To allow for physical distancing, spaces for in person and on campus classes will be limited. When course enrollment opens, you will register for one modality among the choices for a particular course and you will remain in that modality for the duration of the semester. Most in person courses will offer a “remote” option to accommodate the needs of in person students when they cannot come to campus because, for example, they are in quarantine. If you register for the in person option but at some point need a “remote” option for a limited period of time, that should be available to you. Your course enrollment instructions will include more details about these issues.
Several non-academic factors might complicate mid-semester travel to Ithaca as well. Once you receive your visa, you still need to travel to Ithaca and, once you arrive, you may need to quarantine for 14 days (changed to 10-day quarantine on 1/6/21) depending on what public health requirements are in effect at that time.
According to Cornell’s International Services office, current students should be able to return to Ithaca, assuming there are no travel restrictions. For incoming students, it is less clear. International Services is working to answer that question. Please review their FAQ and direct any immigration-related questions to them.
Academic progress can be course-based or research-based. Students should be able to make course-based progress regardless of whether they are on campus or at another location, assuming they have reliable access to the internet. Most courses, including in person courses, will have a remote modality
Research-based progress may depend on the type of research. Students should discuss whether it is possible to make progress remotely with their special committee chair and committee members as appropriate.
For research degree students who are outside of the United States, specific eligibility criteria govern whether they can be funded through an assistantship. Cornell’s Office of Global Learning is examining this. Please check the International Services FAQ for updates to these criteria.
For incoming doctoral students, this is a context-dependent question. Incoming doctoral students should be in touch with their graduate field. Some graduate doctoral programs are course-based in the first year. These courses may be online only or hybrid (in person and remote). For those programs, there will may be no problem with choosing the remote option from a course standpoint, but assistantships may not be available to incoming graduate students. Cornell’s Global Learning office is working to clarify this; current restrictions are described on the Graduate School website, but may be updated in the coming weeks.
In other programs, such as many in the life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering, the first year is geared towards research. Students often engage in lab rotations with different faculty PIs for six to eight weeks. Students in these programs move from one advisor in one lab to another advisor in another lab every six to eight weeks throughout the first academic year.
Over the course of these rotations, students and faculty become acquainted. By the end of the first year, students are equipped to select an advisor, and the advisor can select the students to be their advisees. Graduate fields with this type of rotation are best experienced in person for the research component during fall semester and/or spring semester.
Given the differences in how fields structure their first year, it’s best to be in touch with your graduate field to discuss your options.
If you are interested in graduating early, your main consideration will likely be whether required courses will be available to you in Fall 2020. Under normal circumstances, there is no guarantee that all courses will occur in the fall. Under these pandemic conditions, Cornell is trying to offer as many courses as possible, but a required course may not be available. When course enrollments starts, review the available courses and talk to your graduate field.
The university’s campus use guidance is that if activities can be conducted remotely, you are encouraged to conduct them remotely. If there is a real need for an in-person committee meeting, that could occur if everyone has completed the required Daily Check before coming to campus, and appropriate behaviors are followed in the meeting, including social distancing, wearing masks, etc. Most committee meetings, however, should be able to be conducted remotely, and for required meetings, like A exams and B exams, the Graduate School supports them being done remotely.
