Megan Hill, MSE '15 in the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) in Duffield Hall

Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research in engineering is defined as mentored investigations conducted by undergraduate students that seek to expand the boundaries of knowledge and contribute to the engineering community.

Why get involved in undergraduate research?

Research can enhance the undergraduate experience by allowing students to take the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom and apply them to real situations.

It affords students the opportunity to interact closely with faculty and, in many instances, to develop valuable industry connections. When involved in research, students will also find themselves working with peers who share their passion for learning. 

Learning more about undergraduate research at Cornell:

Please review the following pages for advice tailored for undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Engineering. To learn more about ongoing research topics in the College of Engineering, explore department and faculty web sites.

Getting Started in Undergraduate Research

Additional Resources

In addition to the resources provided here, we encourage you to check out an overview of undergraduate research at Cornell and guidance on getting started through the University's central Office of Undergraduate Research.

If you are an enrolled student, be sure to visit the Research Module within the Career Development Toolkit as well. To access the Toolkit, you can self-enroll. If you are already enrolled and want to dive in, jump to the course. In canvas you can also go to Courses > All Courses > Browse More Courses to search for the Toolkit.