As one of the leading engineering schools in the world, the College of Engineering attracts the best and brightest students from across the state, the nation and the world. At Illinois, you can choose from among 15 degree programs in 12 engineering departments. Several minors and dual-degree programs offer even more opportunities to explore your interests.
Additional information is available in the Undergraduate Programs of Study in Engineering. This curriculum and program guide is presented in Adobe PDF format for convenient printing and offline review.
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace engineers are involved in all phases of research, development, integration, and production of aerospace systems, and have chief responsibility for the design and performance of aircraft and spacecraft and their propulsion systems. Our graduates work in such fields as aerospace, automotive, engines, government, defense and security, and manufacturing.
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Agricultural and biological engineers apply scientific and engineering principles to production systems involving agriculture, food, environment, and energy; natural resources; environmental protection and control for plants, animals, and humans; and related biological systems. They develop technologies and apply management strategies to increase agricultural productivity, generate renewable energy, and provide a sustainable environment. Technical systems management graduates are technically competent businesspeople. Our graduates work in such fields as agricultural safety and technology, food science and engineering, bioprocess modeling, environmental controls, including air quality and waste management, biofuels and engines, hydrology, drainage, and irrigation, crop conditioning and processing, alternative energy systems, government, after-market management, product support and project management.
Department of Bioengineering
Bioengineers actively use tools from biology, chemistry, physics and math to solve engineering problems related to biomaterials, biomechanics and prosthetics, tissue engineering, molecular modeling, imaging, and drug delivery. Our graduates work in such fields as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products, hospitals and clinics, government regulatory agencies, academia, laboratory and research facilities, product and process development, quality and regulatory services, and operations and manufacturing.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Chemical engineers study and practice the transformation of substances at large scales for the tangible improvement of the human condition. Such transformations are executed to produce other useful substances or energy, and lie at the heart of vast segments of the chemical, petroleum, pharmaceutical, and electronic industries. Biomolecular engineering is a subset of chemical engineering focusing on biological applications. Our graduates work in such fields as food and food sciences, medicine, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemicals, energy, semiconductor processing, personal care, fibers and materials, and research and development.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Civil and environmental engineers have the key responsibility for the design and construction of the nation’s civil and marine infrastructure (buildings, bridges and offshore structures; highway systems, airports and energy transport systems; dams, locks, levees and canals; all water treatment and distribution systems; and all aspects of environmental management and pollution prevention and remediation). Because civil and environmental engineers receive a broad education, they frequently find successful employment outside of engineering in business, law and research fields. Our graduates work in such areas as construction, project management, pollution and ecology, water quality and treatment, hydrology, biohazards, contamination, underground dynamics, waste containment, transportation and urban planning and management, railroads, highway and traffic engineering, structure behavior, analysis, and design.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical and computer engineers design, construct, and maintain products and services and perform research to create new ideas, particularly in the areas of electrical and electronic equipment and computer systems. Our graduates work in such areas as information security, communications and wireless networks, computer systems and networks, operating systems, electromagnetics, integrated circuits, lasers, nanotechnology and quantum devices, semiconductor materials and physics, robotics, software engineering, and signal, image, and speech processing.
Department of Computer Science
Computer scientists design, implement and analyze computing systems, with an emphasis on software systems ranging from embedded software, to information systems, to interactive systems. Our graduates work in such areas as algorithms, artificial intelligence, computer architecture and systems, bioinformatics and computational biology, cultural computing, database and information systems, graphics and visualization, systems and networking, programming languages and software engineering, scientific computing and information security.
Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering
All students in the Mechanical Science and Engineering Department apply mathematical, scientific, and engineering principles to study forces acting on bodies of solid or fluid material, and the resulting dynamic motion of those bodies. Mechanical engineers use these principles to design and control machines that create motion, apply loads, transport matter and energy, and convert one form of energy to another. Engineering mechanics and theoretical and applied mechanics students are deeply grounded in these basic principles, and are able to use them to solve a broad range of problems in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and dynamics. Our graduates work in such fields as manufacturing, energy and transportation, automotive, aerospace, environment, defense and security, health and biological engineering, computer software and electronics, and research and development.
Department of Physics
Physicists study, measure and manipulate the fundamental interactions of matter, energy, space and time to unravel how complex systems behave, to characterize the properties of existing materials and create new ones, and to reveal the workings of nature--from the cosmos to the nanoscale, from metals to biomolecules. Our graduates work in such areas as academia and fundamental research, micro- and nanoelectronics, semiconductors and superconductivity, high-speed data acquisition and analysis, space science, medicine and pharmaceuticals, quantitative modeling, complex systems analysis, software design and development, novel materials, energy, and national security and national defense.
Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering
Enterprise systems engineers work to solve real-world problems through the integration of engineering and business principles. They are often technical people who can manage budgets and projects and lead other people. Industrial systems engineers work to improve performance and productivity, using optimization approaches and solving problems through a systems approach. Our graduates often serve as a link between engineering and management. Graduates work in such fields as automotive, controls systems, manufacturing, business systems integration and consulting, communication and computer systems, construction, engineering administration, marketing, product testing, operations and quality control, and robotics.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Materials science engineers develop new types of metal alloys, ceramics, plastics, composites and other materials. Our graduates also adapt existing materials to new uses by changing the properties and performance of materials. They work in such fields as manufacturing and production, quality assurance and control, process design and evaluation, computer hardware and electronics, chemical sciences, health, construction, packaging, textiles, automotive and aerospace.
Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering
Nuclear, plasma and radiological engineers research and develop processes, instruments and systems that derive benefits from nuclear energy and radiation. Our graduates work in such fields as power plant design, supervision operations, and safety, waste management, microelectronics, fusion energy, materials performance and processing, government and state regulatory organizations, energy policy and security, controls and control systems, health physics, nuclear and medical instrumentation, and medical diagnostics and therapy.
