Weinberg College
of Arts & Sciences

Foundational Disciplines and Overlays

NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the Distribution Requirements page. The information below pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.

Foundational Disciplines

You must take two courses (two units) in each of six foundational intellectual areas. Foundational discipline courses are eligible to be applied towards other degree requirements at the same time - overlays (see below), major, and/or advanced expression.

1. Natural Sciences (FD-NS)
2. Empirical and Deductive Reasoning (FD-EDR)
3. Social and Behavioral Science (FD-SBS)
4. Historical Studies (FD-HS)
5. Ethical and Evaluative Thinking (FD-EET)
6. Literature and Arts (FD-LA)

Overlays

The two-part transdisciplinary overlay aims to infuse the Weinberg College curriculum with active discussions about how to navigate the local-global continuum amidst the complex and highly dynamic social and political movements of today and in the past. In particular, these overlays ask students to reflect on their own perspective as necessarily the product of interconnected webs of people, ideas, and events.

Students complete one course (one unit) in each area. Overlay courses are eligible to be applied towards other degree requirements at the same time -  foundational disciplines (see above), major, and/or advanced expression.

• Overlay 1: U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
• Overlay 2: Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Find courses

• Starting in 2023 you will be able to review the lists of approved courses.
• Starting in Fall 2023 you will be able to search for a course in the Undergraduate Catalog to see which overlay and/or foundational discipline it fits.
• Each registration cycle the course offerings on CAESAR will reflect the foundational discipline and overlay categories of each course, where applicable.

more information

• Read rules and policies for fulfilling foundational disciplines and overlay requirements, including test-credit policy.
• It is a good strategy to start on foundational disciplines and overlays early, because these can be the foundation for more advanced courses and inform decisions about which major to choose.
• If you transferred to Northwestern from another college or university, some of your transferred courses may count toward foundational discipline and overlay requirements. See Transfer Student Credit Evaluation.

NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the Distribution Requirements page. The information above pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.