Hi everybody, I am a rising senior currently in the process of selecting colleges. I am interested in engineering, specifically electrical, mechanical, or aerospace.
I would like to hear from current and former students on what is special about Northwestern Engineering? In other words, what do you think makes Northwestern Engineering unique, in terms of things like academic programs and extracurricular opportunities? How is your overall college experience, as an engineer, at Northwestern?
Also, (I know the answers I get from this are going to be biased), how do you think Northwestern compares to engineering at Cornell, Duke, Rice, and UPenn?
Iâve heard that engineering at different schools have different âstyles.â For example being more entrepreneurial vs being more research-focused. Being more theoretical vs being more âhands-on.â I understand ABET has standards but I want to know what âstyleâ Northwestern is, in terms of student body and spirit.
Some schools also put more emphasis on one department versus another. How does Northwestern treat EE, ME, and AE?
Thanks in advance! 
Having recently attended an engineering information on campus, I can tell you for sure that they do not have a designated AE department. I believe the speaker said that AE falls within ME. The engineering building is HUGE, with hallways designated for each department. Having all engineering classes nearby should be convenient for students and hopefully leads to interdisciplinary collaboration. I would also like to hear more about what current and former students say about the âstyleâ of engineering teaching and spirit of NU, especially as compared to Cornell. Good question!
My daughter was very torn last year between Northwestern and Cornell engineering. She wanted to apply ED to one of them, and it came down to the wire before she decided. In the end, she chose Cornell, but it was mainly due to legacy status and location (we are in NY). The differences we could see were the semester system (Cornell) vs. the quarter system (Northwestern) and the structure of the curriculum. Cornell has a very standard curriculum for the first year and a half for all engineers, with majors being declared only halfway through sophomore year. Northwestern starts out with classes in the major right away, although our tour guide assured us that it was very easy to switch. Other than that, we found the two schools to be very similar. Iâm taking my son ('19) to tour Northwestern in about a month. It will be interesting to see his perception of the school as compared to Cornell, which he has visited many times and loves.
@patatty Students also donât declare their majors until halfway through sophomore year at Northwestern. I think you confused âEngineering Firstâ with majors.
Engineering First was designed to replace the standard/traditional curriculum that has been around for decades and still used by most colleges including Cornell. It has two parts - Engineering Analysis (EA) and Design Thinking & Communication (DTC). EA integrates a number of courses that would be more disparate in other schools (basic programming, linear algebra, differential equations, statics and dynamics, etc.) and students apply them simultaneously to engineering cases. In DTC, students are asked to design real products for industry clients while gaining communication skills in the process.
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/academics/undergraduate/core-curriculum/engineering-first.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2015/05/07/northwesterns-non-linear-approach-to-innovation/#1d4ea354bc4d
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/documents/academics/undergraduate/mccormick-viewbook.pdf
@patatty Thanks for the insight. Although I think applicants are given the option to apply âengineering undeclaredâ to Northwestern as well.
Also, in your or your daughterâs opinion, why is the semester system better than the quarter system? Iâve visited Northwestern and they have us believe the quarter system is superior in that students have more freedom to take different courses 
I now live in NY as well, but I didnât grow up in the northeast so Iâm not a huge fan of the cold and blizzards and all that. But I understand the Chicago-Evanston area where Northwestern is at is in no means warmer than Ithaca.
@IWannaHelp From what Iâve seen, Northwestern really emphasizes its Engineering First and whole brain engineer philosophy. Itâs right on its front page!
In your opinion, is it really that different from a traditional engineering curriculum? What (if youâre a student there) did you gain from it that you think you wouldnât have at a different institution with a traditional curriculum?
Please correct me if Iâm wrong, but I would imagine traditional engineering curriculums teach design and communication just as well? Otherwise graduates from traditional-curriculum colleges will be somehow in a significant disadvantage that would surely be reflected in employment rates and grad school placement, right?
Or is it the case that other institutions have actually implemented very similar approaches as NU but just havenât âmarketedâ themselves as well as northwestern?
Having looked at their program as well as many others, let me share some thoughts on the engineering first.
Most engineering curricula are not going to bring in design and interacting with clients till much later in the program. NU does that right at the beginning. It also integrates writing with these classes, so writing is taught in context of white papers for a new product etc⊠Most schools have separate writing/English classes and do not integrate writing (well) with engineering. Also engineering are required a class on public speaking, which I havenât seen elsewhere.
Engineering Analysis is also quite unique. What happens traditionally is that engineers take Linear Algebra and Diff. Eq. from Maths department, where the focus is more on theory. Then they come to specific classes for their engineering major and they see application of these. This often leads to a disconnect. EA sequence at NU mixes in these Maths topics, Mechanics (often taught as a Physics class), Engineering applications and Matlab programming as one sequence.
Another positive with NU engineering curriculum. Engineers are required 7 quarter-long humanities classes (which is a typical number), but they can have up to 5 of these from a single area. This turns out very helpful if someone wants to double major in, say. Economics.
@osuprof Thanks for your reply!
On a different note, do you or does anybody else know how well regarded NU is in the field of aerospace? I know they donât offer it as a major and they donât have a separate department, but is there a presence of it in mechanical engineering? If so, does it get any attention/funding for faculty and research?
Since I may pursue aerospace in the future and donât want to limit my options. Thanks!
I do not see any undergraduate specialization or graduate program in aeronautical within the mechanical engineering department, so I think NU just hasnât invested in this area.
They donât have a specialization in AU, and this question was asked at an on-campus info sessions where they indicated that their students interested in AU are usually found in ME.
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