Northwestern University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a small city.

Overview

Northwestern University, or NU, is a non-sectarian, private, research university located in Evanston, Illinois, and downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1851. The main campus is spread across an area of 240 acres. NU offers an array of degrees and programs through the following academic divisions:

• Feinberg School of Medicine
• Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music
• Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
• Kellogg School of Management
• Medill School of Journalism
• Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
• School of Communication
• School of Continuing Studies
• School of Education and Social Policy
• School of Law
• The Graduate School

The Daily Northwestern is the student-run newspaper at Northwestern University. NU has an active Greek life with several fraternities and sororities on campus. According to the statistics of 2007, 27% of the student population was affiliated with a fraternity or a sorority.

Northwestern is a member of the Big Ten Conference. Their sports teams are nicknamed the Wildcats.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in business and management, law, media, music, and drama and performing arts.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High faculty salary.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Large number of students.
• Selective admissions.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Unusually high availability of athletic financial aid.
• High male/female ratio.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Quarter.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students have meal (board) plans.
• Students may study abroad.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Northwestern University:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 19,291 in 2009-2010 (15,830 full-time equivalent).

About 48% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 52% of the class.

Undergrads are 46% of enrolled students, graduate students are 45%, and those seeking first-professional graduate degrees represent 10%.

Students under 25 years old represent 56% of the student body. About 4% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Northwestern University provides on-campus housing for 5,934 of its 15,830 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010).

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 16 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Big Ten Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 197 male students received the aid (men were 54% of those receiving aid) and 165 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 46% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Northwestern University offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship & Professional Practice).

Graduate offerings include medical degrees.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Comprehensive Doctoral With Medical/Veterinary.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (17 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies
• Visual and Performing Arts

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (1,475 awarded)

• Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping
• Accounting and Related Services
• Business Administration and Management
• Business Administration, Management and Operations
• Business/Commerce
• Business/Managerial Economics
• E-Commerce/Electronic Commerce
• Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies
• Finance
• Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration
• International Business/Trade/Commerce
• Labor and Industrial Relations
• Management Information Systems
• Management Science
• Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
• Marketing/Marketing Management
• Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management
• Operations Management and Supervision
• Organizational Behavior Studies
• Transportation/Transportation Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (103 awarded)

• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (9 awarded)

• Environmental Science
• Environmental Studies

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (127 awarded)

• Dance
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts
• Playwriting and Screenwriting
• Theatre Literature, History and Criticism

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (127 awarded)

• Education
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Specific Learning Disabilities
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Music Teacher Education
• Secondary Education and Teaching
• Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

ENGINEERING (624 awarded)

• Biomedical/Medical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering Mechanics
• Engineering Science
• Engineering
• Engineering/Industrial Management
• Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (32 awarded)

• Engineering Technologies/Technicians
• Mechanical Engineering/Mechanical Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (117 awarded)

• Community Organization and Advocacy
• Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services
• Public Administration
• Public Policy Analysis

FINE ARTS (16 awarded)

• Art History, Criticism and Conservation

LAW (457 awarded)

• Advanced Legal Research/Studies, Gen (LLM, MCL, MLI, MSL, JSD/SJD)
• Law (LLB, JD)
• Legal Professions and Studies
• Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
• Legal Studies
• Programs for Foreign Lawyers (LLM, MCL)
• Tax Law/Taxation (LLM, JSD/SJD)

LIBERAL ARTS (840 awarded)

• African-American/Black Studies
• American/United States Studies/Civilization
• Anthropology
• Area Studies
• Asian Studies/Civilization
• Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics
• Comparative Literature
• Creative Writing
• East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
• Economics
• English Composition
• English Language and Literature
• European Studies/Civilization
• French Language and Literature
• General Studies
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• History
• Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
• International Relations and Affairs
• Italian Language and Literature
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Linguistics
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Urban Studies/Affairs
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (56 awarded)

• Applied Mathematics
• Mathematics
• Statistics
• Systems Science and Theory

MEDIA (645 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communication and Media Studies
• Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs
• Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia
• Journalism
• Radio and Television
• Radio, Television, and Digital Communication

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (40 awarded)

• Health and Medical Administrative Services
• Health/Health Care Administration/Management
• Medical Informatics

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (54 awarded)

• Audiology/Audiologist and Hearing Sciences
• Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
• Orthotist/Prosthetist
• Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist

MEDICINE (224 awarded)

• Dental Clinical Sciences, General (MS, PhD)
• Health/Medical Preparatory Programs
• Medical Scientist (MS, PhD)
• Medicine (MD)
• Neuroscience
• Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies
• Public Health, General (MPH, DPH)

MUSIC (159 awarded)

• Conducting
• Jazz/Jazz Studies
• Music Performance
• Music Theory and Composition
• Music
• Musicology and Ethnomusicology
• Piano and Organ
• Violin, Viola, Guitar and Other Stringed Instruments
• Voice and Opera

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (18 awarded)

• Sport and Fitness Administration/Management

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (6 awarded)

• Film/Cinema Studies

REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT (1 awarded)

• Real Estate

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (35 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies
• Religious/Sacred Music

SCIENCE (293 awarded)

• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Biological and Physical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Biostatistics
• Biotechnology
• Botany/Plant Biology
• Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences
• Chemistry
• Developmental Biology and Embryology
• Ecology
• Geology/Earth Science
• Neurobiology and Neurophysiology
• Physics
• Science, Technology and Society

SCIENCE AND LABORATORY TECHNICIAN (2 awarded)

• Science Technologies/Technicians

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (428 awarded)

• Bioethics/Medical Ethics
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics
• Communication Disorders
• Community Psychology
• Counseling Psychology
• Genetic Counseling/Counselor
• Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
• Physical Therapy/Therapist
• Psychology