Northwestern University

Overview

Northwestern University is a private research university based in Evanston, Illinois. The university is known for its competitive academic programs and its emphasis on interdisciplinary education.

Northwestern has a vast catalog of academic programs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional-level studies, offering over 4,000 courses annually. Students also get options for online, blended, and distance learning for a wide variety of master's and doctoral programs. In addition to undergraduate and graduate courses, Northwestern offers summer session courses and pre-collegiate programs for youth. The university has been recognized for its academic excellence, placing in national rankings, particularly for its schools and programs on materials engineering, business, chemistry, economics, and law.

Born from an idea to establish a university to serve the U.S. Northwest Territory, Northwestern University was founded in 1851. The university's founders established a campus on 379 acres of land along Lake Michigan and named the surrounding town Evanston, after John Evans, one of the founders of the university. The university's first schools included the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (1851), the Pritzker School of Law (1859), and the nationally recognized Feinberg School of Medicine (1859).

Today, the university comprises more than 10 degree-granting schools, along with Northwestern's first satellite campus in Education City, Doha. The university's Doha campus offers bachelor's degrees in journalism and communication.

Throughout the years, Northwestern University has remained committed to pursuing innovative research and encouraging student growth in a diverse academic environment. The university has been affiliated with numerous Nobel Prize laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Rhodes Scholars, and National Medal of Science winners. Many among its faculty are also members of the National Academies for Engineering, Education, and Medicine.

The university also places great emphasis on research, with over a thousand research laboratories across its Evanston and Chicago campuses, along with over 40 university research institutes and centers. The university's Core Facilities also span a diverse range of scientific fields, including biomedical sciences and medicine. The university's schools of management, engineering, and communication are particularly known for their productivity in academic research.

The university's teaching hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, is also considered one of the top hospitals in both Chicago and Illinois. The hospital conducts more than 4,500 clinical trials and studies annually, generating the majority of Northwestern's research revenue.

In addition to its numerous research facilities, the university's library system has gained recognition among private universities in the U.S.. Northwestern's libraries feature nearly 6 million print and electronic volumes in its combined collections.