All Northwestern undergraduate students are subject to the university's Undergraduate Residence Requirement. Each student (excepting those in some special programs) has a basic requirement of 12 full-time quarters of enrollment at Northwestern, but this number can be reduced through AP credits and in other ways as well. See the registrar's description of the Undergraduate Residence Requirement for details. (The official statement on the Undergraduate Residence Requirement appears in the Undergraduate Catalog.)
In addition, Weinberg College policies govern how many courses a student needs to graduate and set limits on certain types of courses.
- All Weinberg College students, except those in ISP, HPME, and the combined BA/BMusic program, must successfully complete 45 one-unit courses in order to graduate. Almost all courses taught at Northwestern are worth one unit. Two half-unit courses count as one full unit, and two one-and-a-half-unit courses count as three full units toward this requirement.
- Your last 23 courses must be taken while you are enrolled as an undergraduate at Northwestern. Exceptions are sometimes made for approved summer study at other U.S. institutions and for approved study abroad.
- You must be enrolled in Weinberg College for the last three quarters before you complete your degree requirements. For example, if you start your Northwestern studies in the School of Communication, but plan to graduate with a Weinberg degree instead, you need to complete the paperwork for an Interschool Transfer in time to make sure that you are a Weinberg student for your last three quarters. (This senior residence requirement is occasionally waived for late interschool transfer students who have taken a majority of their classes in Weinberg College. Students who desire such a waiver should contact the Assistant Dean for Academic and Advanced Standing.)
- No more than eleven quarter-courses offered by other schools of the University may be counted toward the BA degree from Weinberg College. No more than three of these credits may be applied music courses. Approved School of Continuing Studies courses in Weinberg disciplines do not count toward this limit.
If you take 4 one-unit courses per quarter, three quarters per year, for four full years, then you will end up with a total of 48 courses. Only 45 courses are required for graduation, so even if you enter with no AP, IB, or transfer credits, you can have three quarters with only three courses (which also counts as a full load) and still graduate on time. This gives you some flexibility in planning your schedule, as well as the opportunity to very occasionally drop a course without falling behind.
