Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences: A Comprehensive Overview

Founded in 1851 as the College of Arts and Sciences of the North-Western University, the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences stands as the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive of Northwestern’s undergraduate schools. Since the 1850s, it has been at the center of the University’s academic and intellectual life. The inaugural class, which met for the first time in November 1855, consisted of ten young men, each of whom was required to be at least 15 years of age. In 1998, Trustee Judd A. Weinberg ’47 and his family made a remarkable gift to the College of Arts and Sciences.

A Foundation in Liberal Arts

Weinberg College offers a liberal arts education that combines broad exposure to the insights and methods of multiple academic disciplines with focused study in one or more areas. The Weinberg College faculty is dedicated to superior teaching informed by advanced research. Nearly all members of the faculty, including the most senior, regularly teach undergraduates in a curriculum that includes seminars, lectures, supervised laboratory experiences, field studies, and other forms of instruction.

Undergraduate students in arts and sciences enjoy a great deal of choice, with access to departments and programs offering majors, adjunct majors, and minors. The College offers academic programs that encompass the full scope of human endeavor - humanities, arts, mathematics, the natural sciences, and the social sciences - with an emphasis on critical thinking.

Degree Requirements: Observe, Critique, Reflect, and Express

The Weinberg College degree requirements are guided by a set of overarching imperatives that students develop in their undergraduate studies and continuously throughout their lives - observe, critique, reflect, and express. Rather than representing distinct skills or competencies that can be clearly delineated from each other, we view this set of four imperatives as characterizing the active process of understanding, or intellection, that Weinberg students develop in their courses as well as in their extra- and co-curricular activities. The result is an interdisciplinary degree that prepares students for success in a complex world. Students achieve these College goals through the fulfillment of a set of degree requirements that are themselves driven by learning goals established by the Weinberg College faculty.

Students complete a major by the time they graduate; intensive coursework in a major develops an understanding of advanced concepts and lays the groundwork for original research. Deep study of one subject leads to mastery of the College learning goals in the context of a particular academic discipline. All incoming first-year students take a College seminar in the fall. The College seminar is where most students create their first Northwestern community as they acclimate to Northwestern together and develop the academic and life skills that will help them thrive for the next four years. All students will demonstrate at least an intermediate proficiency in a language other than English, enhancing their ability to communicate, as well as experience another culture through its language.

Students take courses across six foundational disciplines that span the entire Weinberg curriculum. In doing so they look through a multitude of disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses and acquire breadth in the arts and sciences. Through a two-part requirement in written and oral expression, students advance their analytical and critical skills, as well as their ability to express themselves in (for example) a well-crafted written argument, an oral presentation, or in an artistic medium. In first-year writing seminars, students improve skills in critique and expression. Beyond the degree requirements, a period of study abroad is encouraged in order to develop firsthand knowledge of other cultures and greater intellectual and personal independence. Students are also encouraged to undertake independent research projects that help them move beyond coursework and synthesize what they learn in their majors.

Foundational Disciplines

To ensure breadth of education and achieve learning objectives that support the BA learning goals, Weinberg College students must complete two academic units of credit representing each of the six foundational disciplines listed below, for a total of 12 foundational discipline course units. Each category is normally completed by taking two distinct Northwestern courses that have been formally approved by faculty governance process as supporting the area learning objectives. If a single Northwestern course approved for a foundational discipline is worth more than one unit of credit, only one of those units may be directed to the foundational discipline area. Non-Northwestern credits are generally not applicable towards foundational disciplines, but see Policies for exceptions and additional rules.

Natural Sciences: Courses in this foundational discipline convey our current understanding of the natural world and the methods by which this understanding is achieved through systematic hypothesis testing. Students learn to appreciate the evidence of our current understanding of nature; the scientific process; and the implications, utility, and limitations of scientific inquiry.
Formal Studies: We learn about the world in two main ways: empirically, from observations, and by making logical deductions from what we already know or conjecture. Courses in this foundational discipline teach students to use these two modes of inference and to recognize both their power and their limitations.
Social Sciences: Social scientists use qualitative and quantitative methodologies to help us understand how we influence, and are influenced by, societal forces. Courses in this foundational discipline teach students about theories, methodological approaches, and empirical research findings pertaining to human experience, from the level of the individual to that of familial, cultural, political, and institutional structures.
Historical Studies: Courses in this foundational discipline examine change over time in a wide variety of spheres, including beliefs, cultures, economics, intellectual thought, politics, and society. Students learn critical methods including: evaluation of evidence, understanding conditions under which historical actors operated, comprehending cause and consequence, tracing patterns, comparative analysis of sources, and historical argumentation.
Ethics and Values: All human cultures have produced systems of thought and belief concerning ways of being in the world and relating to one another. Courses in this foundational discipline help students recognize and reflect on ethical and evaluative questions, become aware of what standards they bring to bear in answering them, appreciate and respect their own and other cultural systems, and work through disagreements with others.
Literature and Fine Arts: Through courses in this foundational discipline, students come to understand and appreciate a range of artistic forms and media. They learn to describe, value, and critique artistic works; to identify and query the ideas and perspectives they represent; and to consider them as practices through which human beings have attempted to explore and transform their worlds. Students also develop essential skills in critical thinking and cultural analysis.

Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

This two-part (2 unit) transdisciplinary requirement is designed to infuse the Weinberg College curriculum with active discussions about how to navigate the local-global continuum amidst the complex and highly dynamic social and political movements of today and in the past. Perspectives and Global Perspectives categories. These courses ask students to reflect on their own perspectives as necessarily the product of interconnected webs of people, ideas, and events. Non-Northwestern courses are generally not applicable towards this requirement.

