Students from the McCormick School of Engineering pursue a wide range of careers, advanced study, and experiences after graduation. Explore some of these career and academic pathways by major.
Students who earn a bachelor of science in applied mathematics leave the program ready to apply mathematical ideas, modeling, and techniques to problems that arise in a variety of fields. On average, 40 percent of our graduates move on to graduate study while the rest move into employment, applying their knowledge in areas such as engineering, science, finance, business management, law, technology, or medicine.
Abbott, Accenture, Amazon, BlackRock, Barclays Capital, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Google, John Deere, JP Morgan Chase, McKinsey, Microsoft, Navistar, Northrop-Grumman, Qualtrics, United Airlines, X
Cornell; MIT; New York University; Northwestern; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago; University of Southern Carolina
Students who earn a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering learn to apply engineering techniques to the analysis of biological systems, providing full integration of biology and engineering. On average, 40 percent of our graduates move on to graduate/professional school or fellowships, while a majority move into employment in areas such as healthcare, engineering, science, consulting, finance, business, education, government/law, or technology.
AbbVie, Abbott, Apple, AstraZeneca, Baxter, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Boston Consulting Group, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Medtronic, Medline Industries, Medtronic, Northwestern Medicine, William Blair
Case Western Reserve; Columbia University; Cornell University; Duke University; Johns Hopkins University; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Wisconsin-Madison
Students who earn a bachelor of science in chemical engineering learn to solve practical problems that involve chemistry and biochemistry, as well as the composition or structure of materials. Graduates with a chemical engineering major pursue careers in many industries, including the pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals, energy, sustainability, consumer products, and consulting industries. Around one-third of our students seek advanced degrees in science and engineering, law, medicine, or business, enrolling in top programs nationwide.
AbbVie, Archer Daniels Midland, Argonne National Labs, Bain & Company, Blue Origin, BP, Deloitte, Dow, Exxon Mobile, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Lanzatech, McKinsey, Moderna, ExxonMobil, Northwestern, PepsiCo, Pfizer, P&G
California Institute of Technology; Cornell University; University of Colorado, Boulder; MIT; Northwestern, Princeton University; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago
Students who earn a bachelor of science in civil engineering learn to plan, design, build, and operate public infrastructure, including roads, airports, bridges, tunnels, water supplies, and power facilities. Recent graduates hold jobs in a wide spectrum of areas, including infrastructure engineering consulting, construction, project management, architecture, energy, and finance. Their positions include project engineers, project managers, field engineers, and designers. The majority of our graduates pursue employment as business analysts, technical consultants, and derivative traders, while around one third continue on to graduate studies in some of the world’s most respected, top-ranked universities.
Amazon, Boeing, Accenture, ARCADIS, Mass Electric Construction, and the National Forest Service
Northwestern, including the Kellogg School of Management; Princeton University; University of Michigan; University of Texas at Austin; Western Kentucky University
Students who earn a bachelor of science in computer engineering explore the design and engineering of computer hardware and software. This area of study synthesizes computer engineering, computer science, and electrical engineering. Our graduates have broad professional employment opportunities in areas including design and management; microchips and computers; application-specific hardware and software systems; and computer-aided design tools for digital, aerospace, defense, and networked systems. Some of our graduates seek advanced degrees at top graduate programs, and many go on to work at some of the largest tech companies in the world.
Accenture, Amazon, Boeing, Capital One, Google, IBM, Intel Tesla, Samsung Semiconductor, Microsoft, McKinsey, NVIDIA, IMC Trading, Hinge, Epic Systems,
California Institute of Technology; Northwestern; Purdue University, University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Irvine School of Law; University of Chicago; University of Florida
Students who earn a bachelor of science in computer science learn to take on the challenges posed by the world of ubiquitous, interactive, networked, multimedia computing. They study core areas including artificial intelligence, game design, human-computer interaction, programming languages, robotics, security, systems, theory, quantum, vision, and visualization, and are also encouraged to explore connections with other fields such as economics, ethics, international security, law, linguistics, medicine, and music.
The majority of our graduates pursue employment in engineering, technology, business, and finance, while others go on to graduate programs at top universities.
Accenture, Adobe, Allstate, Amazon, Apple, Audible, Bain, BOA, Bloomberg, Boeing, Capital One, Caterpillar, Citi, CME Group, Coursera, Deloitte, Disney, Docusign, Door Dash, DRW, EY, Figma, GM, Google, Grainger, IBM, Intuit, JP Morgan Chase, McDonalds, McKinsey, Medtronic, Meta, Microsoft, Motorola Solutions, SpaceX, State Farm, Target, Tesla, TikTok, Uber, United Airlines, Walgreens, Wayfair, YouTube
Carnegie Mellon University; Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern, including the Kellogg School of Management; New York University; Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Southern California, Los Angeles; University of Wisconsin-Madison
Students who earn a bachelor of science in environmental engineering learn to develop and apply scientific and technological knowledge to eliminate or reduce environmental problems. Recent graduates hold positions in the public and private sectors as engineering designers, business analysts, and staff engineers of regulatory agencies, including the EPA. Many of our graduates continue their education in prestigious schools of engineering, law, medicine, public health, and management.
