GRADUATE
STUDY
WE ARE WHOLE-BRAIN THINKERS
SEEING SIMPLICITY IN THE COMPLEX,
THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SIMPLE.
WE ARE WHOLE-BRAIN ENGINEERS,
BIG-PICTURE THINKERS, REAL-TIME
COLLABORATORS, ALL-OUT INNOVATORS.
WE ARE
TAKING THE
WORLD IN
A WHOLE NEW
DIRECTION.
Driving progress through innovation and leadership.
Turning research into patented processes and
life-changing inventions. Bringing products to market
with smart risk-taking and entrepreneurship.
FIND YOUR DIRECTION HERE.
Empowering students with
advanced analytical and
problem-solving skills
24
MS PROGRAMS
Analysis. Logic. Synthesis. Math. All are elements
of “left-brain” thinking, all critical to engineering
success. To lead today in a world of change,
engineers require more. They need “right-brain”
skills. Intuition. Metaphorical thinking. Creative
problem solving. At Northwestern Engineering,
we celebrate whole-brain thinking and empower
their career opportunities through career-focused
initiatives and cross-school partnerships that
expand their perspectives and strengthen business
management skills.
Graduate students choose from an array of programs
aligned with their career goals and personal
passions. Master’s degree programs, full- and part-
our students to become whole-brain engineers.
time, are designed to meet ever-changing industry
Master’s and PhD students at Northwestern and research environments. Doctoral programs
Engineering build on that philosophy. They conduct allow students to work side-by-side with world-class
interdisciplinary research and collaboration faculty across disciplines researching advanced
with peers and faculty in other highly ranked topics in engineering.
14
departments. They develop leadership skills inside
and outside the classroom and lab. And they expand see areas of graduate study >
Whichever direction our graduate students take, all
PHD PROGRAMS become prepared to change the world for the better
and to lead others to do the same.
OVERVIEW
RESEARCHERS AND COLLABORATORS
> 20
ONGOING RESEARCH
BREAKING BARRIERS AND CREATING THE FUTURE
Northwestern Engineering’s more than
200 faculty systematically confront some
of the world’s most pressing and complex
challenges in systems, materials, health and
wellness, energy, and the environment. Our
MAJOR CENTERS INCLUDE:
• Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering
• Center for Robotics and Biosystems
• Center for Synthetic Biology
INITIATIVES WITH
interdisciplinary collaboration is exemplified • International Institute for Nanotechnology
OTHER NORTHWESTERN by ongoing research initiatives with more than
• Materials Research Science and
DEPARTMENTS 20 other departments across our extended
Engineering Center
Northwestern campus and dozens of other
universities and research centers worldwide. • Northwestern-Argonne Institute for
Science and Engineering
While the majority of University research
• Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
funding comes from government sources,
corporate-sponsored research represents • Northwestern University Transportation Center
a growing opportunity. • Segal Design Institute
CAREER-FOCUSED PROFESSIONALS
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS IN BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, AND ACADEMIA
Northwestern Engineering is committed to For doctoral students, Management for
developing students for successful careers Scientists and Engineers, an eight-week
as leaders and researchers in business, summer course drawn from the Kellogg School
industry, and academia. The Engineering Career of Management core MBA curriculum, equips
Development office identifies and works with researchers with the knowledge they need to
students to secure internship opportunities and become better managers and leaders.
provides other career advancement services,
including full-time employment after graduation.
ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATORS
CHANGING THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER EVERY DAY
Northwestern Engineering students and faculty drive progress through innovation and leadership,
turning research into patented processes and life-changing inventions, bringing products to market
NUVENTION COURSES
through smart risk-taking and entrepreneurship. They typically account for a lion’s share of the
These courses are a visionary University’s inventions and faculty startups.
academic partnership created
to expand upon Northwestern’s ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESOURCES
excellence in interdisciplinary • The Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and • The Innovation and New Ventures Office
study and to foster a sense of Innovation provides incubators, mentorships, (INVO) advises faculty and students on the
collaboration throughout the and seminars and encourages the ongoing development of research with commercial
University. development of new, interdisciplinary curricula. potential and conducts seminars and
educational programs on entrepreneurship
• NUvention courses engage interdisciplinary
and innovation.
teams from across the University in the entire
innovation and entrepreneurial life cycle, • The Garage is an entrepreneurship space
including how to transform innovations into for Northwestern students to experiment,
viable business. collaborate, and build their ideas.
OVERVIEW
A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF LEADERS
GAINING EXPERIENCE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOMS AND LAB
The McCormick Graduate Leadership • Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)
Council helps solidify a graduate student • Chinese Students and Scholars Assoc. (CSSA)
community among the nine departments within
• Graduate Student Association for Latino
Northwestern Engineering by organizing social,
and Spanish Activities (G-SALSA)
academic, and professional activities, and
• Indian Graduate Student and Scholars
facilitating communication with administration.
Assoc. (IGSSA)
Students can also participate in the Graduate
• International Society for Optics and Photonics
Student Association, department-centered
(SPIE)
student groups, and other student associations
• Queer Pride Graduate Student Assoc. (QPGSA)
that promote interactions among graduate
students, provide academic and social programs, • Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE)
and serve as student advocates. These include: • Women in Science and Engineering Research
(WISER)
OVERVIEW
COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS, AND FAMILIES
12
MILES
LIVING AND LEARNING IN ONE OF THE WORLD’ S
MOST DYNAMIC METROPOLITAN AREAS
Stretching along the shore of spectacular Lake
Michigan, Northwestern’s Evanston campus
provides an environment conducive to serious
shuttle, Northwestern students have easy
access to the wealth of professional sports,
music, art, and cultural diversity that the
scholarship and rich in rewarding opportunities nation’s third-largest city offers.
FROM DOWNTOWN
for every lifestyle. Evanston boasts the amenities
CHICAGO Northwestern’s location also means
of a big city in a manageable suburban setting.
unsurpassed access to major corporations,
With Northwestern’s downtown Chicago campus research centers, and other organizations eager
only 12 miles away and readily accessible to engage Northwestern Engineering students in
by public transportation or the intercampus experiential learning, internships, and careers.
OVERVIEW
MS IN
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
Leading AI through the lens of
QUICK FACTS
DEGREE EARNED
technology, business strategy,
Master of Science in
Artificial Intelligence and human interactions
LOCATION
Northwestern’s Master of Science in Artificial • COURSEWORK focuses on an Artificial
Northwestern University’s
Intelligence (MSAI) program produces graduates Intelligence core and includes human
Evanston campus
who have exceptional technical skills in the computer interaction and human cognition.
Easy access to Chicago’s
emerging technologies of machine intelligence Elective course options from across
STEM industries
and an understanding of the nature of the human Northwestern University allow students to
environments in which the systems they build focus on areas closest to their individual
TIMING
will be deployed. career goals.
MSAI (traditional)
15-months, full-time In the MSAI program, students follow one of two • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT includes
MSAI+X tracks depending upon whether their desired a practicum course teaming with an industry
12-months, full-time career path is to work directly in industry partner and a robust, weekly speaker series
conceiving and creating complex AI systems featuring industry professionals. Additionally,
CLASS SIZE (traditional track), or to continue in their original the traditional track includes either an
field of study but with the understanding of external internship or project work / research
Cohort of ~40 students
the tools and techniques of AI in order to help opportunities within a Northwestern AI lab
transform their field (MSAI+X). and a capstone project producing work that
From either track, graduates leave ready to students can highlight in their portfolios.
identify opportunities and lead teams in the
design and development of sophisticated AI
technologies and products.
MS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
CURRICULUM view our course listing >
The MSAI curriculum is systematically organized to build on the students’ increasing knowledge of
complex AI technologies and workflows. Students learn to recognize the psychological and design
implications of human interactions with intelligent systems and learn how business needs affect the
way intelligent systems are considered and deployed.
