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Evanston, IL · Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering at Northwestern

Northwestern graduates about 34 chemical engineering majors a year, 1% of its graduating class. That puts it 12th of 163 schools we score for chemical engineering, a standout program at 86 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $111,000 four years out, 1.14× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $20 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

86/100Standout#12 of 163 for chemical engineering →
Graduates a year341% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$111,0001.14× the same major nationally
Research in the field$20Ma year, NSF
Admit rate7%whole school
SAT middle 50%1520–1560whole school

Around Northwestern

A photo of the interior of Dearborn Observatory. The dome is open, the red light
Dearborn Telescope with open domePhoto: Jackricono · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The Shakespeare Garden in Evanston (1915). It was established by the Garden Club
Shakespeare Garden (8105928197)Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Aggelos Katsaggelos
Aggelos KatsaggelosPhoto: Leandros89 · CC0 · source
This represents what PDMS looks like.
FabricwithinPDMSPhoto: Ih2283 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Where chemical engineering happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Cresap Laboratory, Seeley G. Mudd Science and Engineering Library.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 96 · Dorm 44 · Fraternity or sorority house 13 · Arts 8 · Chapel 5 · Athletics 3.

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Nearby in the chemical engineering ranking

  1. University of California, Berkeley 89
  2. Cornell University 88
  3. Purdue University–Main Campus 87
  4. Texas A&M University 87
  5. University of Wisconsin–Madison 85
  6. The Pennsylvania State University–University Park 85
  7. Stanford University 84
  8. University of California, Los Angeles 83

Other strong majors at Northwestern

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Northwestern with every school we score in chemical engineering. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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