Professional Development

Comprehensive Engineering Career Preparation

The Grainger College of Engineering offers a top-ranked academic experience that provides extensive preparation for you to achieve your professional goals. Our tight-knit, innovative community is invested in your success while you are a student and when you graduate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

To support you on your path to success, Grainger Engineering’s unique, specialized centers provide the resources to make you the most prepared and highly sought after candidate for in-demand jobs upon graduation.

Engineering Career Services

Engineering Career Services (ECS) is committed to helping you navigate your career path and development to ensure you achieve your goals. No matter where you are in your college journey, you can utilize our resources to find internships, co-ops, and full-time jobs.

We’ll help prepare you with resumes, cover letters, and practice interviews, and we’ve spent years cultivating relationships with the companies that you want to work for so you can connect with them directly through our workshops and career fairs.

Learn More about Career Services

Technology Entrepreneur Center

Unique to the University of Illinois, the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) knows how to get ideas off the ground and help you accelerate your engineering career. Through TEC, you’ll get the education, experiences, and resources that will change the way you see the world so you can tackle important challenges.

TEC helps you develop an entrepreneurial mindset and join the next generation of world-changing visionaries, leaders, and entrepreneurs able to navigate the complex concepts inherent in the simultaneous processes of technology innovation and market adoption. TEC also administers the annual Cozad New Venture Competition and the Illinois Innovation Prize, among several other programs.

See What's Happening at TEC

Center for Academic Resources in Engineering

Located in the Grainger Engineering Library, the Center for Academic Resources in Engineering (CARE) is a state-of-the-art facility that provides innovative learning resources for all undergraduate engineering students. CARE accomplishes this through providing extensive academic support, enhancing collaborative learning opportunities, and fostering positive influence through peer mentoring.

This dynamic learning community merges services and expertise to support you as an engineering student as you work to realize your academic and professional aspirations.

Explore CARE's Services

Illinois Leadership Center

A resource at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign level, the Illinois Leadership Center provides you with opportunities to develop or enhance essential leadership skills.

The Center also offers a Leadership Certificate that elevates your competencies through a multi-semester program of education and training, co-curricular involvement, self-reflection, coaching with a Leadership Coach, and the creation of a Leadership Portfolio that showcases your growth.

Learn More About the Leadership Center

Unparalleled Career Resources and Experiences

A degree from The Grainger College of Engineering is one that sets you up for a lifetime of success pursuing your interests and professional goals in your engineering discipline. From our commitment to offering innovative curriculum in our cutting-edge labs to our engaged, forward-thinking student community, you will receive unparalleled preparation that strengthens your skills and builds your confidence as you start your career.

World-Class Faculty and Cutting-Edge Resources

Grainger’s faculty are expert scholar-practitioners that are passionate leaders in their respective fields, serving as mentors that bring you the most innovative theories and methodologies. You learn from them through rigorous coursework and hands-on learning and research opportunities in our 60+ labs, research centers, and institutes.

Explore Labs & Centers →

Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

The Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (CITL) is a hub of innovation and hands-on support for those who want to discuss and work with higher education trends, models, projects, and resources. CITL uses leading pedagogical approaches, research-based methodologies, innovative instructional technologies, and comprehensive assessment practices to strengthen teaching efforts and improve student learning outcomes.

Learn More about CITL →

College Teaching Effectiveness Network (CTEN)

CTEN, the College Teaching Effectiveness Network, is a graduate student run organization at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is open to graduate students from all departments and stages of their graduate career.

Get to Know CTEN →

Hands-on Experiential Learning

The Grainger College of Engineering holds strong partnerships with industry-leading organizations, and these connections provide pathways for our students to complete internships, co-ops, practicum experiences, research, and projects that solve important real-world industry challenges.

Internships & Co-ops →
Capstone Projects →
Research →

Center for Technical Consulting Resources

OTCR Consulting is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's premier student-run consulting firm. OTCR specializes in business strategy, technology strategy, and technology implementation. Since its founding in 1999, OTCR has grown to be a diverse club of seventy-five undergraduate and graduate students across the University.

Get to Know OTCR Consulting →

Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3)

The Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3) offers programs for faculty that promote high-quality teaching and act as catalysts for innovation in education, particularly at the undergraduate level. AE3 quickly builds relationships with faculty upon joining The Grainger College of Engineering through our yearlong new faculty program.

Get to Know AE3 →

Launch your Dream Engineering Career

The Grainger College of Engineering’s extensive career development, academic support, and experiential learning opportunities elevate your degree experience, setting you apart from the field as you enter the workforce. They ensure you are receiving a ground-breaking education from expert faculty while also being provided extensive resources that support your personal and professional success. Launch your engineering career at Grainger Engineering by taking the next step: