From the Dean
Applications to Weinberg College increased this year by more than 20 percent, and the quality of those applications is extraordinary. One of the key reasons that Northwestern, and the College in particular, is attracting so many top students is that we offer innovative academic programs that match well with student interests. Our established, interdisciplinary programs such as Integrated Sciences, Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, and American Studies are thriving, and recently developed or redesigned programs such as Global Health Studies and International Studies are extremely popular. We are now poised to add two new programs that will deepen the curriculum and attract ambitious students.
In 2007-08, the Kaplan Humanities Institute will inaugurate the intensive Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program for forty-eight invited freshmen (see http://www.kaplanfreshman.northwestern.edu/ for details). Kaplan Scholars will take a set of linked courses and seminars all focused on the enduring question of what makes a good society. The fall courses (entitled “Brave New Worlds”) will approach this topic by way of literary visions of utopia and dystopia, and the winter courses (“Confronting Capitalism”) will explore economic and political theories for how societies can flourish. We anticipate that the program will draw freshmen interested in all fields of study in the College but who all share the eagerness for an intensive discussion of deep and ongoing issues through the wide lens of humanities scholarship. This program offers our faculty opportunities to collaborate and teach in ways that go beyond the boundaries of their home departments. From their very first quarter, our students will start to learn new ways to bring together the perspectives of different fields on complex, enduring problems. This program will also serve as a springboard into student engagement in research, internships, and volunteer activities that allow students to test the ideas that emerge from their studies and enable them to explore their interests beyond the classroom.
The second new initiative that will launch in 2007-08 is a joint program in financial economics with the Kellogg School of Management. For the first time, Kellogg will provide undergraduates an opportunity to pursue a field of study in courses taught by Kellogg faculty (see http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate/index.htm). Students who excel in a rigorous set of math, statistics, and economics prerequisites can apply to this program for their junior year. Students who complete the four specially-designed courses will receive a certificate from Kellogg upon graduation in addition to their B.A. in a major from the College. This will be a phenomenal opportunity for our undergraduates, and will position them extremely well for internships and post-graduate careers in many fields, including the financial industry and government.
Our students are multi-talented and highly curious about the world. We constantly challenge ourselves to provide them with the best opportunities for their intellectual growth. I am delighted that these new programs will provide additional pathways and rigorous instruction for the next generation of Weinberg College students.
