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.

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Quick facts about the department

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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