ARCO/Murray, USEPA, EY, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Robinson Engineering, US Army Corps of Engineers
Columbia University; Northwestern; University of California, Berkeley; University of Miami; University of South California, Los Angeles; Yale University
Students who earn a bachelor of science in industrial engineering learn about the design, analysis, implementation, operation, and improvement of complex organizations or systems that provide society’s vital goods and services. Many students go on to pursue graduate study in data science, operations research, law, business, engineering, management science, mathematics, social sciences, and medicine. Other students accept jobs at well-known companies or nonprofit organizations after graduation.
Google, Amazon, United Airlines, Goldman Sachs, JB Hunt, Disney, Spotify, Lurie Children's, Beyond Meat, Capital One, Deloitte, General Motors, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, Microsoft, Unilever, UPS, US Navy, Wayfair
Columbia University; Cornell University; Georgia Tech, Northwestern, including the Kellogg School of Management; London Business School; New York University; University of California; Berkeley; University of Michigan; University of Wisconsin, Madison
Students who earn a bachelor of science in manufacturing and design engineering from McCormick’s Segal Design Institute learn to integrate design and manufacturing processes into an effective system.
This includes all aspects of product realization, from product design to manufacturing technologies to operations.
AbbVie, Accenture, Amazon, Baxter, Deloitte, EY, Ford Motor Company, McKinsey, McMaster-Carr, Meta, Milwaukee Tool, Rubbermaid, Tesla, P&G, Boeing, Pfizer
Dartmouth College; Johns Hopkins; Northwestern; Technische Universiteit Delft; Tufts University; University of California; Berkeley; University of Georgia
Students who earn a bachelor of science in materials science and engineering explore the development of high-technology materials, with an emphasis on the scientific reasons for why materials behave the way they do. Graduates are well prepared to practice as materials scientists and engineers, excel in graduate study, work to advance the field, or apply their knowledge in other areas, including law, medicine, or business.
Blue Origin; Boeing; Ford; GE Aerospace; HEICO; Hitachi; ILC Dover; Intel; McKinsey; NASA; Pratt & Whitney; Samsung; SpaceX; Tesla; Advanced Semiconductor Materials; Advanced Thin Films, Inc.; Cuberg; Epic Systems; Questek Innovations, LLC; S&C Electric; Skiaky, Inc; Unilever; W.L. Gore; Azul 3D; Bain; Capital One; Cardinal Intellectual Property; Discover Financial Services; McMaster-Carr; Nanograf & Volexian (Chicago); Stoicheia
Carnegie Mellon University; Cornell University; Georgia Institute of Technology; Imperial College, London; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Northwestern University; Princeton University; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of Illinois; University of Michigan; University of Oxford
Students who earn a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering study in a rapidly diversifying field that includes areas such as advanced manufacturing, ai and design, biosystems and health, computational engineering, energy and sustainability, micro- and nanoengineering, and robotics and autonomy. Our graduates go on to careers in both industry and academia.
SpaceX, Accenture, McKinsey & Co, Proctor & Gamble, General Motors, Motorola, Boeing, DuPont, Lockheed Martin, IBM, General Dynamics, and GE Aviation
Columbia University; Georgia Institute of Technology; Harvard University; Imperial College London; Johns Hopkins University; Northwestern; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Chicago
Meet some recent McCormick graduates.
At Google, John is focusing on the Pixel smartphone. He didn’t realize it at the time, but his majors in Computer Science and Computer Engineering prepared John well to become a product manager, he says. Franklin began his career as a software engineer but found there were other areas of product development – user experience, finance, marketing – that he wanted to experience. "Once I made the transition to product manager, I found myself constantly using what I learned from The Garage, my entrepreneurship courses, and core engineering classes as a whole."
Ashley is applying her major in Computer Engineering and Segal Design Certificate as a Product Designer at Spotify, where she helps artists promote and make a living off their music. Before joining Spotify, Ashley worked on the user experience design team at The Walt Disney Company that launched Disney+ and Star+. While at Disney, she built a small organization that prioritized and advocated for design that has lasted long after she left the company.
The McCormick School of Engineering offers both internship and co-op opportunities. Internships are usually shorter-term experiences, lasting approximately three months and often occurring over a summer. Northwestern’s Co-op Program, one of the most prestigious in the country, allows for integrated and alternating periods of full-time work and full-time study. Co-op experiences last six months with the same employer, with an opportunity to extend the experience or transition to another co-op. Students can work for one or multiple companies as part of the Co-op Program, potentially graduating with an engineering degree plus up to 18 months of industry experience.
Examples of where our sudents have had internship and co-op experiences:
Biomedical Engineering student Ian Alexander ('24) a co-op divided into two quarters at TriSalus Life Sciences in Providence, Rhode Island, and two quarters at Abbott in Minneapolis.
During his time at TriSalus, Alexander collaborated closely with the surgical oncology R&D team, researching methods of attacking the tumor microenvironment. Subsequently at Abbott, he further refined his research and development skills by contributing to the advancement of cardiac medical devices.
My experience provided me a different lens to understand what I was learning and how to look at it. I no longer approach coursework as just something to memorize. Instead, I’m asking myself, 'How am I going to use this in a future setting?'”
Ian Alexander, Biomedical Engineering major ('24)
Read an interview with Ian Alexander about his Co-Op experience.
As you consider your career goals, McCormick will help you gain the skills, experience, and connections for your next step.
McCormick offers undergraduates individual career advising as well as opportunities to develop hands-on workplace experience in tandem with on-campus studies through our Office for Engineering Career Development. This provides an important advantage as you begin your professional career.