First-year deadlines, 2026–27
| Plan | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Early decision Apply early, hear early, and you must enroll if admitted. Binding. | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular decision The standard deadline, with answers in spring. Not binding. | January 4, 2027 |
Plans are listed in calendar order. What the plans mean
Source: admissions.northwestern.edu · checked September 26, 2026
What families actually pay
Average yearly net price after grants, all students, by family income
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard · data snapshot October 2, 2026
AP credit
Most-taken exams, lowest score that earns credit| Exam | Min score | Northwestern University course | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 5 | 1 unit (BIOL_SCI 1XX) | |
| Chemistry | 5 | 1 unit (CHEM 1XX) | |
| Physics 1 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 130-1 and lab course 13X-1) | |
| English Language and Composition | 5 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LC) | |
| English Literature and Composition | 5 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LT) | |
| United States History | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2US) | |
| Psychology | 5 | 1 unit (PSYCH 110-0) | |
| Statistics | 4 | 1 unit (STAT 210-0) |
Show all 36 exams and every score level
| Exam | Min score | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 5 | 1 unit (BIOL_SCI 1XX) | |
| Chemistry | 5 | 1 unit (CHEM 1XX) | |
| Physics 1 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 130-1 and lab course 13X-1) | |
| English Language and Composition | 5 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LC) | |
| English Literature and Composition | 5 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LT) | |
| United States History | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2US) | |
| Psychology | 5 | 1 unit (PSYCH 110-0) | |
| Statistics | 4 | 1 unit (STAT 210-0) | |
| Computer Science A | 4 | 1 unit (COMP_SCI 1CA) | |
| Macroeconomics | 5 | 1 unit (ECON 201-0) | |
| Microeconomics | 5 | 1 unit (ECON 202-0) | |
| World History: Modern | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2WL) | |
| Environmental Science | 5 | 1 unit (EARTH 1ES) | |
| Physics 2 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 130-2 and lab course 13X-2) | |
| European History | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2EU) | |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (SPANISH 2LN) | |
| Computer Science Principles | 4 | 1 unit (COMP_SCI 1CP) | |
| Art History | 5 | 1 unit (ART_HIST 2XX) | |
| Music Theory | 5 | 1 unit (GEN_MUS 252-0) | |
| African American Studies | 5 | 1 unit (BLK_ST 2XX) | |
| Art: 2-D Art and Design | 5 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) | |
| Art: 3-D Art and Design | 5 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) | |
| Art: Drawing | 5 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) | |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (CHINESE 1LN) | |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 5 | 1 unit (POLI_SCI 2XX) | |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (FRENCH 1LN) | |
| Geography (Human) | 5 | 1 unit (EARTH 1GE) | |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (GERMAN 1LN) | |
| Government and Politics (United States) | 5 | 1 unit (POLI_SCI 2XX) | |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (ITALIAN 2LN) | |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (JAPANESE 1LN) | |
| Latin | 4 | 1 unit (LATIN 2LN) | |
| Mathematics (Calculus) AB, or the AB subscore of Calculus BC | 4 | 1 unit (MATH 220-1) | |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 135-2 and lab course 136-2) | |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 135-1 and lab course 136-1) | |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (SPANISH 2LT) |
Source: registrar.northwestern.edu · checked September 19, 2026
Biggest majors
| Major | Graduates |
|---|---|
| Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 238 |
| Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | 165 |
| Biology/Biological Sciences | 137 |
| Computer Science | 120 |
| Neuroscience | 110 |
| Information Science/Studies | 110 |
| Psychology | 93 |
| Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts | 91 |
Show the other 69 majors
| Mechanical Engineering | 78 |
| Speech Communication and Rhetoric | 77 |
| Political Science and Government | 68 |
| Radio and Television | 68 |
| Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering | 65 |
| Industrial Engineering | 65 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy | 61 |
| Public Policy Analysis | 40 |
| Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics | 32 |
| Chemical Engineering | 28 |
| Music Performance | 25 |
| Mathematics | 25 |
| History | 24 |
| English Language and Literature | 22 |
| Data Science | 21 |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 21 |
| Computer Engineering | 21 |
| Civil Engineering | 21 |
| Materials Engineering | 19 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services, Other | 19 |
