Double-Counting Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. A course used to satisfy a distribution requirement can also be counted toward requirements for a major or a minor.

The general rule is that Weinberg College students may not count a course toward two different majors—but there are three types of exceptions: 

The general rule is that Weinberg College students may not count a course toward both a major and a minor—but there are two types of exceptions: 

• African Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Science in Human Culture each require at least five courses that are not also counted toward a major. (All awarded "certificates" before the College offered minors, and they retained double-counting allowances already in place.)
• The following minors once followed this “ex-certificate minor” rule, but have newer requirements that prohibit double-counting: Asian Studies, Business Institutions, Gender and Sexuality Studies (replacing the minor in Gender Studies), and Middle East and North African Studies (replacing the minor in Middle East Studies). Details on prior double-counting rules are in older editions of the Undergraduate Catalog; you may follow any set of requirements in effect during your years as an undergraduate at Northwestern.

No. A course counted toward one minor cannot be counted toward a second minor.

Yes. The requirements for some majors include courses identified as “related courses” in the Undergraduate Catalog and on department websites. Courses used as related courses for a major may also count toward a second major or toward a minor. (Some science majors refer to the “related courses” as, instead, “foundation courses.”)

See your major/minor advisers, and explain the situation. In most cases, one of them will approve a substitution for you. For example, you may be permitted to take a more advanced course instead or one that complements well the course you are counting toward your other program. In a few departments where higher-level courses build on earlier ones, an adviser may agree to waive a lower-level requirement for you; you will be permitted to complete the major or minor with one fewer course than is usually needed. An adviser who agrees to such a substitution or waiver should then notify the Registrar’s Office of this adjustment to your requirements.    

Similar substitutions (or, in some cases, waivers) may be approved in cases where a course is not required for both programs. For example, Psych 201 is required for a major in psychology and is among the courses that can count toward the methodology requirement for a minor in cognitive science. If you are majoring in psychology and minoring in cognitive science, then the cognitive science adviser may approve a different course as a substitute for Psych 201 or may allow you to take one fewer course from the methodology category and one more than is typically required from the elective category within the minor. The adviser should then notify the Registrar’s Office of this approved substitution.

Yes, as long as what you are doing fits all of the restrictions stated above, you can count a course toward three programs. For example, if you are majoring in both economics and psychology and minoring in math, you can count math courses used toward your math minor as related courses in both economics and psychology.  

Guidelines on certificates issued by Northwestern’s Office of the Provost state that "a certificate requires academic course work of at least four units that are not applied to a major or minor." Individual certificate programs may set more stringent rules.

Courses that are used as prerequisites for certificates (for example, social science courses included in the prerequisite course list for Medill’s certificate in integrated marketing communications) can also be counted toward a Weinberg major or minor.

Study abroad courses are subject to all the double-counting rules listed above. If you hope to count a study abroad course toward more than one requirement (e.g., two majors or a major and a distribution requirement), you should list that course in all relevant sections of your Petition for Credit from Study Abroad and should tell all relevant advisers that you hope to double-count it. It will facilitate the articulation process if you complete one single petition form for all your majors and/or minors.

Each course you take abroad can be counted as only one specific Northwestern course. For example, if you took a British history course at University College London, you could petition to have that course count toward a history major, an international studies major, and an Area IV distribution requirement. That course, however, could only be given a single designation, e.g., History 3XX.

Students in Northwestern’s other undergraduate schools should be sure to check with advisers in their home schools regarding relevant double-counting policies. Some information on double-counting for non-Weinberg students is summarized on the Registrar's website.