduate field at Cornell. Additional Cornell faculty who are members of some graduate field can be added as additional minor members using the same process.  Faculty at Cornell or elsewhere who are not members of any graduate field can be added as ad-hoc members by filling out the request form.

Changing Your Special Committee

You are allowed to change your special committee members throughout your degree program. Details on committee change rules are given by the graduate school here: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academic-progress/requirements/changing-your-committee/