Undergraduate Program Administration
Find information about undergraduate student procedures and awards below.
Student procedures
Declaring a major or minor
The Declaration of Major and Declaration of Minor forms are two-part forms. The form must be completed by the student and signed by a department representative. Once signed, the top copy must be submitted by the student to the Weinberg Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising at 1922 Sheridan Road. The bottom should be retained by the Department or Program.
- Staff can obtain Declaration of Major or Minor forms from the Weinberg Office of Undergraduate Studies by contacting Peter Pappas at peterapappas@northwestern.edu or by calling extension 1-7560.
- The Major and Minor Worksheets list requirements for all Weinberg majors and minors.
Petitioning to graduate
The procedure is described on the Office of the Registrar's Graduation Petition Procedure webpage.
- Students must complete a Petition to Graduate for each of their declared majors and minors with their departmental adviser, whose signature is required.
- Once completed and signed by a department adviser, a copy should be saved for the program/department records and the student submits the original to the Registrar's Office.
Change of grade
The procedure to submit a change of grade is detailed on the Office of the Registrar's Grading Information for Faculty webpage.
- Faculty can use the online change of grade feature only for classes occurring the immediate preceding quarter.
- Paper change of grade forms must be completed for classes held more than a quarter prior. This form may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar.
- Once completed, paper change of grade forms should be submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Studies & Advising at 1922 Sheridan for review and approval by at dean.
Late Add
Once the quarterly deadline to add or change a course enrollment has passed (typically the end of the fifth day of the quarter), students must follow the late add process to enroll in or swap courses, including changing discussion sections and labs. Please see the CAESAR Registration FAQ page on the Office of the Registrar's website.
- Students must complete a Registration Exception form AND a Petition for Late Add form at the Office of Undergraduate Studies & Advising at 1922 Sheridan Road.
- In addition to the completed forms, students must provide a permission number and/or an email from the professor approving late entry into the class. The Office of Undergraduate Studies may require additional documentation from the department or student, particularly late into the quarter.
- The dean's approval is granted on a case-by-case basis.
Late Drop
Once the quarterly drop deadline has passed (typically the last day of the sixth week of the quarter), students must follow the late drop process to discontinue enrollment in courses. Please see the CAESAR Registration FAQ page on the Office of the Registrar's website.
- Students must complete a Registration Exception form AND a Petition for a Late Drop or Withdraw form at the Academic Advising Office at 1908 Sheridan Road.
- Students must meet with their Weinberg College Adviser to discuss their petition(s) before forms are delivered to the dean at 1922 Sheridan Road for review.
- The dean's approval is granted on a case-by-case basis.
Transfer a Non-Northwestern Credit
Students may petition to receive credit for a course taken at another U.S. institution after matriculation to Northwestern University. The policies and procedures to do so are detailed on the Office of the Registrar's Transfer a Non-Northwestern Credit webpage.
- Students complete an online petition for credit that asks them to indicate a course offered at the University that is similar to the course they will be taking at another institution.
- Based on the student's information the petition is automatically routed to a designated approver at the department level. The designated approver is typically the DUS with the Undergraduate Program Assistant serving as a back-up proxy.
Student Awards and Honors
Departments and programs will be prompted, starting in February, to enter proposed student awards and honors onto the respective web sites. The deadline is usually the third week in May.
Students receiving academic prizes and awards are invited to a Weinberg Deans’ Office reception in early June. Seniors graduating with honors will be listed in the commencement book at graduation. Those winning awards and prizes related to their outstanding senior honors projects will also be recognized during the Weinberg College Convocation.
For more information
- Honors Nominations
- Departmental Awards
- Contact the Weinberg Office of Undergraduate Studies via email or at 847-491-7560.