Every student in Weinberg College must complete a major in order to graduate. You must also complete your general degree requirements, including freshman seminars, distribution requirements, foreign language proficiency, and writing proficiency. However, unless you transferred late to Weinberg College or took a long time to settle on you major (or you're doing an adjunct major that requires completion of another major too), you will probably have several slots left over for elective courses.
You should make good use of your elective courses. One possibility is to use some of these electives to complete a minor, certificate, or concentration. Options for Weinberg College students are available within Weinberg College and in several other schools at Northwestern.
- Minors in Weinberg College are offered through many of the College's departments and programs. Some important general rules and policies apply to minors. You can consult our minor worksheets to find specific requirements.
- The School of Communication offers minors in dance, film and media studies, human communication sciences, sound design, and theater, as well as an adjunct major in animate arts.
- The School of Education and Social Policy offers a certificate in civic engagement. In addition, Weinberg College students interested in becoming teachers can earn state teaching certification through the secondary teaching program.
- The McCormick School of Engineering offers a certificate in engineering design through its Institute for Design Engineering and Applications (IDEA).
- The Kellogg School of Management offers two certificate programs for undergraduates with strong analytic skills, one in financial economics and one in managerial analytics.
- The Medill School of Journalism offers an undergraduate certificate in integrated marketing communications.
- The School of Music offers minors in commercial music, jazz studies, music cognition, music composition, music technology and musicology, as well as a concentration in music.
- In addition, an interschool minor is offered in transportation and logistics, and students can earn a certificate through the Undergraduate Leadership Program.
Each of these minors, certificates, and concentrations is an excellent choice for some Weinberg students. Before you decide to complete a minor, certificate, or concentration, however, you should carefully consider other options, including independent study, field studies, and individual courses that just pique your curiosity. You may also want to use your electives to take courses in multiple fields -- perhaps more than one in a field, but less than a full minor or certificate -- so that you can go deeper into more areas of interest. Discussing the possibilities with your College Adviser, Freshman Adviser, or an adviser for the particular program you are considering may also be very helpful.