While students in the MSAI (traditional) and MSAI+X tracks begin and end at different times,
together they share the experience from the first fall through the end of the next spring quarter.
MSAI (TRADITIONAL) MSAI+X
WHO SHOULD APPLY Bootcamp for MSAI+X students to acquire,
SUMMER practice and refine programming and
MSAI students are ambitious, mathematical skills
creative and collaborative thinkers.
FALL Core courses to establish baseline knowledge through deep introduction
Those in the traditional track
generally seek to become architects WINTER Core courses to augment foundation and prepare students for upcoming practicum
of intelligent systems as well as SPRING Elective courses and team participation in industry-led practicum
developers. MSAI+X students
Internships in industry, or project work
possess an advanced degree – MD, SUMMER
within a Northwestern lab.
PhD, or JD – and plan to remain in
their chosen fields while providing
One core, two electives, and the
leadership on AI technologies being FALL
final capstone project.
envisioned and deployed.
MS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
meet our faculty >
PEOPLE meet our students >
To enhance the academic experience, the cohort bond with their peers for support and
is limited to about 40 students who progress experiential learning. Renowned Northwestern
through the program together. Students receive faculty and leading AI and business executives
a high degree of individualized instruction and offer an array of perspectives.
INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
QUINCIA HU
MSAI ’19 MSAI offers a robust speaker series and Students gain an understanding of how the
welcomes weekly talks and presentations from technologies and techniques they are learning
The MS in Artificial Intelligence professionals in the industry who share their view can be applied, and explore networking
program at Northwestern is of the needs and requirements of companies in relationships with companies from all sectors
outstanding, as this program is the sphere of AI. around Chicagoland and throughout the country.
aimed to support many types
of career trajectories in the
artificial intelligence world: AI
architect, machine learning
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
engineer, or even data analysts.”
During the course of the program, students demonstrate their skills to potential employers.
develop systems and demonstrations that MSAI faculty help students prepare this model of
become part of their individual “calling “show, don’t tell” as a communication tool that
cards.” Students in the traditional MSAI track will serve them for their entire careers.
subsequently develop portfolios of work that
MS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
TIMELINE ADMISSIONS
APPLICATION OPENS The MSAI admissions team reviews all elements The admissions team seeks to create a
September 1 of the application submission to assess the balanced, cohesive cohort and providing the
likelihood of a student’s success in the program. optional video is advised to help the team get
INFO SESSION Besides holding a BA/BS in computer science or to know a candidate’s personality, work style,
October–February similar field, applicants with at least two years and leadership capabilities. First consideration
of work experience in a related field, such as is given to complete applications received by
APPLICATION DEADLINE development, design, or software architecture, the priority deadline.
DECEMBER 15 are given strong preference.
Priority Decision
MARCH 15
Final Decision
RECEIVE DECISION
January–April
APPLICATION CHECKLIST
PROGRAM BEGINS
UNOFFICIAL ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPTS
JULY
MSAI+X
GRE SCORES (optional)
SEPTEMBER
MSAI (traditional)
THREE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
TOEFL SCORES (if applicable)
START YOUR RÉSUMÉ OR CV
APPLICATION >
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL SHOWING EVIDENCE OF
SELF-DIRECTED WORK IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
PERSONAL STATEMENT
CANDIDATE VIDEO (optional)
PLEASE DO NOT SEND HARD COPIES OF MATERIALS.
NEXT STEPS FINANCIAL AID view financial information >
MORE INFO Many master’s students find funding through the Evanston Office of Graduate Financial Aid for
a variety of loan options or through other information on a variety of federal and private
msai.northwestern.edu
scholarship and resource opportunities, some loan and funding options.
QUESTIONS of which are listed on McCormick’s website.
Additionally, students are encouraged to visit
msai@northwestern.edu
MS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
