The required and recommended courses provide a firm background in materials science.The required and recommended courses provide a firm background in materials science.

Academics
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Undergraduate Study
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Materials Science and Engineering Major (BS Degree)
Curriculum & Requirements

We empower our students to become whole-brain engineers by integrating elements of left-brain thinking (analysis, logic, and math) with the high-level right-brain thinking that fosters intuition and creativity. The required and recommended courses have been selected to give students a broad exposure to various aspects of engineering and a firm background for materials science and engineering.

Undergraduates who are thinking about majoring in materials science and engineering should consider taking one of our introductory electives: MatSci 190 (Fall Quarter) or MatSci 195 (Winter Quarter - request a permission number here). These courses are open to all undergraduates and help students learn about the field of materials science and engineering through hands-on projects in energy materials and electron microscopy. New first-year and transfer students can easily fit MatSci 195 or MatSci 190 into their course schedule (usually in the quarter you are not taking DTC). Check out our Curriculum Planning Resources for more information.

Degree Requirements

An overview of the curriculum for new students starting in the 2026-27 academic year is displayed below. The new engineering core requirement, Engineering Foundations will replace the Engineering Analysis sequence for all McCormick undergraduate degrees. The full curriculum will be published to the Northwestern University Academic Catalog in September 2026.

Engineering Core Requirements (26 units)

  • Mathematics (4 units)
  • Basic sciences (4 units)
  • Engineering Foundations (3 units)
  • Design, Communication, and Innovation (3 units)
  • Social Sciences/Humanities Theme (7 units)
  • Unrestricted electives (5 units)

Major Program Requirements (22 units)

  • Required major courses (16 units)
  • Technical electives (6 units)

2025-2026 Degree Requirements

View the 2025-26 Academic Catalog

Curriculum Planning Resources

Use the downloadable NU-MSE-Four-Year-Plans_2025 to see examples of how to plan your coursework for the MSE Major and create your own four-year plan. The spreadsheet also includes details on the MSE core classes and introductory electives.