Northwestern University

A private, non-profit institution founded in 1851, Northwestern University is recognized nationally and internationally for the quality of its educational programs at all levels. Innovative teaching and pioneering research take place in a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that combines the resources of a major research university with the level of individual attention of a small college.

With a vast array of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, Northwestern provides students at every level with hundreds of options to suit their personal academic goals. Students can choose from more than 4,000 courses that are offered annually. Most students take a dozen courses a year. The University’s 3,300 full-time faculty members range from Nobel Prize laureates to Tony Award winners. In their ranks are members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer­ing, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Council of Learned Societies, and numerous other honorary and professional societies.

In its extracurricular offerings as well as in its academic programs, Northwestern encourages its students to develop holistically and to prepare for life in a diverse, interconnected, and rapidly changing world. Supported by the Center for Student Involvement, the more than 500 extracurricular groups include organizations devoted to service on campus and in the community, cultural awareness and support, musical and theatrical performance, entertainment programming, political activism, career preparation, and countless mutual interests.

A charter member of and the only private university in the Big Ten conference, Northwestern sponsors 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men’s and 11 women’s), as well as intramural, club, informal, and instructional sport and fitness programs. Fitness centers provide state-of-the-art facilities for exercise and recreation. Northwestern students even have their own beach and the opportunity to take sailing lessons.

Like the rest of Northwestern, university campuses are multi-dimensional and one-of-a-kind. The university’s Evanston and Chicago Campuses are 12 miles apart and bordered by a Great Lake. In addition to public transit, university’s free intercampus shuttle runs students between the Evanston and downtown Chicago campuses. On the Evanston campus, Students will find beaches, shops, coffee houses, restaurants, and theaters just down the street from classrooms, labs and lecture halls. Located in the bustling Streeterville neighborhood, Chicago campus is close to attractions such as the Magnificent Mile, the Museum of Contemporary Art and John Hancock Center.