Undergraduate Study
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Student Groups
Existing Student Groups

Below is a list of existing student groups at Northwestern Engineering.

To get involved, reach out to the group directly or contact Ellen Worsdall, assistant dean for student affairs, in the Office of Undergraduate Engineering, at 847-491-5173 or e-worsdall@northwestern.edu.

Learn how to start or continue a student group at McCormick

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McCormick Student Advisory Board
Departmental Groups
Design Groups
Special Interest Groups
Honor Societies

McCormick Student Advisory Board (MSAB)

The McCormick Student Advisory Board (MSAB) is composed of representatives from each class in engineering and from approved McCormick organizations. It is the recognized representative body of undergraduate engineering students and as such serves as a link between the students and the faculty and administration. It encourages and coordinates the activities of engineering students and student groups, and it improves the McCormick experience to help students expand their potential and achieve success.

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Departmental Groups

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

Joining AIChE is a great way to meet your classmates and to learn more about career and graduate school opportunities in chemical engineering. Join us for short technical talks, plant tours, social events, and other activities. For further information please contact aiche@northwestern.edu.

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Our mission is to create a more informed and involved Civil Engineering community by providing opportunities to apply and further refine technical skills, increasing student and faculty interactions, and preparing students to enter the professional engineering industry. For further information please contact asce@northwestern.edu.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

ASME allows students to interact with practicing mechanical engineering professionals, providing the opportunity to network, develop skills, and learn together. At Northwestern, students also learn from faculty, creating a community around mechanical engineering that enables skill sharing and mentoring within the field as well as cross-collaboration with other student groups. Additionally, ASME serves to inform students of career opportunities directly related to the field of mechanical engineering and connect students, professors, and professionals in order to relate classroom knowledge to industry applications. For further information please contact asme@northwestern.edu.

Biomedical Engineering Society (BME'S)

We are the Northwestern chapter of the national Biomedical Engineering Society (BME'S). Our mission is to connect students to resources relevant to their academic and career pursuits, whether they be in research, industry, academia, or medicine and through it develop a strong community on this campus.

EnvEUS

EnvEUS fosters community in the environmental engineering department, promotes collaboration, assists in networking, and provides knowledge of potential career paths. Students are also given the opportunity to put classroom skills to practical use by participating in competitions and projects focused on environmental sustainability.

MatSci Club

MatSci Club is the undergraduate governing body for the materials science and engineering department. We aim to support community among our students and faculty through projects and social events. Additionally, MatSci Club also offers skill-building events, a mentorship program, and several k-12 outreach opportunities.

Northwestern Concrete Canoe

Concrete Canoe is affiliated with the American Society for Civil Engineering. The group provides an opportunity to design, construct and race a functional concrete canoe. With our first competition taking place early spring quarter, we spend the entire seven months leading up testing materials and casting our canoe. Our mission is to familiarize team members to engineering processes that help develop and hone skills and knowledge applicable to real world situations. For further information, please contact asce@northwestern.edu.

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Design Groups

Design for America (DFA)

Design for America’s vision is a world where people believe in their ability to innovate and tackle the most ill-structured challenges of our time. Our mission is to develop a pipeline of leaders of innovation and create social impact through the implementation of DFA projects.

NU Robotics Club

NU Robotics is a student-run organization that sponsors a multitude of engineering focused projects. Our mission is to develop a core community of undergraduate student builders interested in robotics and unifying them across majors. The projects range from technical research projects to start-up ideas to yearly competitions. We welcome every type of student and hold workshops during the fall to teach and provide hands-on experience to newcomers, so students from all over can join the build! Email nurobotics@u.northwestern.edu for more information.

NU Solar Decathlon

NU Solar Decathlon is a collaborative, multidisciplinary team in which students work with Northwestern faculty and industry professionals in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) industry to design sustainable solutions to some of the toughest challenges surrounding the built environment, all while gaining valuable design experience. Throughout the project, participants learn how to utilize and apply architectural principles, engineering software and formulas, and building science theories to address critical issues relating to climate change, affordability, and environmental justice.

The Studio

The Studio is an industrial design club that aims to foster the design community at Northwestern by connecting design-interested students and supporting the development of core design skills.

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Special Interest Groups

Baja SAE Racing Team

Baja SAE is an intercollegiate design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Teams of students from universities all over the world design and build small off-road cars. The goal in Baja SAE racing is to design, build and race off-road vehicles that can withstand the harshest elements of rough terrain. Each team competes in a variety of dynamic events including an endurance race, maneuverability course, sled pull, hill climb, acceleration event, and more! Cars also compete in a variety of static events including design judging, sales presentation, cost report, and others.

Blockchain Group

Northwestern University's Blockchain Group focuses on fostering an active blockchain technology ecosystem at Northwestern and the Chicago area. We work towards this vision by organizing speaker events that feature leaders in the industry, working on portfolio-worthy technical and non-technical blockchain projects, and collaborating with enterprises to empower our ecosystem.

Develop + Innovate for Social Change (DISC)

DISC is working to ignite a new generation of leaders working at the intersection of technology and social impact, expand the use of technology as a force for good, and build a more socially responsible tech industry. DISC partners students interested in tech with local non-profits to create technical solutions for good.

Engineering World Health (EWH)

EWH Northwestern is part of a larger national organization. EWH works with university-based biomedical engineers, industry professionals, charities that manage donated medical equipment, the international health community, and developing countries to combine innovation in appropriate technology with direct support to medical technology management, maintenance, and repair.

