Rules and Policies for Foundational Disciplines
NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to Rules and Policies for Distribution Requirements. The information below pertains to students who started at Northwestern after Spring 2023.
Foundational discipline requirements can be filled in any of the following ways. Jump to various guidelines for these options:
Approved Northwestern courses
Most of the foundational discipline requirements are satisfied by students through completion of Northwestern coursework. The foundational discipline areas are defined by learning objectives, not by department or program academic field. For example, the courses from one department might not all be aligned with a single foundational area; there may be variation among the courses, and some are not aligned with any foundational discipline.
- You must choose from courses approved by a Weinberg College faculty committee. Each year some courses are added to the lists and others are deleted. Check designations on CAESAR when you register for classes. The CAESAR degree progress report will also reflect how courses are being applied towards your degree.
- Most approved courses count toward just one foundational discipline. No course may be applied by a student towards more than one foundational discipline area at the same time.
- A course taken to fulfill a requirement in a Weinberg College major or minor may at the same time be applied towards a foundational discipline if it is approved for a foundational discipline area.
- Other double-counting among WCAS degree requirement categories is also acceptable; in some cases one course may satisfy a foundational discipline, Advanced Expression, and/or either US or Global Perspectives on Power, Justice and Equity.
Grades in foundational discipline courses
- Up to two units of Northwestern credit may be applied towards Foundational Discipline requirements with a grade of Pass, but these may not be in the same foundational area. Students must fulfill one of the two Foundational Discipline requirements in each of the six areas with a course taken at Northwestern for a quality grade (A,B,C,D). Note that there are additional restrictions on courses that may be completed under the P/N option, and that not all courses are offered with this grading option.
- Note that students who intend to apply a course towards a foundational discipline and also some other requirement should not take the course P/N.
- Courses taken under "target grade" registration (currently available in the Schools of Education, Music, and Communication), even if they result in a regular letter grade, may also not be used to satisfy the Weinberg College requirements.
Courses taken at other colleges and universities
Courses taken at other colleges and universities cannot generally be used to fulfill foundational discipline requirements. This includes college-level courses you may have taken before you entered Northwestern as a first-year student. (See the guidelines for transfer credits for entering freshmen.)
However, there are two types of exceptions to this rule, and you can discuss these with your College Adviser.
Study abroad
Some Northwestern-run study abroad programs offer courses with Northwestern course numbers, and some are approved for a foundational discipline category; these may be applied even though your studies were not physically on the Northwestern University campus. If you study abroad with College approval but are not taking such Northwestern courses, you may be able to count a limited number of the courses you transfer back from study abroad toward your foundational discipline requirements. Students can receive a maximum of one unit of foundational discipline credit for each study abroad term, up to a maximum of two units. The two transferred units must be in different foundational areas.
Read about applying study abroad credits toward these requirements.
Transfer students
If you transferred to Northwestern from another college or university, some of your transferred courses (courses completed prior to matriculation at Northwestern) may count toward foundational discipline requirements. See Transfer Student Credit Evaluation.
test-based credit
Advanced Placement (AP) & HL International Baccalaureate (IB)
A maximum of two of the 12 courses you count toward your foundational discipline requirements can be credits you earned either through College Board AP or higher-level IB testing. Each of these must be in a different foundational area. There are other ways AP and IB credits may be applied towards degree progress - your adviser will be able to help you think about how your test-based credits can shape your academic plan.
CAESAR does not automatically slot test credits in for foundational discipline areas. You can do this yourself through the main menu options on CAESAR. Review qualifying AP and IB scores for your entering class.
- If you earn sufficiently high scores on exams and have your scores sent to Northwestern, then your credits should be posted to your record during the summer before your first year. You will be able to access this information through CAESAR, the on-line course information and registration system.
- If your credits have not posted on your transcript by the time you arrive on campus, consult with your adviser.
Other Exams
If you have taken an exam other than AP or IB (for example British A-Levels) you can request review for credit by submitting (1) the International Test Credit Evaluation Request form and (2) a copy of your score report to: wcas-forms@northwestern.edu.
Foundational discipline policy for credits based on exams other than AP or IB are under review. Updates may be posted here in 2023.
NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to Rules and Policies for Distribution Requirements. The information above pertains to students who started at Northwestern after Spring 2023.
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