Most students who complete a second major at Northwestern earn only one degree, completing two majors within Weinberg College or majors in two different schools. It is possible, however, to graduate from NU with two undergraduate degrees. Students can earn a BA and a BS (the first from Weinberg College and the second from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science) or a BA and a BMusic (the first from WCAS and the second from the School of Music).
Liberal Arts and Engineering (BA/BS)
Like many engineering schools, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science (MEAS) at Northwestern offers students the opportunity to receive a BA along with the BS in Engineering through a special program. Doing so typically requires five years of undergraduate study; see information on the Undergraduate Residence Requirement for details.
McCormick maintains information about the program's requirements. If you are interested in earning both a BS from McCormick and a BA from Weinberg College, you should first seek advising from McCormick and then from the Assistant Dean for Academic and Advanced Standing at the Weinberg College Office of Undergraduate Studies (1922 Sheridan Road, 491-7560). You will need to file a petition outlining your dual plan of study before your fourth year, and your plan must be approved by both colleges and by your major departments in both McCormick and Weinberg. You must complete the stated degree requirements of both schools and both majors, with one exception. Students acquiring dual degrees from McCormick and Weinberg College are often exempted--by decision of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs--from the rule that a maximum of eleven non-Weinberg College courses may be included in the 45 units required for graduation.
If you want to do this double-degree program and you are officially enrolled in McCormick, be sure to interschool transfer to Weinberg College before your senior year.
You should also be aware of the financial aid implications of pursuing this dual degree program: You will still be eligible for State and Federal aid, but not Northwestern grant aid, during your fifth year.
Liberal Arts and Music (BA/BM)
Northwestern offers qualified students the opportunity to earn both a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a Bachelor of Music degree from the School of Music in a special five-year program. To be admitted to the BA/BMusic program, you must meet the admissions standards of both schools. You will need to take at least 60 courses: at least 30 in the School of Music and at least 30 in Weinberg College. Courses taken in other undergraduate schools of the University, such as Communication or Journalism, do not count towards these totals; AP credit counts in the usual way. You must complete all degree requirements for both the BA and the BMusic, and your Undergraduate Residence Requirement will be 15 quarters.
Students in the BA/BMusic program can count up to nine units of applied music credit toward fulfillment of Weinberg College degree requirements. (The usual limit is three.) You can use some of your music courses to fulfill distribution requirements. You can receive one distribution credit in Area II (Formal Studies) for any three quarters of Music 111-1,2,3-Music Theory I or Music 211-1,2,3-Music Theory II (but not both) and one in Area VI (Literature and Fine Arts) for the Music 212-1,2,3-Music History sequence.
If you are in the BA/BMusic program, you will work closely with academic advisers from both schools to develop your individual curricular program. You will probably follow a balanced curriculum in which about half of your coursework each year is done in each school. It is possible, however, to frontload your program with courses in one school and to then take mostly courses in the other school during later years.
