GRADUATE

STUDY
WE ARE WHOLE-BRAIN THINKERS
SEEING SIMPLICITY IN THE COMPLEX,
THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SIMPLE.

WE ARE WHOLE-BRAIN ENGINEERS,

BIG-PICTURE THINKERS, REAL-TIME

COLLABORATORS, ALL-OUT INNOVATORS.

WE ARE
TAKING THE
WORLD IN
A WHOLE NEW
DIRECTION.
Driving progress through innovation and leadership.
Turning research into patented processes and
life-changing inventions. Bringing products to market
with smart risk-taking and entrepreneurship.

FIND YOUR DIRECTION HERE.

 Empowering students with
advanced analytical and
problem-solving skills

24
MS PROGRAMS
Analysis. Logic. Synthesis. Math. All are elements
of “left-brain” thinking, all critical to engineering
success. To lead today in a world of change,
engineers require more. They need “right-brain”
skills. Intuition. Metaphorical thinking. Creative
problem solving. At Northwestern Engineering,
we celebrate whole-brain thinking and empower
their future opportunities through career-focused
initiatives and cross-school partnerships that
expand their perspectives and strengthen business
management skills.

Graduate students choose from an array of programs

aligned with their career goals and personal
passions. Master’s degree programs, full- and part-
our students to become whole-brain engineers.
time, are designed to meet ever-changing industry
Master’s and PhD students at Northwestern and research environments. Doctoral programs
Engineering build on that philosophy. They conduct allow students to work side-by-side with world-class
interdisciplinary research and collaboration faculty across disciplines researching advanced
with peers and faculty in other highly ranked topics in engineering.

14
departments. They develop leadership skills inside
and outside the classroom and lab. And they expand see areas of graduate study >

Whichever direction our graduate students take, all

PHD PROGRAMS develop the capacity to change the world for the better
and to lead others to do the same.

OVERVIEW
 RESEARCHERS AND COLLABORATORS

> 20
NORTHWESTERN
BREAKING BARRIERS AND CREATING THE FUTURE

Northwestern Engineering’s more than

200 faculty systematically confront
the world’s most pressing and complex
challenges in systems, materials, health and
wellness, energy, and the environment. Our
CENTERS AND INSTITUTES INCLUDE:

• Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering

• Center for Robotics and Biosystems
• Center for Synthetic Biology
DEPARTMENTS WITH
interdisciplinary collaboration is exemplified • International Institute for Nanotechnology
WHICH WE MAINTAIN by ongoing research initiatives with more
• Materials Research Science and
ONGOING RESEARCH than 20 departments across our extended
Engineering Center
INITIATIVES Northwestern campus and dozens of other
universities and research centers worldwide. • Northwestern-Argonne Institute for
Science and Engineering
While the majority of University research
• Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
funding comes from government sources,
corporate-sponsored research represents • Northwestern University Transportation Center
a growing opportunity for students to innovate • Segal Design Institute
solutions to current challenges in industry.

CAREER-FOCUSED PROFESSIONALS
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS IN BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, AND ACADEMIA

Northwestern Engineering is committed to For doctoral students, Management for

developing students for successful careers Scientists and Engineers, an eight-week
as leaders and researchers in business, summer course drawn from the Kellogg School
industry, and academia. The Engineering Career of Management core MBA curriculum, equips
Development office identifies and works with researchers with the knowledge they need to
students to secure internship opportunities and advance management and leadership skills.
provides other career advancement services,
including full-time employment after graduation.

ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATORS

CHANGING THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER EVERY DAY

Northwestern Engineering students and faculty drive progress through innovation and leadership,
turning research into patented processes and life-changing inventions, bringing products to market
NUVENTION COURSES
through smart risk-taking and entrepreneurship. These endeavors typically account for a majority of
These courses are designed the University’s inventions and faculty startups.
as a visionary academic
partnership created to expand ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESOURCES
upon Northwestern’s excellence • The Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and • The Innovation and New Ventures Office
in interdisciplinary study and to Innovation provides incubators, mentorships, (INVO) advises faculty and students on the
foster a sense of collaboration and seminars and encourages the ongoing development of research with commercial
throughout the University. development of new, interdisciplinary curricula. potential and conducts seminars and
educational programs on entrepreneurship
• NUvention courses engage interdisciplinary
and innovation.
teams from across the University in the
entire innovation and entrepreneurial life • The Garage is an entrepreneurship space
cycle, including the process of transforming for Northwestern students to experiment,
innovations into viable businesses. collaborate, and build their ideas.

OVERVIEW
A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF LEADERS
GAINING EXPERIENCE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOMS AND LAB

The McCormick Graduate Leadership Council These groups include:

(MGLC) helps solidify a graduate student
• Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)
community among the nine departments within
• Chinese Students and Scholars
Northwestern Engineering by organizing social,
Association (CSSA)
academic, and professional activities, and
facilitating communication with administration. • Graduate Student Association for Latino
and Spanish Activities (G-SALSA)
In addition to MGLC, students can also
• Indian Graduate Student and Scholars
participate in the Graduate Student Association,
Association (IGSSA)
department-centered student groups, and other
student associations that promote interactions • International Society for Optics and

among graduate students, provide academic and Photonics (SPIE)

social programs, and serve as student advocates. • Queer Pride Graduate Student
Association (QPGSA)

• Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE)

• Women in Science and Engineering

Research

OVERVIEW
 COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS, AND FAMILIES

12
MILES
LIVING AND LEARNING IN ONE OF THE WORLD’ S
MOST DYNAMIC METROPOLITAN AREAS

Stretching along the shore of spectacular Lake

Michigan, Northwestern’s Evanston campus
provides an environment conducive to serious
shuttle, Northwestern students have easy
access to a variety of professional sports,
music, art, and cultural diversity that the
scholarship and rich in rewarding opportunities nation’s third-largest city offers.
FROM DOWNTOWN
for every lifestyle. Evanston boasts the amenities
CHICAGO Northwestern’s location also means
of a big city in a manageable suburban setting.
unsurpassed access to major corporations,
With Northwestern’s downtown Chicago campus research centers, and other organizations eager
only 12 miles away and readily accessible to engage Northwestern Engineering students in
by public transportation or the intercampus experiential learning, internships, and careers.

