University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Materials Science & Engineering

The Top 5 Reasons to Choose Illinois

5/1/2018

Devon Goszkowicz

I'm often asked: What makes the University of Illinois so special? Glad you asked! Here is a list of the top 5 reasons I've loved earning my Materials Science & Engineering degree at Illinois. 

  1. The MatSE Department is incredibly close-knit; despite having one of the largest materials science and engineering departments in the country, ours feels small - in all the best ways. I know almost all of the professors very well, and most of the students as well. A lot of my best friends are in the MatSE department, and over the four years I’ve been here, I’ve gained friends as well as a family in MatSE.

  2. Spirit of entrepreneurship - MakerGirl

    • At Illinois, there are thousands of opportunities for entrepreneurship. An example of this is a 501(c) 3 non-profit startup, MakerGirl, which began as a result of a social entrepreneurship class on campus in the fall of 2014. Now, in 2018, MakerGirl teaches hour and a half long 3D printing and CAD sessions to 7-10 year old girls with the goal of inspiring them to be more active in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

  3. Endless opportunities

    • Career Fairs - each semester there are quite a few career fairs, with focuses in the College of Engineering, College of Business, University-wide, etc. Each of these career fairs offers opportunities for Illinois students to obtain internships, co-ops, and full-time employment.

    • Research opportunities - in every single college at the University of Illinois, there are thousands of potential research opportunities. In MatSE, students work on topics ranging from metallic glasses to robotic bats, and have the opportunity to present on various conferences throughout the year.

    • GAMES Camp (GLAM) - what actually convinced me to come to and apply to the University of Illinois Materials Science and Engineering Program was attending the Girls’ Adventures in Mathematics, Engineering, and Science as a high schooler. This is a week-long program during the summer that gives high school girls the opportunity to explore different engineering tracks; the summer after my junior year of high school, I attended the Girls Learning About Materials track. Attending this week-long camp convinced me to pursue Materials Science and Engineering in college, specifically at the University of Illinois. I even was a lab assistant for the camp for two summers!

    • Engineering Open House! Engineering Open House is one of the best weekends on campus, and is when every organization, major, and various student groups throughout the college of engineering present interactive and hands-on projects

  4. Other students

    • There are so many incredibly wonderful people here at the University of Illinois from tens of thousands of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

    • Material Advantage & Keramos are student groups I've been heavily involved in! 

  5. Women in Engineering Program

    • The Women in Engineering Program is hosted by the College of Engineering, and serves to assist all female engineering students in all their endeavors. Throughout the year, they host events ranging from leadership series with female engineering alumnae, events for prospective and admitted students into engineering, and the largest event of the year, Women in Engineering Freshman Orientation.