Engineering Degree Options

physics students work in the lab

If you know you want to study engineering but aren't sure which degree option is the best fit for you, that's not a problem. You can work with faculty, your academic advisor, and the career coaches at the Berry Career Institute to determine your terminal degree. Cornell students choose from a variety of options, including a single major, a double major, or a major with a minor. That can all be worked out once you've been on campus and spent some time exploring your options. 

Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.)

  • Major in engineering

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

If you have an interest in engineering, you could earn your B.A. with one or some combination of majors and minors.

  • Major in engineering sciences

Bachelor of Special Studies (B.S.S.)

Or you could create your own individualized degree. A B.S.S. gives you the opportunity to design your own degree. Often, but not always, a B.S.S. is an interdisciplinary field of study that you develop with the advice of your academic advisor. You might decide to be an aerospace engineering major, a biomedical engineering major, or something entirely unique to your career goals. 

Accreditation Logo

The Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) was established in 2017 and is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor and master degree levels. ABET accreditation is designed to assure students, employers and society that a program meets the quality standards that produce graduates prepared to enter a global workforce.