Major Declaration

All students must fulfill the requirements of a Weinberg College major, which should be declared by the end of sophomore year. Requirements for majors are described in detail in the department and program sections of this catalog. Completion of an adjunct major does not satisfy the major study requirement, but adjunct majors, designed to be completed alongside a regular major, are otherwise governed by the same policies that pertain to other College majors. Most majors are declared by meeting with a designated department or program adviser to discuss opportunities and requirements, develop a course plan, and complete a Declaration of Major Form.

Occasionally Weinberg College students with well-defined interests are led to programs of study that do not fit neatly into a traditional major. They may develop a proposal for an ad hoc major that brings together courses from various Weinberg College departments and programs. Ad hoc majors must be approved by the Weinberg College Curricular Review Committee.

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Unit Requirements

All Northwestern undergraduates are subject to the university's Undergraduate Registration Requirement (URR). Students must earn at least 45 units of credit in order to graduate with a Weinberg College BA. Almost all courses taught at Northwestern are worth one unit; those worth more or less than one unit also contribute to the total required units. Of the 45 units, no more than 6 may be internship-linked credit. Of the 45 units, no more than 9 may be independent study or advanced undergraduate seminar credits.

Weinberg College students may take advantage of courses offered by Northwestern’s other schools, but a minimum of 34 units must be earned in Weinberg College disciplines. Approved School of Professional Studies courses in Weinberg College disciplines. Additional units beyond 34 can be in disciplines taught at Northwestern in schools other than Weinberg College. Certain School of Professional Studies (SPS) courses are not eligible to count towards College degree requirements. Students must consult their College Adviser if they are considering SPS courses.

Students must be degree candidates in Weinberg College for the last three quarters before receiving the BA degree. Students who start their Northwestern studies in one of the other undergraduate schools, but plan to graduate with a Weinberg College BA need to complete the inter-school transfer in time.

Grade Requirements

Students must achieve an overall grade point average of C (2.0) or higher in courses used to meet degree requirements. Full-time students in Weinberg College are permitted to enroll in a limited number of courses with the understanding that in place of a regular letter grade they will receive the notation P (pass) or N (no credit), neither of which counts in the grade point average. No more than 1 course a quarter and 6 courses in all may be taken under this P/N option. Courses passed with grades of P or D are not always eligible to be applied to specific requirements. Written and oral expression courses must be passed with a grade of D or higher.

Language proficiency may be demonstrated through Northwestern coursework by earning at least a C- in the third quarter of the second-year language sequence, or in a higher-level course where instruction is in a language other than English. Foundational discipline requirements are satisfied with two course credits in each of six discipline areas; up to two qualifying courses completed with a P (pass) may be directed to the foundational disciplines as long as the courses are applied in different foundational areas. The two-part Perspectives in Power, Justice, and Equity requirement must be satisfied with courses passed with a grade of D or higher. Students must earn at least a C- in all major courses, as well as courses used to satisfy requirements for an optional adjunct major or minor, including all related courses for a major or adjunct major. If a major, adjunct major, or minor has prerequisites, students must earn at least a C- in these courses as well.

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Research Opportunities

Weinberg College students have the opportunity to engage in research, from day 1. The emphasis on research is consistent throughout Northwestern, and especially at Weinberg College. Undergraduate research opportunities abound for Weinberg students, as well as robust funding, especially for summer research projects. Students can experience the excitement of discovery in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences through special projects developed under faculty guidance or by assisting faculty in their research.

Research Centers, Institutes, and Facilities

Faculty, students, and trainees conduct high-impact research and spur new and unconventional ideas and practices with world-class equipment, cutting-edge methods, and a collaborative and supportive community of scholars.

Faculty Research Profiles

On campus and in the field, Weinberg College researchers are pushing and redefining the frontiers of their disciplines. Their discoveries ripple forth to the betterment of humankind. For example, a Northwestern University-led team of astronomers has discovered extremely powerful rotating, magnetic winds help the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole grow. The process is similar to the birth of new stars and planets, which are fed by swirls of gas and dust. In another example, researchers from Northwestern propose using engineered dust particles to warm Mars by over 50°F-bringing temperatures closer to supporting microbial life.

Resources for New Students

As an incoming student, you have a lot of choices to make and tasks to accomplish. Use these webpages to plan for a smooth transition. You must follow the College's policies and procedures related registration options, grades and credit transfer. These rules have been consolidated for easy reference. All incoming first-year students take a College seminar in the fall. The College seminar is where most students create their first Northwestern community as they acclimate to Northwestern together and develop the academic and life skills that will help them thrive for the next four years.

A Look Back: College History

In the 1850s the College offered two courses of study: a classically-oriented Bachelor of Arts degree and a more practically-focused Bachelor of Science degree. The curriculum for a Bachelor of Arts degree followed the English collegiate model of the time, consisting primarily of courses in ancient history and literature, mathematics, and Greek and Latin. In the first half of the 20th century, the period of social, political, and economic upheaval punctuated by the Great Depression and the two World Wars also had a profound impact on the College. In the 1970s, the emphasis on interdisciplinary study that distinguishes the College today took shape in response to changing conceptions of human knowledge.

By the Numbers

Weinberg College offers:

48 undergraduate majors
50+ minor options
50+ graduate programs and certificates
1,500+ courses offered across 90+ areas of study

More than 30 percent of our students complete a double major. In a given quarter, between 70 and 80 percent of our classes have 20 students or fewer.

Evanston and Chicago

85 acresalong the “lakefill” fronting Lake Michigan, the go-to spot for jogging, lounging, reading, taking in the sunrise, gazing into your future

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