| Statistics | 19 |
| Physics | 17 |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 16 |
| Environmental Science | 16 |
| Chemistry | 14 |
| Music | 14 |
| Stringed Instruments | 14 |
| Organizational Behavior Studies | 13 |
| Communication Sciences and Disorders | 12 |
| Voice and Opera | 12 |
| Sociology | 12 |
| Applied Mathematics | 11 |
| Anthropology | 11 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | 10 |
| Philosophy | 9 |
| Social Sciences | 8 |
| Music Teacher Education | 7 |
| Linguistics | 6 |
| Art History, Criticism and Conservation | 6 |
| Keyboard Instruments | 6 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences | 5 |
| Legal Studies | 5 |
| Learning Sciences | 4 |
| Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies | 4 |
| Music Theory and Composition | 3 |
| Dance | 3 |
| Economics | 3 |
| Spanish Language and Literature | 3 |
| French Language and Literature | 3 |
| Engineering | 3 |
| American/United States Studies/Civilization | 3 |
| Geology/Earth Science | 2 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies | 2 |
| Comparative Literature | 2 |
| Secondary Education and Teaching | 2 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other | 2 |
| Near and Middle Eastern Studies | 2 |
| African-American/Black Studies | 1 |
| Asian-American Studies | 1 |
| Computer and Information Sciences | 1 |
| Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 1 |
| German Language and Literature | 1 |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 1 |
| Humanities/Humanistic Studies | 1 |
| Religion/Religious Studies | 1 |
| Materials Science | 1 |
| Art/Art Studies | 1 |
| Musicology and Ethnomusicology | 1 |
| Jazz/Jazz Studies | 1 |
Bachelor’s graduates, first major, most recent year · Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, IPEDS · data snapshot October 2, 2026
Ranked programs
Where Northwestern University ranks in the top 25 on our top-programs lists, best rank first. How we rank programs
- #1 for Speech-language pathologyof 50 colleges
- #2 for Human resourcesof 50 colleges
- #3 for Civil engineeringof 50 colleges
- #4 for Environmental engineeringof 50 colleges
- #4 for Information systemsof 50 colleges
- #5 for Public healthof 50 colleges
- #7 for Industrial engineeringof 50 colleges
- #7 for Materials science and engineeringof 49 colleges
Show the other 15 ranked programs
- #8 for Chemistryof 50 colleges
- #8 for Computer engineeringof 50 colleges
- #9 for Businessof 50 colleges
- #10 for Chemical engineeringof 50 colleges
- #13 for Statisticsof 50 colleges
- #14 for Software engineeringof 50 colleges
- #15 for Biomedical engineeringof 50 colleges
- #15 for Mathematicsof 50 colleges
- #16 for Mechanical engineeringof 50 colleges
- #17 for Computer scienceof 50 colleges
- #17 for Economicsof 50 colleges
- #17 for Electrical engineeringof 50 colleges
- #19 for Physicsof 50 colleges
- #20 for Biologyof 50 colleges
- #20 for Neuroscienceof 50 colleges
Scholarships
Amounts and eligibility change; check the college’s page for current details.
Sports and campus life
Men’s varsity · NCAA Division I, Big Ten
Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming and Diving (combined), Tennis, Wrestling
Women’s varsity · NCAA Division I, Big Ten
Basketball, Cross Country, Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and Diving (combined), Tennis, Volleyball
ROTC
Air Force, Army, Navy
Faith groups
Cru, Hillel, InterVarsity, Newman Connection
Also
Study abroad
Greek life
14% of men in fraternities · 18% of women in sororities · 16% of undergraduates overall (Common Data Set 2024–25)
Sources: U.S. Dept. of Education athletics data (EADA), Common Data Set (Greek life), hillel.org · checked September 4, 2026 · data snapshot October 2, 2026
The place
Setting
City, small
Federal locale classification
Metro area
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
9,408,576 people
Big-city metro (1 million+)
Yes
More about the place
Nearest airport
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
Nearest hub airport
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
Walkability
EPA walkability index 13.5 of 20
Elevation
606 ft
Time zone
Central
January low
16°F
July high
84°F
Annual snowfall
33.6 in
Days at 90°F or higher
17 per year
One-bedroom fair market rent
$2,330 per month
Sources: U.S. Dept. of Education (IPEDS locale), U.S. Census metro estimates, NOAA climate normals, HUD fair market rents, EPA walkability · data snapshot October 2, 2026
Colleges nearby
- Loyola University Chicago4 mi
- Hebrew Theological College5 mi
- Northeastern Illinois University5 mi
- North Park University5 mi
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago12 mi
- National Louis University12 mi
Straight-line distance between campuses
Similar colleges
Private nonprofit, city campus, NCAA Division I, similar size
- Columbia University in the City of New York9,111 students
- Harvard University9,095 students
- Boston College10,083 students
- University of Dayton8,176 students
- Howard University10,190 students
- California Baptist University8,110 students