The electrical engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.Academics / UndergraduateElectrical Engineering Major (BS)
Electrical engineering broadly encompasses disciplines such as solid-state devices, optics, signal processing, control, and communications that underlie much of the technology used in modern society. With this background, electrical engineers are well positioned to contribute to solving a variety of key engineering challenges facing society.
The ABET-accredited bachelor of science degree program in electrical engineering at Northwestern University distinguishes itself from others by emphasizing small class sizes and close interactions between, and among, students and faculty—a learning environment that is rare in undergraduate electrical engineering programs.
The curriculum includes courses in electronic circuits, solid-state electronics, electromagnetics, optics, lasers, controls, digital signal processing, communications, and networks. Our goal is to educate students in the fundamentals and applications of electrical engineering through a curriculum that allows sufficient flexibility for students to pursue their individual interests.
Areas of Specialization
Students are required to take technical electives, which they can use to tailor the program to a particular area of specialization by selecting courses from the following tracks:
- Biomedical systems
- Circuits and electronics
- Communications systems
- Control systems
- Digital signal processing
- Electromagnetics and photonics
- Solid-state engineering
Curriculum ABET Objectives Apply Now
Introduction to Electrical Engineering
Northwestern students who are interested in changing their major, or simply sampling the field of electrical engineering, can take individual introductory courses.
Learn more about introductory courses
Career Paths
Our undergraduate program gives students skills that are broadly applicable to many career paths, including jobs in system design and specification, university teaching and research, management, cost analysis, sales, consulting, production, and quality control.
Recent graduates are working for AT&T, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Goldman Sachs, and Boeing, among others. Graduates of the program are also accepted into graduate programs at some of the most prestigious universities in the world, including MIT.