Distribution requirements can be filled in any of the following ways, subject to various guidelines:
1. Approved Northwestern Courses
You must choose your distribution requirement courses from a list approved by a Weinberg College faculty committee. Each year some courses are added to the list and others are deleted; only courses on the approved list for the year you take them satisfy the requirements. Lists of distribution courses approved for each year are available online.
Distribution areas are defined by intellectual criteria, and many departments offer courses in more than one area. For example, in addition to offering many courses that count toward the distribution requirement in Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Anthropology department offers courses that count toward Natural Sciences, Formal Studies, Historical Studies, and Ethics and Values.
Most approved courses count toward just one distribution area. Some Interdisciplinary Studies courses can count toward more than one distribution area, subject to certain rules and limitations.
Grades in distribution courses. You must earn a grade of at least D in all courses you use to fulfill the Weinberg College distribution requirements. Courses taken P/N may not be used to satisfy these requirements. Courses taken under "target grade" registration (currently available in the Schools of Education, Music, and Communication), even if they result in a regular letter grade, may also not be used to satisfy the Weinberg College distribution requirements.
2. Courses taken at other colleges and universities
Courses taken at other colleges and universities cannot typically be used to fulfill distribution requirements. However, if you study abroad, then, with College approval, you may be able to count a limited number of your study abroad courses. In addition, if you transferred to Northwestern from another college or university, some of your transfer courses may count toward distribution requirements. More information for transfer students is available online.
If you took courses at another college or university and then entered Northwestern as a freshman, these courses cannot be used to fulfill distribution requirements, but they may count toward your degree in other ways. See the guidelines for transfer credits for entering freshmen.
If you are considering using coursework form other institutions toward your distribution requirements, it’s a good idea to consult with your College Adviser.
3. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Credit
A maximum of two of the twelve courses you count toward your distribution requirements can be credits you earned through AP or higher-level IB testing. Each of these must be in a different distribution requirement area. (NOTE: Students who entered before Fall 2006 can count up to six AP or IB credits toward the distribution requirements.) Lists of qualifying AP and IB scores are available online for each entering class.
If you earn sufficiently high scores on AP exams and have your scores sent to Northwestern, then your credits should be posted to your record during the summer before your freshman year. You will be able to access this information through CAESAR, the on-line course information and registration system.
Your AP credits may not be posted on your transcript before you arrive on campus, so be sure to consult with your freshman adviser if this is the case. Your freshman adviser will also be able to help you think about how your AP credits can shape your fall quarter schedule.
4. Substitutions for Distribution Requirements
Sometimes students want to use courses not on the approved list to fulfill distribution requirements. To request permission to substitute non-approved courses for these requirements, download the Petition for Substitution of Distribution Requirements, check the appropriate box, and follow the accompanying instructions. In completing this form, you may find it helpful to refer to the detailed descriptions of the distribution areas.
Three types of substitutions are described below:
Substitutions involving pairs of courses. Most approved distribution substitutions fall into this category. Sometimes a student has taken two or more courses that appear to fit the description of a distribution requirement area, but these courses are not included on the approved distribution course list for that area. Such a student can petition for permission to substitute a pair of related courses in fulfillment of a single unit of the requirement. For example, a student who has taken several 300-level religion courses, but has completed only one approved course in Area V-Ethics and Values, may request permission to count two relevant religion courses that are not on the approved list, considered together, as completing the remaining Area V requirement.
Substitutions due to extreme schedule constraints. Courses can be placed on the approved distribution course list only after being proposed for inclusion by the department and then scrutinized and approved by the College's Curricular Review Committee. Thus, the situations in which a request to count a single non-approved course can be granted are extremely limited. These often involve showing that unusual circumstances prevent you from fulfilling the requirement with a regularly approved course. Any claim that you cannot fulfill the distribution requirements in the usual way must be accompanied by evidence that other required courses will fill all future spaces in your schedule. Because courses used to complete a second major or a minor, internships, certificates, and elective courses are merely optional, they are not considered required courses for this purpose.
Substitutions involving courses approved for standard distribution credit after they were completed. Exceptions may also be made for students who took a course that was subsequently approved for distribution credit by the Curricular Review Committee. You can request such a substitution by using the standard Petition for Substitution of Distribution Requirements.
