Cornell Arts Quad in the summer

Prospective students are encouraged to contact members of the Cornell Education Department faculty to discuss their interests and objectives and, if possible, visit Ithaca for a personal interview.

Undergraduate Admission

Applications to the Cornell Teacher Education are accepted from undergraduates majoring in agricultural science education and/or technical agriculture, science or mathematics who have completed at least three semesters of college study, including at least one at Cornell. Review of applications begins October 15 or January 15, and continues until the CTE cohort is full.

Download the undergraduate application

Graduate Admission

Students apply for admission to all departmental programs through the Cornell Graduate School.

To apply online or obtain a paper application: please visit the Cornell Graduate School's application page.

Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose, two letters of recommendation, all college transcripts, and GRE Scores and TOEFL scores for international students. A writing sample is recommended.

Important Messages for Applicants to the Field of Education:

• We are a small department and hence the admission of graduate students is done with great care on an individual basis
• We advise prospective students as best we can giving them useful, relevant information without making promises of funding or admission
• For every candidate, there is a quality assessment judging the qualifications based on personal and professional experiences, test scores and transcripts, and scholarly interests as evidenced in the personal statement
• For every candidate, there is also an assessment of fit with our faculty. This includes an assessment of the relevance of faculty expertise to the applicants research interests, how many current students a faculty member may have, as well as the fit of other students being admitted in any given year
• Only with adequate qualification, adequate fit with at least two faculty members, and faculty being able to take on another student, do we admit a student
• Every year there are high quality candidates that we are unable to admit
• We have limited funding and offer funding only to those with the closest fit to faculty research interests and teaching needs

Helpful Suggestions for Applicants:

• Call, e-mail, or visit Rosemary Hulslander, the Director of Graduate Studies (John Sipple), and relevant faculty members
• Visit the Cornell Campus and the Ithaca area (we can often help with this)
• Prepare for the GRE, and re-take if the scores are not a decent reflection of your abilities. While we have no firm cut score, these are viewed in the context of your entire application
• For M.S. and Ph.D. applicants, in your essay be specific about your research interests and how these interests match those of at least two faculty members
• For Ph.D. applicants, it is important that you share the basis for your research interests in your essay and ground the research interests in the broader research literature
• While personal histories are interesting and important, without specific attention to your research interests it is difficult to assess your research goals for graduate study

Graduate Application Deadlines 

Fall admission: January 15
Spring admission: October 15

Applicants are generally notified of acceptance decisions by early March for fall admission and early December for spring admission.