International Programs

International programs enhance the classroom experience of all UIC mechanical and industrial engineering students. Students of all nationalities benefit when they learn alongside—and from—classmates with different backgrounds, interests, and goals.

With this perspective in mind, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering has developed partnerships with other engineering schools in two countries to create a pathway for Chinese and Italian students to study at UIC. They add to the diversity of the UIC student community, where 25 percent of freshmen speak a first language other than English.

Graduation from our international programs puts students in a favorable position for employment. Some choose to apply for visa-granting jobs at companies in Chicago or around the United States, while others decide to return to their home countries. Many students who complete our international programs also opt to go on for a PhD here at UIC or at another U.S. or international university.

This page provides an overview of our China programs and Italy program. If you are looking for more information for international students at UIC, please visit the university-wide Office of International Services website.

UIC Engineering works with about 30 partner universities in China to enable their students to complete all or part of a degree program at UIC. China program participants may choose to study biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, materials engineering, or mechanical engineering. The following formats are available:

3+1 undergraduate exchange program: In this program, undergraduates who are currently in their third year of study at one of our partner universities can choose to spend their fourth year at UIC. At the end of the two-semester program, students are issued official UIC transcripts in order for them to receive a bachelor degree from their home university in China.

3+1+1 MS degree program: Students who complete the first three years of their undergraduate education in China then spend a fourth year at UIC, after which they receive a bachelor’s degree from their home university in China. Then they can complete the requirements for a master of science degree in the fifth year, earning an MS from UIC at the end of that year.

4+1.5 MS degree program: Participants in this program complete their four-year undergraduate education at one of our partner universities in China and then earn a master of science degree from UIC in three semesters on campus here in Chicago.

Master’s exchange program: Through this program, current graduate students at one of our partner universities in China can come to UIC for two semesters and, in that time frame, complete a UIC master of science degree.

Have questions about the China program? Please contact mie@uic.edu.

More than 140 students from Italy have now graduated from the MS degree program in mechanical engineering that UIC started in collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino in 1999. The program has been so successful that UIC Engineering has decided to add a new program in industrial engineering in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano, another top technical university in Italy.

Students in the Italy program complete the standard requirements for the MS degree and conduct thesis research. They spend the first semester in Italy, followed by two semesters in residence at UIC. Students enjoy the opportunity to take coursework not offered at their home institution, work in a new research area, improve their English language skills, gain research and work experience on our campus in Chicago, and sometimes obtain an Optional Practical Training visa to work for a U.S. company for a short time after completion of their degree. Some have chosen to remain for a PhD at UIC.

All graduate students in mechanical and industrial engineering have benefited from the exposure to novel research ideas and ways of approaching engineering problems, and from the notable intellectual and research capabilities of the students from this top technical university in Italy. To date, the MIE faculty have forged significant collaborative projects with faculty in Torino in the areas of energy engineering, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanics, and mechatronics.