The Master of Science in Advanced Manufacturing builds on the McCormick School of Engineering’s long-standing expertise in manufacturing research, innovation, and education, and is supported by Northwestern’s network of nationally funded centers, award-winning faculty, and collaborations across Chicago, the Midwest, and beyond.

Students in Northwestern’s Advanced Manufacturing program work closely with faculty and researchers in state-of-the-art laboratories and industry collaborations. Our curriculum trains students to analyze and optimize flexible manufacturing systems, design new processes, and apply advanced technologies to solve real-world industrial and research challenges. Participants gain a strong foundation in core principles while exploring emerging areas that define the future of manufacturing.

Students complete either a research-focused thesis or an industry-focused project, gaining hands-on experience with real-world problem solving.

Additional resources:

• Program website
• Program handbook(s)

Degree(s) Offered

• Advanced Manufacturing MS

Learning Objectives

1. Equip students with analytical thinking skills by providing a core education in manufacturing fundamentals and the tools used to understand and predict material evolution in processing, such as physics-based analytical and computational tools.
2. Provide students with the breadth of manufacturing processes by covering additive, subtractive, deformation-based, and hybrid processes.
3. Broaden students’ perspectives in circular economy by presenting the principles of materials-process-property-performance and by teaching the principles of data collection, artificial intelligence and statistics in quality and process control of manufacturing processes and supply chain.
4. Prepare students well in smart manufacturing by introducing robotics, the Internet of Things, and automation tools in modern manufacturing and assembly.