Northwestern University: Statistics
Updated:
EliteDegrees
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| # 31 of 14,131 | In the World |
| # 27 of 2,597 | In North America |
| # 25 of 2,496 | In the United States |
| # 3 of 100 | In Illinois |
| # 1 of 4 | In Evanston |
| # 7 of 99 | For Journalism and Digital Media |
| Top 1-3 | For 12 other topics |
Quick Review
Acceptance rate
8%
Average SAT
1,540
Average ACT
34
Avg. cost to attend
$26,830 /y
Aid receiving
62%
Undergraduates
9,399
Graduates
14,457
Male:Female Ratio
44:56
Type
Privatenot-for-profit
Highest Degree
Doctor's degree
Website
Acceptance rate & Admissions
Northwestern University has an acceptance rate of 8% and is among the top 1% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.
| Total | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance Rate | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Applicants | 49,474 | 23,774 | 25,686 |
| Admissions | 3,806 | 1,735 | 2,070 |
| Freshmen enrolled full time | 2,105 | 977 | 1,127 |
Admissions requirements
| College-preparatory program | Required |
|---|---|
| Recommendations | Required |
| Secondary school record | Required |
| TOEFL | Required |
| SAT/ACT | Considered but not required |
| Secondary school GPA | Considered but not required |
| Secondary school rank | Considered but not required |
| Formal demonstration of competencies | Neither required nor recommended |
| Other Tests | Neither required nor recommended |
Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity
| ■ White | 33% |
|---|---|
| ■ Nonresident Alien | 22% |
| ■ Asian | 16% |
| ■ Hispanic | 11% |
| ■ Black or African American | 6% |
| ■ Two or more races | 5% |
| ■ Unknown | 7% |
Tuition
Below is the standard credit pricing for the various degree levels offered at Northwestern University.
| Degree Level | Cost Per Credit |
|---|---|
| Associate Degree | 1,749 CR |
| Bachelor Program | 1,950 CR |
| Master Program | 2,149 CR |
| Ph.D. / Doctoral | 2,850 CR |
Final tuition fees may vary based on specific department requirements, residency status, and selected elective courses. Please contact the admissions office for a detailed financial breakdown.
Northwestern University majors
Northwestern University has granted 2,160 bachelor's degrees across 77 programs, 4,887 master's across 107 programs, and 1,078 doctorate degrees across 62 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Northwestern University.
| Major | Bachelor | Master | Doctoral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management Science | - | 1,617 | - |
| Digital Communication and Media & Multimedia | 165 | 430 | 9 |
| Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 238 | 69 | 31 |
| Counseling Psychology | - | 330 | - |
| Law | - | - | 293 |
| Computer Science | 120 | 139 | 18 |
| Business Administration and Management, General | - | 217 | - |
| Programs for Foreign Lawyers | - | 217 | - |
| Information Science & Studies | 110 | 51 | - |
| Biology & Biological Sciences, General | 137 | - | 18 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 78 | 46 | 18 |
| Medicine | - | - | 141 |
| Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering | 65 | 47 | 19 |
| Neuroscience | 110 | 1 | 7 |
| Psychology, General | 93 | 18 | - |
| Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General | 91 | 6 | 5 |
| Legal Professions and Studies, Other | - | 93 | - |
| Political Science and Government, General | 68 | 7 | 15 |
| Engineering, Other | - | 87 | - |
| Physical Therapy & Therapist | - | - | 87 |
| Speech Communication and Rhetoric | 77 | 1 | 9 |
| Materials Engineering | 19 | 31 | 36 |
| Public Administration | - | 82 | - |
| Industrial Engineering | 65 | 3 | 12 |
| Civil Engineering, General | 21 | 40 | 18 |
| Computer Engineering, General | 21 | 51 | 7 |
| Speech-Language Pathology & Pathologist | - | 49 | 26 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, General | - | 74 | - |
| Chemistry, General | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Engineering & Engineering-Related Technologies & Technicians, Other | - | 70 | - |
| Radio and Television | 68 | - | - |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 21 | 32 | 13 |
| Public Health, General | - | 66 | - |
| Chemical Engineering | 28 | 20 | 17 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy | 61 | - | - |
| Statistics, General | 19 | 32 | 2 |
| Music Performance, General | 25 | 25 | - |
| Physics, General | 17 | 19 | 11 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other | - | 46 | - |
| Sport and Fitness Administration & Management | - | 46 | - |
| Sustainability Studies | - | 46 | - |
| History, General | 24 | 9 | 11 |
| Tax Law & Taxation | - | 44 | - |
| Orthotist & Prosthetist | - | 43 | - |
| English Language and Literature, General | 22 | 15 | 4 |
| Engineering & Industrial Management | - | 40 | - |
| Marriage and Family Therapy & Counseling | - | 40 | - |
| Public Policy Analysis, General | 40 | - | - |
| Cell & Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other | - | 1 | 38 |
| Artificial Intelligence | - | 35 | - |
| Physician Assistant | - | 35 | - |
| Higher Education & Higher Education Administration | - | 33 | - |
| Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics | 32 | - | - |
| Medical Science & Scientist | - | 32 | - |
| Biotechnology | - | 31 | - |
| Industrial and Organizational Psychology | - | 29 | - |
| Mathematics, General | 25 | - | 4 |
| Applied Mathematics, General | 11 | 10 | 7 |
| Communication Sciences and Disorders, General | 12 | 6 | 9 |
| Sociology, General | 12 | 6 | 9 |
| Stringed Instruments | 14 | 10 | 1 |
| Health and Wellness, General | - | 24 | - |
| Anthropology, General | 11 | 4 | 8 |
| Organizational Behavior Studies | 13 | 4 | 5 |
| Audiology & Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology & Pathologist | - | - | 21 |
| Data Science, General | 21 | - | - |
| Voice and Opera | 12 | 8 | 1 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services, Other | 19 | 1 | - |
| Mechanical & Mechanical Engineering Technology & Technician | - | 20 | - |
| Music, General | 14 | 3 | 3 |
| Science Technologies & Technicians, Other | - | 20 | - |
| Creative Writing | - | 19 | - |
| Genetic Counseling & Counselor | - | 17 | - |
| Health Services & Allied Health & Health Sciences, General | - | 17 | - |
| Medical Informatics | - | 17 | - |
| Educational Evaluation and Research | - | 16 | - |
| Environmental Science | 16 | - | - |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 16 | - | - |
| Robotics Technology & Technician | - | 16 | - |
| Secondary Education and Teaching | 2 | 14 | - |
| Clinical Psychology | - | 14 | - |
| Art History, Criticism and Conservation | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| Linguistics | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Philosophy | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Botany & Plant Biology, Other | - | 9 | 2 |
| Design and Visual Communications, General | - | 11 | - |
| Keyboard Instruments | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Music Teacher Education | 7 | 4 | - |
| Astronomy | - | 7 | 3 |
| Environmental & Environmental Health Engineering | 10 | - | - |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services, Other | - | 10 | - |
| Research and Experimental Psychology, Other | - | - | 10 |
| Geology & Earth Science, General | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Health Information & Medical Records Administration & Administrator | - | 9 | - |
| African-American & Black Studies | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Documentary Production | - | 8 | - |
| Engineering Physics & Applied Physics | - | 4 | 4 |
| Social Sciences, General | 8 | - | - |
| Film & Cinema & Media Studies | - | 1 | 6 |
| Neurobiology and Anatomy | - | 7 | - |
| Systems Science and Theory | - | 3 | 4 |
| Behavioral Sciences | - | - | 6 |
| Conducting | - | 2 | 4 |
| Legal Studies | 5 | 1 | - |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences & Liberal Studies | 2 | 4 | - |
| Art & Art Studies, General | 1 | 4 | - |
| Biological and Physical Sciences | 5 | - | - |
| Biomedical Sciences, General | - | - | 5 |
| Comparative Literature | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Education, Other | - | 1 | 4 |
| French Language and Literature | 3 | - | 2 |
| Marketing & Marketing Management, General | - | 1 | 4 |
| Operations Research | - | 3 | 2 |
| Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods | - | - | 5 |
| Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | - | 5 | - |
| Acting | - | 4 | - |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other | - | 4 | - |
| Elementary Education and Teaching | - | 4 | - |
| German Language and Literature | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American & Chicano Studies | 4 | - | - |
| Learning Sciences | 4 | - | - |
| Musicology and Ethnomusicology | 1 | 3 | - |
| Playwriting and Screenwriting | - | 4 | - |
| Religion & Religious Studies | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| American & United States Studies & Civilization | 3 | - | - |
| Bioethics & Medical Ethics | - | 3 | - |
| Dance, General | 3 | - | - |
| Economics, General | 3 | - | - |
| Engineering Mechanics | - | - | 3 |
| Engineering, General | 3 | - | - |
| Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | - | 1 | 2 |
| Music Theory and Composition | 3 | - | - |
| Spanish Language and Literature | 3 | - | - |
| Directing and Theatrical Production | - | 2 | - |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other | 2 | - | - |
| Health Communication | - | 2 | - |
| Near and Middle Eastern Studies | 2 | - | - |
| Asian-American Studies | 1 | - | - |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics, Other | - | - | 1 |
| Biostatistics | - | 1 | - |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | 1 | - | - |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 1 | - | - |
| Humanities & Humanistic Studies | 1 | - | - |
| Jazz & Jazz Studies | 1 | - | - |
| Materials Science | 1 | - | - |
| Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | 1 | - | - |
| Writing, General | - | 1 | - |
| Grand Total | 2,160 | 4,887 | 1,078 |
Publications & Citations
Northwestern University is a world-class research university with 245,645 scientific papers published and 12,206,770 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Genetics, Psychology, and Biochemistry.