OVERVIEW
 MS IN

COMPUTER
SCIENCE
 Transforming the way we
QUICK FACTS
work, play, think, and live
DEGREE EARNED
Master of Science in
Computer Science The Department of Computer Science (CS) at and increasingly important field. Master’s
Northwestern University equips students with the students take the same classes as Northwestern
LOCATION technological expertise to build computer science undergraduates and PhD students, with ample
solutions for a better future and to work with leading opportunity for team projects with Northwestern
Northwestern University’s
Evanston campus researchers through interdisciplinary relationships students and faculty in CS and affiliated programs.
with Northwestern’s top-ranked schools.
Easy access to research and • COURSEWORK includes a tailored
industry partnerships in the Situated within the McCormick School of curriculum in artificial intelligence, human-
Chicagoland area Engineering, CS engages in internationally computer interaction, distributed interactive
recognized computer science research that is systems, theoretical computer science,
TIMING impact-driven and future-focused in areas computer vision, computational optics, and
3–6 quarters including artificial intelligence and machine computational imaging.
learning, computer engineering, human-computer
• RESEARCH may include a multi-quarter
interaction and information visualization,
research project or master’s thesis under the
programming languages, robotics, security and
guidance of a CS faculty member.
privacy, systems and networking, theory, and vision
and graphics. • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT includes
conferences and workshops. Students have
Master’s study within the computer science
full access to Northwestern’s extensive career
department affords students the flexibility to
placement resources.
take courses and participate in research that
aligns with their career aspirations in this growing

MS COMPUTER SCIENCE
CS+X CURRICULUM view more online >

Within the CS+X initiative,

Northwestern actively fosters Full-time students must take three or four PROGRAM PLANNING
ongoing transformational courses per quarter. At least 12 courses are
required to complete the MS program. This The director of the master’s program assists
relationships between computer
can include some units for research work for students in planning their study for each term
science and intersecting
students pursuing a research project or master’s and registering for classes.
fields at Northwestern’s top-
ranked schools. thesis. One or two quarters of approved academic
term internships can be accommodated if the
CS+X activities include: opportunity arises.
• Joint hiring of faculty in
computer science and
intersecting fields
• Joint conferences and CAREER PATHS
workshops
Northwestern computer science graduates are consulting, database and systems analysis,
• Shared cross-functional project
recruited by employers in nearly every industry. data analytics, and financial risk analysis and
classes
The wide range of career options for master’s trading. The program also provides effective
• Shared student and faculty
graduates includes software development preparation for PhD studies.
research opportunities
and engineering, information technology
• Visiting faculty and speakers at
the intersection

MS COMPUTER SCIENCE
 AREAS OF RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning • Robotics
• Computer Engineering • Security and Privacy
(in collaboration with the Electrical and • Systems and Networking
Computer Engineering Department)
• Theory
• Human-Computer Interaction and
• Vision and Graphics
Information Visualization
• Programming Languages

MARCELO WORSLEY
Karr Family Professor and
associate professor of computer FACULTY meet our core faculty >
science
Master’s students tackle today’s critical of computer science research by working with
By including critical computer science problems with faculty CS+X faculty who create interdisciplinary
discussions of the members who have developed new ideas to connections between computer science and
field and authentically achieve results in all aspects of computer fields ranging economics to law to art.
science. Students broaden their definition
collaborating with the
community, we can
develop better designs
and change perceptions
of what is valuable in
computing experiences.”

MS COMPUTER SCIENCE
TIMELINE ADMISSIONS
APPLICATION OPENS Applications and all supplemental materials for Northwestern Engineering’s Admissions
September admission are submitted through the Graduate instructions and the department’s Admissions
School’s online application system. Please view page for more information.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
February 28

RECEIVE DECISION
ON A ROLLING BASIS:
If applied by November 30, APPLICATION CHECKLIST
receive decision by January 10
If applied by December 31,
ONLINE APPLICATION
receive decision by February 10
If applied by February 28,
RÉSUMÉ OR CV
receive decision by April 30

ACADEMIC STATEMENT
ACCEPT OFFER
June ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPTS

PROGRAM BEGINS TWO OR THREE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

September
TOEFL SCORES/IELTS SCORES (if applicable)

PREFERENCES FOR AREA OF STUDY

OPTIONAL SUPPORTING MATERIALS

START YOUR
APPLICATION > APPLICATION FEE

PLEASE DO NOT SEND HARD COPIES OF MATERIALS.

NEXT STEPS FINANCIAL AID

MORE INFO To ensure our graduate students can fund their The Evanston Office of Graduate Financial Aid
education regardless of personal financial assists with these funding processes.
cs.northwestern.edu
circumstances, Northwestern Engineering
gradfinaid@northwestern.edu >
QUESTIONS provides opportunities for access to a variety of
federal and private loan and funding options. view funding resources >
ms-admissions@cs.northwestern.edu

MS COMPUTER SCIENCE