Dual Bachelor's Degree Programs
Most Northwestern students who complete two majors earn only one degree, even if they do majors in two different schools. It is possible, however, to earn two undergraduate degrees through a dual bachelor’s degree program. Two such programs are available to Weinberg College students:
Liberal Arts and Engineering (BA/BS)
Like many engineering schools, Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science offers students the opportunity to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree along with their Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Doing so typically requires five years of undergraduate study.
Application and admission
- Students interested in this program should first seek advising from McCormick about engineering requirements and then from a Weinberg College Adviser about College requirements.
- If you are currently enrolled in just one school, you should apply for acceptance to the other school too; use the "Request to Add a Dual-Degree Program" form, available through the Registrar's Forms website. This should be submitted before the end of your sophomore year. Students pursuing the BA/BS program most often begin their studies in the McCormick School.
- If you are on financial aid, be sure to check on the implications of enrollment in a dual bachelor's degree program.
Requirements
- To earn degrees from both schools, you must complete all degree requirements of both schools, including all requirements for a major in each. However, you may be exempted from the requirement that you earn a minimum of 34 units of credit in Weinberg College disciplines; see the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs to request this exemption.
- See information on the Undergraduate Registration Requirement for details on how many quarters you must spend at Northwestern and how many Northwestern courses you must complete if you pursue this dual bachelor's degree program.
- Guidelines for the BA/BS program allow the double-counting of courses toward both sets of degree requirements. For example, math and science courses taken as part of the McCormick requirements can also count as distribution requirement or foundational discipline courses for Weinberg, and they can count toward both the 48 units of credit required by McCormick and the 45 units required by Weinberg. (The usual restrictions on double-counting a course toward more than one major, or toward both a major and a minor, still apply; see the webpage on Weinberg double-counting rules.)
Liberal Arts and Music (BA/BMusic)
Northwestern offers qualified students the opportunity to earn both a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Bienen School of Music.
If you are in the BA/BMusic program, you will work closely with academic advisers from both schools to develop your individual curricular program. You will probably follow a balanced curriculum in which about half of your coursework each year is done in each school. It is possible, however, to front-load your program with courses in one school and to then take mostly courses in the other school during later years.
Application and admission
- To be admitted to the BA/BMusic program, you must meet the admissions standards of both schools.
- Most students doing the BA/BMusic program indicate their interest when applying to Northwestern and are accepted to both schools. However, if you want to do this dual bachelor's degree program and you are currently enrolled in just one school, you should file paperwork requesting acceptance to the other school; use the "Request to Add a Dual-Degree Program," available through the Registrar's Forms website. This should be submitted before the end of your sophomore year.
- If you are on financial aid, be sure to check on the implications of enrollment in a dual bachelor's degree program.
Requirements
- You will need to take at least 60 courses: at least 30 in the School of Music and at least 30 in Weinberg College. Courses taken in other schools of the University, such as the School of Communication, do not count towards these totals. AP credit counts in the usual way. You must fulfill all degree requirements for both the BA and the BMusic.
- See information on the Undergraduate Registration Requirement for details on how many quarters you must spend at Northwestern and how many Northwestern courses you must complete as part of this dual bachelor's degree program.
- Among the non-Weinberg courses being applied toward the 45 units required for the Weinberg College Bachelor's degree, students in the BA/BMusic program can count up to nine units of applied music. You can also use some of your music courses to fulfill distribution requirements; for details, see the webpage on distribution requirements for dual-degree students. For students who start at Northwestern after Spring Quarter 2023, special rules for the revised degree requirements are under review.