Northeastern Engineering Oakland

Yes, first-year engineering required math, science, and Cornerstone classes are offered at NU Oakland.  Academic year 2026-2027 will be the fourth year that first-year coursework will be offered in Oakland.  Cornerstone classes are taught at NU Oakland by faculty who are part of the College of Engineering’s First-Year Engineering Program faculty team.  Required Cornerstone 1 and 2 courses in Oakland are supported by the NU Oakland Makerspace.

The first-year required engineering math, science, and Cornerstone courses are common across engineering majors.  This ensures engineering students, regardless of their intended major, start their experience with a foundational knowledgebase.  This set of core first-year engineering courses can provide flexibility if students change their engineering major in the first year.

Yes, since the first-year engineering coursework provides a foundational experience, students may change engineering majors during the first year.

For academic year 2026-2027, the following engineering majors are offered at NU Oakland:

• Computer Engineering
• Computer Engineering and Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Electrical and Computer Engineering

Students in these majors may stay in Oakland and complete their studies at the Oakland campus (or transition to the Boston campus after the first year).

As a tech hub with a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, the Bay Area is a great location to pursue these majors and combined majors that focus on Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering combined, and the combined Computer Engineering and Computer Science.  The College of Engineering has multiple faculty within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Oakland campus and offers graduate programs in Oakland including a PhD in Electrical Engineering and a variety of Master’s programs.  Northeastern’s Institute for NanoSystems Innovation (NanoSi) is located at both the NU Oakland and the NU Boston campus and is a first-of-its kind research institute located on both coasts, developing nano-scale technologies to drive innovation and miniaturization of chip-level technology advancements and applications.

Yes!  If a student starts their experience in Oakland, but decides to pursue an engineering major or combined major that is not offered on the Oakland campus, they would need to declare their intended engineering major during the first year and transition to the Boston campus to complete required upper-level coursework.