Welcome to the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is the largest department at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, boasting internationally renowned faculty members, advanced research equipment, and the considerable resources offered by a great university.
The department is comprised of three academic divisions: electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science—each conducting important, groundbreaking research, each offering undergraduate and graduate degrees.
At Northwestern, we have woven electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science together into a cohesive unit. This powerful combination enhances interdisciplinary collaboration among students and faculty members, creating research opportunities that cross traditional boundaries.
Read a message from the chair
Quick facts about the department
Academic Divisions
Electrical Engineering division
The electrical engineering division explores and develops new ideas in areas such electronic circuits, solid-state electronics, electromagnetics, optics, lasers, controls, digital signal processing, communications, and networks.
Computer Engineering division
The computer engineering division studies and contributes to significant advances in a number of areas, including digital logic, electronic circuits, computer architecture, robotics, operating systems, and parallel computing.
Computer Science division
The computer science division researches and develops new ideas in all areas of computer science: operating systems; compilers; databases; networking; distributed systems; parallel systems; image-based modeling and rendering; intelligent systems and problem-solving education; computer graphics; and theoretical computer science.
Research
Faculty members in the department associate with six research interest groups, which span across the academic divisions:
- Cognitive Systems
- Computer Engineering and Systems
- Computing, Algorithms, and Applications
- Graphics and Interactive Media
- Signals and Systems
- Solid State and Photonics
Collaborative research is also conducted by our groups and labs and research centers and within each academic division: electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science. Please explore our technical reports for important research papers published within this department.
Undergraduate Programs
Explore special programs in the department, including undergraduate honors, certificates and minors, internship opportunities, and study abroad.
Graduate Programs
PhD candidates may elect to participate in the Crown Family Graduate Internship Program. Computer science PhD students may earn a specialization in cognitive science by taking six cognitive science courses.
Affiliated Programs
 | Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence |
full/part-time | Master of Science in Information Technology |
| Master of Science in Robotics |
EECS PhD Applicant deadline
Deadline for 2018 admissions was Dec 15, 2017.
Academic Openings
We currently have open academic positions in:
Computer Science
We augment the analytical core of engineering with design, entrepreneurship, leadership, personal development, and unusual collaborations to imagine what's next and take the world in a whole new direction.