The P/N Option

Some courses are set up such that students can choose between receiving a regular letter grade (A, B, C) or receiving a P (pass) or N (no credit) rather than a grade. The P/N option was created to allow you to experiment with classes outside your usual sphere of interest without endangering your academic standing.

To receive a P notation, you must earn a D or better in the class.  Only classes designated as "Student Option" in CAESAR can be taken P/N (classes designated "ABC Grading" must be taken for a standard letter grade). When you take a course P/N, your professor doesn't know; you will receive regular grades on all assignments and CAESAR will change your final grade once grades have been submitted.

Rules Regarding the P/N Options

Maximum number of P/N classes:

• Most Northwestern classes are worth one unit of credit.
• Only one class per quarter may be taken P/N.
• The total number of units of credit you take P/N may be no more than six (classes offered only on a P/N basis are exempt from this six-unit limit.)
• Grades for not more than one-fifth of the Northwestern units of credit used to meet graduation requirements may be P or D.

Types of classes open to P/N:

• Elective classes for the bachelor's degree (classes that count towards the units of Northwestern and Weinberg College credit required to graduate but not being directed towards any specific requirement) that are designated "Student Option" in CAESAR may be completed P/N.
• Students looking to fulfill foundational discipline requirements (i.e. students who started at Northwestern after Spring 2023) may apply a limited number of courses completed with a Pass to the foundational disciplines. For details see Grades in foundational discipline courses under Rules and Policies for Foundational Disciplines.

Types of classes students cannot take P/N:

• Classes designated as "ABC Grading" in CAESAR may not be taken P/N. 
• A class taken P/N cannot be used to fulfill the language proficiency requirement, first-year seminar requirement or College Seminar requirement, writing proficiency or written and oral expression requirement, and distribution areas or perspectives on power, justice and equity. All of these must be taken for a letter grade rather than P/N.
• You need to earn at least a C- in all major courses and all minor courses--including all related courses for the major--and in all prerequisites for these courses. If your major or minor is one that has prerequisites (e.g., some language majors), you must earn at least a C- in these courses too. Thus, none of these courses can be taken P/N.

Occasionally a student decides to major or minor in some area in which they have already taken a class P/N and has passed. Students in this situation should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for that department about possible solutions.

P/N registration deadlines:

If the option is available for a class, you must decide whether or not to take a class P/N before the last day of the 8th week of a quarter. The exact deadline for changing to or from P/N is on the Academic Calendar. You can make the change through CAESAR.