Program Statistics
Visit Master's Program Statistics and PhD Program Statistics for statistics such as program admissions, enrollment, student demographics and more.
Mechanical Engineering
Degree Types: PhD, MS
The Department of Mechanical Engineering prepares graduates for careers in industry, research, and academia. With its collaborations across departments and institutions, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University educates the engineers of the future while conducting leading-edge research in robotics and autonomy, biosystems and health, AI and design, advanced manufacturing, micro/nanoengineering, energy and sustainability, and computational engineering.
Led by award-winning educators, our MS program is designed to provide students with advanced technical knowledge as well as exposure to research at the cutting edge of today's technology. Our MS degree puts graduates on the fast track for a career in a broad range of industries or serves as a springboard for PhD and post-doctoral studies.
The PhD program focuses on the discovery of new knowledge and technologies. Doctoral students are expected not only to pursue a rigorous course of study, but also to demonstrate scholarly distinction by advancing the state of knowledge in their chosen fields of research.
Additional resources:
Program Contact
Contact Pat Dyess
Program Assistant
847-491-7190
Degree Requirements
The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.
Master's
Total Units Required: 12
(At least five courses excluding MECH_ENG 499-0 Projects/MECH_ENG 512-0 Seminar/MECH_ENG 590-0 Research must be 400-level)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Unless doing MS with a Specialization, at least one course each from four of the eight subareas: Solids, Fluids/Thermodynamics/Energy, Dynamics/Controls, Design/Manufacturing/Tribology, MEMS/Nanotechnology, Biomedical/Biology, Mathematics/Sciences, Engineering Management | |
| MS with Thesis | |
MECH_ENG 590-0 | Research (3 units) |
MECH_ENG 512-0 | Seminar (must be taken in all quarters of full-time registration) |
400-level courses (5 units) | |
Departmental, MECH_ENG courses listed in graduate handbook (5 units) | |
| MS Non-Thesis | |
400-level courses (5 units) | |
Departmental, MECH_ENG courses listed in graduate handbook (7 units) | |
Other MS Degree Requirements
- Examinations: addresses research project
- Research/Projects: research report on topic of interest to both student and advisor
Degree Requirements
The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.
PhD
Total Units Required: 15
A total of fifteen (15) course units (excluding project/research units) are required towards the PhD. Nine (9) course units within this 15 course units must satisfy the MS course requirements (including breadth requirement and minimum number of ME/core courses). At least one half (1/2) of the credited course units satisfying the post-MS requirement must be 400-level or above courses.
Registration and regular attendance at the non-credit MECH_ENG 512-0 Seminar is required for all quarters. Registration for the non-credit MECH_ENG 513-0 Professional Essentials is required for one quarter within the first two years.
Other PhD Degree Requirements
- Examinations: research qualification exam and dissertation proposal exam prior to admission to candidacy
- Research/Projects: research of publishable quality, in close cooperation with faculty advisor, as basis for PhD dissertation
- PhD Dissertation: based on research projects
- Final Evaluations: oral presentation of dissertation to candidate's advisory committee