• Graduate Programs
  • MEng in Civil & Environmental Engineering
    • Environmental Processes
    • Environmental Fluid Mechanics & Hydrology
    • Environmental & Water Resource Systems
    • Geotechnical Engineering
    • Transportation Systems Engineering
    • Structural Engineering
  • MEng in Engineering Management
  • M.S./Ph.D. Program
    • Civil Infrastructure Systems
    • Environmental & Water Resources Systems Engineering
    • Environmental Processes
    • Environmental Fluid Mechanics & Hydrology
    • Geotechnical Engineering
    • Remote Sensing
    • Structural Engineering
    • Transportation Systems Engineering
  • How To Apply
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Geotechnical Engineering

Graduate education in Geotechnical Engineering through the M.Eng. program prepares students for diverse careers in professional practice. The program of study is broadly based, with an emphasis on understanding soil and rock as engineering materials and how they behave as construction materials, supporting media for structures, host media for facilities such as tunnels, and structures in themselves such as dams. A balanced perspective is maintained between theory and practice, laboratory and field, current practice and future directions. The program involves a full complement of courses, including foundation engineering, retaining structures and slopes, soil behavior, geo-environmental engineering, soil dynamics, rock engineering, advanced foundations, embankment dam engineering, and various special topics. The design projects for geotechnical students are chosen to involve a significant current project in which geotechnical problems play a critical role in project delivery. Geotechnical students work closely with structural engineering students to develop an interdisciplinary approach and experience the atmosphere and professional interactions of a real design office. The Geotechnical Engineering Group operates the Cornell Large Displacement Lifelines Testing Facility, which is a cutting-edge research laboratory that is part of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). NEES is a nationwide resource of advanced research equipment sites networked through the high performance Internet. It uses state-of-the-art experimental and numerical simulation capabilities to understand the behavior of critical facilities under complex loadings, and to test and validate the analytical and computer models needed for effective engineering. The Geotechnical Group also plays a prominent role in the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, supported by NSF and New York State, which is focused on the development of advanced technologies to mitigate the effects of earthquakes, natural hazards, and human threats (Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). Past projects in the Geotechnical Engineering area have included:

• Tomorrow Square Plaza, Shanghai, China
• 30 Hudson Street: Goldman Sachs Building, New York
• Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Project

For additional information, see:
Master of Engineering (CEE) Handbook
Geotechnical Engineering proposal form