Publication / Citation count by topic
| Biology |
153,824
/ 8,131,792
|
|---|---|
| Medicine |
145,414
/ 6,690,093
|
| Chemistry |
116,791
/ 6,523,921
|
| Engineering |
96,556
/ 5,291,105
|
| Physics |
96,084
/ 5,238,837
|
| Computer Science |
93,674
/ 5,014,255
|
| Liberal Arts & Social Sciences |
88,242
/ 4,403,559
|
| Genetics |
83,357
/ 4,275,387
|
| Psychology |
73,801
/ 3,677,997
|
| Biochemistry |
71,711
/ 4,164,823
|
| Pathology |
68,488
/ 3,439,860
|
| Quantum and Particle physics |
62,938
/ 3,541,009
|
| Environmental Science |
60,708
/ 3,224,060
|
| Materials Science |
51,097
/ 2,975,999
|
| Surgery |
50,809
/ 2,012,343
|
| Organic chemistry |
50,142
/ 2,988,431
|
| Psychiatry |
45,505
/ 2,108,957
|
| Mathematics |
44,208
/ 2,452,111
|
| Political Science |
40,965
/ 2,031,107
|
| Law |
39,473
/ 1,979,143
|
| Philosophy |
37,125
/ 1,967,824
|
| Statistics |
36,755
/ 2,032,879
|
| Sociology |
36,130
/ 1,823,505
|
| Neuroscience |
33,049
/ 1,774,299
|
| Geology |
32,374
/ 1,704,993
|
| Immunology |
31,235
/ 1,461,908
|
| Radiology |
29,968
/ 1,226,262
|
| Optics |
29,554
/ 1,575,749
|
| Geography and Cartography |
27,802
/ 1,380,671
|
| Oncology |
25,440
/ 1,143,955
|
| Business |
24,999
/ 1,461,852
|
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) |
24,106
/ 1,206,735
|
| Economics |
23,089
/ 1,433,311
|
| Paleontology |
22,647
/ 1,222,346
|
| Metallurgy |
21,864
/ 1,285,885
|
| Anatomy and Physiology |
20,340
/ 863,992
|
| Linguistics |
20,131
/ 1,037,726
|
| History |
19,499
/ 933,933
|
| Public Health |
18,283
/ 914,597
|
| Ecology |
17,663
/ 1,054,427
|
Annual publication & citation counts
100 Notable alumni
1. Edgar Bergen
1903-1978 (aged 75)
comedian
radio personality
screenwriter
puppeteer
film actor
Edgar John Bergen was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen pioneered modern-day ventriloquism and has been described by puppetry organization UNIMA as the “quintessential ventriloquist of the 20th century”. He was the father of actress Candice Bergen.
+ show more
2. Kenneth Mars
1935-2011 (aged 76)
singer
television actor
voice actor
actor
film actor
Kenneth Mars was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in The Producers (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in Young Frankenstein (1974). He also co-starred in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972) as well as appearing in Woody Allen's Radio Days (1987) and Shadows and Fog (1991).
+ show more
3. Heather Headley
1974-. (aged 52)
composer
record producer
film actor
stage actor
songwriter
Heather Headley is a Trinidadian-born American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the title role of Aida. She also won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album for her album Audience of One. In 2018, she recurred as Gwen Garrett on the NBC medical...
+ show more
4. Fred Williamson
1938-. (aged 88)
actor
American football player
screenwriter
film actor
film director
Frederick Robert Williamson, nicknamed "the Hammer", is an American actor, filmmaker, and former football player. He played professional football as a defensive back, primarily in the American Football League (AFL) during the 1960s. He was a top sports star during the decade, and became a leading man in blaxploitation and action films beginning in the 1970s.
+ show more
All 100 notable alumni
General Info & Contacts
Alternative names
NU
Founded
1851
Motto
Quaecumque Sunt VeraWhatsoever things are true (Philippians 4:8 AV)
Colors
purple, white
Academic calendar
September to August (September - December; January-March; April-June; June-August)
Total staff
11,709
Classification
Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity
Address
633 Clark St Evanston, Illinois, 60208 United States
City Population
78,000
Phone
8474913741
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Top Ranked Subjects
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Top Ranked Subjects
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Acceptance
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Avg SAT
1870
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