Global Engineering Brigades

Northwestern Global Brigades aims to bring aid to the deserving regions of Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua and Ghana through sustainable infrastructure development. We send Brigades over the major breaks to design, build and implement major infrastructure projects such as running water systems and public health systems. On campus students take part in education, professional development and fundraising events while being surrounded by a community of global leaders.

Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)

The Northwestern chapter of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers strives to improve the IEMS student experience by fostering community, providing academic & career services, and serving as the department liaison between administration and students. We work to coordinate activities for students in order to better their academic, career, and social lives here as Industrial Engineering undergrads and facilitate communication with the rest of the department in order to do so. Examples of the things we do for the IE undergrad community are: coordinating mentoring pairings between upperclassmen and underclassmen, holding dinners for our professors and students, and coordinating workshops and intramural sports teams for the department. For further information please contact ieundergrad@u.northwestern.edu.

Medical Makers

The purpose of Medical Makers is to innovate, design, and build medical devices that serve unmet clinical needs. In the past years, we established a strong relationship with Chicago’s Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a not-for-profit nationally top-ranked rehabilitation center. While no prior knowledge or skills are needed to join Medical Makers, the club aims to help members learn numerous critical skills for future employment in design, engineering, research, and leadership. By joining Medical Makers you’ll have the ability to working on real-life problems, have interactions with clients, and the opportunity to access executive positions. For further information please contact northwesternmedicalmakers@gmail.com.

National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

NSBE is a national professional organization with the mission to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community. At Northwestern, we have bi-weekly general meetings at 5:30pm, study tables every Sunday, and other social/networking events. To join, contact nsbe@u.northwestern.edu.

Northwestern’s Financial Technologies Club (NUFT)

Northwestern’s Financial Technologies Club works to improve the quality of fintech and quant finance opportunities at NU. To this end, NUFT runs an advanced simulation Quant Firm, maintains a sophisticated exchange simulation, and supports a number of pre-professional, social, and networking events for members. For further information see https://nu-fintech.web.app/ or drop us a line on WC or through our email nuft@u.northwestern.edu.

Northwestern Formula Racing

We design, build, test, and race an open-wheel formula-style car every year, competing at the international level against more than 125 collegiate teams from around the world. For further information please contact nfr@u.northewestern.edu.

Northwestern Solar Car Team (NUSOLAR)

The Northwestern Solar Car Team (NUsolar) is a student led organization where students design, manufacture and race fully electric, solar powered vehicles. Our aim is to provide students with an outlet to apply and develop their engineering, leadership and management skills, while advancing sustainable transportation technology. If you have any questions, please contact us at solar@u.northwestern.edu.

NUSTARS

NUSTARS is an undergraduate student organization at Northwestern University dedicated to participating in the University Student Launch Initiative (Rocketry Division), and the Small Spacecraft Technology Partnership (Near Space Exploration Team, NSET Division) NASA competitions, educating members of the school and the community about STEM fields and topics, and most of all, promoting aerospace, space technology, and space-related careers.

oSTEM

oSTEM aims to address the need for an LGBTQIA+ group with a STEM-specific focus within the Northwestern University undergraduate community. While our primary mission is to create a safe community for LGBTQIA+ individuals, we are also strongly committed to intersectionality as an organizing principle, and we therefore aim to actively center those who have been historically underrepresented in STEM and STEM-adjacent fields due to their gender, gender identity, sexual identity, racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other part of their identity, both established and questioning. If you have any questions, please contact us at ostem@u.northwestern.edu or follow us on instagram @nu_ostem.

Pioneers of Interactive Entertainment (PIE)

Pioneers of Interactive Entertainment (PIE) is Northwestern University's chapter of the International Game Developers Association. We run game tutorials, host game jams, and provide students with the resources to make their very own video games.

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)

Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)

SASE is a national organization that is dedicated to advancing Asian heritage scientific and engineering professionals in education and employment. Additionally, SASE encourages members to contribute to the enhancement of the communities in which they live. SASE at Northwestern University is open to all races, majors, and genders and serves the community through hosting community service events, career development events, and social events.

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a nationally recognized professional, educational, and service organization dedicated to supporting women in science and engineering. We aim not only to empower our members to fulfill their full potential as engineers and leaders, but also to inspire the next generation of engineers through STEM outreach programs.

Theme Park Engineering and Design Club (TPED)

TPED provides theme park enthusiasts from ALL academic majors a fun interdisciplinary space to pursue their passion for themed entertainment. TPED is a platform for members to further their professional development and delve deeper into this unique field of interest by focusing on three main areas: collaborating on themed entertainment design projects and competitions, learning from and networking with professionals in the themed entertainment industry via talks, workshops, and conferences, and creating opportunities to discover and hone industry-related skills.

If you are a designer, artist, engineer, musician, programmer, or literally any person who's interested in making memorable themed experiences, join us!

Women in Computing (WiC)

The mission of the student organization Women in Computing (WiC) is to provide an academic, social, and pre-professional network to help connect and support undergraduate and graduate females interested in computer science and related fields at Northwestern University. We aim to foster a community that celebrates women in technology, enrich the academic experience of women studying technology and connect women interested in entering the tech industry with potential career opportunities. For further information contact wic@u.northwestern.edu.

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