McCormick Integrated Engineering Studies (MIES)

Engineering is the combination of timeless knowledge – the ability to think in terms of systems and analysis – and frontier knowledge driven by inexorable technological innovation. Connections with disciplines unthinkable in the past are now the norm. The McCormick Integrated Engineering Studies (MIES) allows for the development of individualized engineering degree programs that explore these connections.

Why MIES?

Engineering has traditionally been divided into sub-disciplines and organized in universities within departments – civil, mechanical, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, etc. The disciplines have changed as new ideas and challenges have come along – now we have Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Computer Science, for example. The future will certainly give birth to even more fields. As organizational structures and names have evolved, the boundaries between sub-disciplines in engineering, and between engineering and other fields of studies (e.g., medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, earth science, and others) have become less rigid. Many career opportunities and advanced research efforts cross these boundaries and therefore define new areas of application and study. Increasingly, key advances in both engineering science and its applications occur at or beyond these boundaries, at the intersections between engineering fields, and between engineering and other areas of expertise.

While the interests and aspirations of most undergraduate students in McCormick are well-supported by our departmentally-based degree programs, some students have visions that draw them into beyond the traditional disciplinary boundaries to these new intersections. The McCormick Integrated Engineering Studies Program (MIES) is designed to serve the needs of those students.

What is MIES?

MIES was established to meet the needs of McCormick students who want to learn different things in different ways. It allows well-prepared undergraduate engineers to work with faculty mentors to craft customized engineering studies programs that take them into new, perhaps uncharted areas of study and career preparation. These programs must meet the basic McCormick requirements for an accredited engineering degree, but they can depart from the pre-defined tracks specified for degrees in a particular department.

MIES students put themselves on a mission to explore new territories, to address new and important problems and to travel high-impact career paths. They are purposeful explorers with real targets, defined collaboratively with faculty and even outside guides. Recently a student studied “Mechatronics and User Interaction in Design Engineering,” combining work in mechanical, biomedical, and design engineering. Another student’s focus was “Technology and Design for the Arts,” based on a program of courses that developed depth in graphic arts, communication, and elements of several engineering disciplines. Yet another student explored “Entrepreneurial Design,” emphasizing the ways designed items can be carried into practice through the business world. The possibilities for tomorrow’s MIES degrees are virtually limitless. How does a student apply for an MIES degree?

Students must apply for and be accepted in the MIES program to pursue this degree. A customized course of study must match, or exceed, the challenge level of any established McCormick engineering curriculum, in terms of its breadth and depth. MIES students, like all McCormick students, are expected to build substantial skills in the core disciplines of engineering, including mathematics, the sciences, analysis, and design.

To be eligible students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or above. They can apply as early as the end of their freshman year but no later than 3.5 quarters before the completion of the degree. In the application process students must prepare a compelling argument for qualifying for this customized degree program in the form of a proposal that addresses these questions:

• What is the focal area for the proposed MIES major? • Why is study in this area an important and valuable opportunity, in general, and for this student himself/herself, in particular? • What is the proposed program, in terms of courses, research, internships, etc.? This is to be a preliminary plan, subject to review, advice, and adaptation. • Why can’t such a program be pursued within the boundaries of existing departmental degree programs in McCormick? • Explain how the curriculum has, or exceeds, the caliber of an existing McCormick degree?

These items will be covered in a statement of about four pages, plus the proposed course selections for each of the eight distribution areas of all McCormick curricula, viz. Mathematics, 4 units Basic sciences, 4 units Engineering analysis, 4 units Design and communication, 3 units Basic engineering, 5 units Social sciences/Humanities, 7 units Unrestricted electives, 5 units Major program, 16 units

This plan of study should be developed in collaboration with – and it must be approved by – at least one McCormick faculty member, after which it is submitted for review to the McCormick Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies. The Associate Dean will conduct this review with a faculty committee assigned to MIES oversight; revisions may subsequently be necessary. Once an MIES proposal has been approved by this faculty committee, it will go to the McCormick Curriculum Committee in order to secure its recommendation to the entire McCormick faculty for official approval.

If the plan is approved, the Associate Dean, in consultation with the student and his/her faculty advisor, will appoint a steering committee to guide and monitor the student’s progress through to its completion. This committee will normally have three or four members, including the faculty advisor, other McCormick faculty, and as appropriate, faculty from other Northwestern schools, and/or outside mentors with special expertise in the area of study. Prior to graduation, the oversight committee will certify that the student meets the degree requirements according to the study plan.

The MIES student will meet with his/her McCormick faculty advisor at least quarterly for progress review and course scheduling. The student must meet with the entire steering committee no less than annually, and a brief, written annual progress report must be submitted for review to that committee, and then to the Associate Dean for undergraduate Studies.

Students who complete this program will be awarded the degree, Bachelor of Science in Integrated Engineering Studies, and their transcript will display the theme of their course of study.

After McCormick?

MIES students, like other McCormick students, should be thinking about and preparing for career opportunities throughout their period of study. This preparation goes beyond course work and includes research and service opportunities, and particularly internships and summer positions that build experience and expertise. To accomplish this, MIES students are expected to go beyond their oversight committees to work closely with McCormick’s Office of Career Development to find those opportunities that will maximize the value of their undergraduate experience.