Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering (BEE)
PhD in Biological and Environmental Engineering
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition waiver + 12-month living stipend (~$43,000–$46,000/yr) + Cornell health insurance guaranteed through Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) or Teaching Assistantships (TA).
Fall Priority Deadline: December 1
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT (Writing 20, Listening 15, Reading 20, Speaking 22) or IELTS 7.0
MS in Biological and Environmental Engineering (Thesis)
100% Full Funding on Thesis Track!
Funding Reality: Cornell BEE provides full GRA/TA funding (tuition + stipend) for accepted research-thesis MS students! One of the few top Ivy institutions to fully fund MS thesis students.
Application Deadline: December 1
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (2 Profiles)
Prof. Scott Steinschneider
Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He fuses physical watershed physics with artificial intelligence to predict extreme river floods and help water managers make smart decisions under climate uncertainty.
Core Research Topics: Hydroclimatology, differentiable hydrologic modeling, machine learning for watershed prediction, flood risk design, stochastic weather generation, water resources management.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Recent 2026 papers: 'An argument for parsimony in differentiable hydrologic models' (HESS, August 2026) and 'Deep learning error post-processing improves stochastic watershed modeling' (Journal of Hydrology, May 2026). Recipient of ASCE Editor's Choice Award for climate-adaptive water systems planning.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Differentiable hydrology models (PyTorch/JAX), deep learning neural networks, stochastic weather generators, spatial GIS watershed processing, Python/R.
Recruiting Context: Rapidly expanding research group with active NSF and NOAA grants. Extremely high match for students with GIS, hydrology, and Python skills.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyFlood ModelingGeoAIGISPython
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Referencing his August 2026 HESS paper on differentiable hydrologic modeling and deep learning for watersheds, presenting your background in GIS spatial analysis and hydrological studies."
Prof. M. Todd Walter
Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering; Director, New York State Water Resources Institute
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He maps exactly where rainwater saturates the ground and turns farmland into rushing muddy streams, pinpointing the exact spots where fertilizers and chemicals leak into rivers.
Core Research Topics: Watershed hydrology, variable source area (VSA) flood hydrology, pollutant transport, agricultural runoff, water quality modeling, GIS hydrological terrain modeling.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Director of the New York State Water Resources Institute. Pioneer of Variable Source Area (VSA) hydrology; developed VSA-SWAT model integrating GIS topography to predict exactly where saturation-excess flooding and agricultural nutrient runoff occur in watersheds.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: SWAT hydrologic model, topographic wetness index (TWI) in GIS, field water quality sampling, nutrient water testing, Python/R.
Recruiting Context: Directs state water institute with steady state and federal funding for graduate students.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyFlood ModelingGISEnvironmental PollutionWater Quality
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your experience with GIS terrain analysis and spatial hydrology applied to variable source area flood generation and agricultural watershed pollution."
Departmental Unit № 2
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)
PhD in Geological Sciences / Atmospheric Sciences
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Tuition waiver + 12-month stipend (~$44,000/yr) + health insurance.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 1
GRE Policy: Not required
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 100 or IELTS 7.0
MS in Geological Sciences (Thesis)
Funded on Research Track
Funding Reality: Thesis MS students funded via research assistantships.
Application Deadline: January 1
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Matthew Pritchard
Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He uses satellite radar from space to measure the ground sinking by mere millimeters, revealing where cities and farmlands are pumping out too much underground drinking water.
Core Research Topics: Satellite radar remote sensing (InSAR), groundwater subsidence, surface deformation, wetland and ice hydrology, geodetic imaging.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Science team member for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite mission. Uses spaceborne radar interferometry (InSAR) to measure millimeters of ground sinking caused by excessive groundwater pumping and wetland drainage.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: InSAR radar processing (ISCE, MintPy), Sentinel-1 SAR, NISAR satellite data, GPS geodesy, Python spatial workflows.
Recruiting Context: Leader in satellite radar remote sensing; active NASA grant recipient for NISAR.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingGISHydrologyGeosciencePython
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Expressing keen interest in satellite radar remote sensing (InSAR) for monitoring groundwater withdrawal and surface subsidence, highlighting your GIS and satellite workflow experience."