Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Northeastern University College of Engineering
student working on mechanical device

Academics

Offering BS, MS, and PhD Degrees and Graduate Certificates

Comprehensive undergraduate programs are offered in both mechanical engineering and industrial engineering, equipping students with the fundamentals in science, mathematics, and engineering. The programs are optimally blended with theory, computation, and laboratory-level practice, as well as with real-world experience through cooperative education programs aligned with Northeastern University’s mission in experiential learning. Graduates are positioned to excel in careers in broad areas of engineering as well as in academia.

As an R1 research university, research and educational programs are offered for both Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students. Our cutting-edge and vibrant doctoral programs include PhDs in industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and an interdisciplinary PhD (housed in the College of Engineering). Our MS degree programs are offered in both traditional mechanical and industrial engineering, operations research, data analytics engineering, as well as applied programs and concentrations. These extensive programs and concentrations allow for the selection of a degree that meets a wide variety of personal and professional goals. Graduate students work with our world-renowned faculty to achieve research experience and their career goals and have opportunities to participate in the graduate cooperative education program.

Taking Advantage of the Full Experience

Carolos Fuentes, BS, mechanical engineering and physics, participated in Northeastern's entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the College of Engineering's Generate program and Northeastern's IDEA program. He also did two co-ops. Starting as a co-p and moving to a part-time job while a student at Amazon Robotics, Fuentes was hired after graduation as a full time automation hardware engineer in Seattle at Amazon. Additionally, he is readying to market and sell his invention—the Bethany Watch.

student with glasses looking down while holding component of a watch screwing a piece in his palm

Seizing Opportunity

With an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from India, Ankita Pradeep traveled to the U.S. being accepted into Northeastern's MS in Data Analytics Engineering program. Pradeep did not have much experience in machine learning before, but the way her professor taught the data mining class really helped her to keep up. She liked that assignments required a lot of research and her co-op gave her industry experience in the U.S. She says it was one of the best experiences of her life.

women poses with arm on railing and blurred background of building interior

Designing Metamaterials with Origami Shapes

Mechanical engineering PhD student Soroush Kamrava, under the direction of MIE Professor Askan Vaziri, is researching ways to incorporate origami ideas with metamaterials to create objects that can collapse, absorb energy, and then spring back into place. One day, he hopes to use origami-inspired meta-materials to create smart structures that could be used to harvest renewable energy.

man works with 3D printer with origami shapes

What is Mechanical Engineering?

Mechanical engineers design, develop, and support the manufacture of machinery and devices to transmit power or to convert energy from thermal to mechanical form in order to power the modern world and its machines. Traditionally, mechanical engineers have designed and tested devices, such as heating and air-conditioning systems, machine tools, internal combustion engines, and steam power plants. Today, they also play primary roles in the development of new technologies in a variety of fields—energy conversion, solar energy utilization, environmental control, prosthetics, transportation, manufacturing, robotics, and new-materials development.

What is Industrial Engineering?

Industrial engineers design and analyze systems that include people, equipment, and materials and their interactions and performance in the workplace. An industrial engineer collects this information and evaluates alternatives to make decisions that best advance the goals of the enterprise. Industrial engineers work in manufacturing firms, hospitals, banks, public utilities, transportation, government agencies, insurance companies, and construction firms. Among the projects they undertake are design and implementation of a computer-integrated supply chain or manufacturing system, facilities planning for a variety of industries, design of a robotics system in a manufacturing environment, long-range corporate planning, development and implementation of a quality-control system, simulation analyses to improve processes and make operational decisions, design of healthcare operations to enhance patient safety and improve efficiency, productivity, and development of computer systems for information control.