The P/N Option
You may enroll in some classes with the understanding that you will receive 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.
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) 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
- Certain classes are designated by the departments as closed to P/N; information on the availability of the P/N option is included in the detailed CAESAR information on each class.
- 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 he or she has already taken a class P/N and has earned a grade of P. If this happens to you, you can petition for permission to count the class toward your major or minor. To do this, consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in that major or minor.
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 given in each quarter's Class Schedule. You can make the change through CAESAR.
Winter 2020 and Spring 2020 quarters
For classes completed during Winter and Spring 2020 exceptions were made to the normal P/N policies. A summary is available in the 2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog addendum. Please consult your College Adviser if you have questions.
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