Weinberg College
of Arts & Sciences

Yes. A course applied towards a foundational discipline 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: 

a) The requirements for some majors include courses identified as “related courses” in the Undergraduate Catalog and on department websites. For example, biology majors must take “related courses” in chemistry. Courses used as “related courses” for one major may also count toward a second major’s department or related courses. (Some science majors refer to the “related courses” as, instead, “foundation courses.”)

b) Three adjunct majors (majors that require the completion of another major too) allow a limited amount of double-counting: African Studies, International Studies, and Science in Human Culture. See the Undergraduate Catalog or your adviser for the adjunct major for details.

c) Five other interdisciplinary majors (Asian Studies; Cognitive Science; Comparative Literary Studies; Middle East and North African Studies; Neuroscience) allow a limited amount of double-counting. See the Undergraduate Catalog or your adviser for your interdisciplinary major for details.

As long as one of your majors allows a course to double-count, then you can double-count it. 
Here’s another way to think of this: Some special adjunct or interdisciplinary majors (identified in 2b and 2c above, as well as in the Undergraduate Catalog) allow a student to waive a specified number of courses if the student takes these courses for another major. Courses that a student takes for one major and, as a consequence, doesn’t have to take for the other major, are said to be double-counted.

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: 

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

b) Four interdisciplinary Weinberg College minors allow limited double-counting of courses toward a major: African Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Science in Human Culture.

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.    

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 foundational discipline 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 the historical studies foundational discipline 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 as well as their Weinberg College major or minor adviser regarding relevant double-counting policies. Additional information on double-counting for non-Weinberg students is on the Registrar's website