Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois.

Overview

Summary

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, and was founded in 1851. It is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and was established to serve the former Northwest Territory. The university is considered one of the most selective institutions in the United States, and its campus lies along the shores of Lake Michigan in Evanston. Northwestern's law, medical, and professional schools, along with Northwestern Memorial Hospital, are located in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood.

Northwestern University is composed of eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, which include the Kellogg School of Management, the Pritzker School of Law, the Feinberg School of Medicine, the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the Bienen School of Music, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Medill School of Journalism, the School of Communication, the School of Professional Studies, the School of Education and Social Policy, and The Graduate School. Northwestern is a comprehensive research university that is deeply interdisciplinary across multiple schools and units.

Northwestern University has a significant endowment of $15.4 billion, which is one of the largest university endowments in the world, and an annual budget of around $2.5 billion. As of Fall 2021, the university had 23,410 enrolled students, including 8,817 undergraduates and 14,593 graduate students. Northwestern has a strong athletic program, with the Northwestern Wildcats fielding eight men's and eleven women's sports teams, representing the university in the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference.

Northwestern has a long-standing reputation for academic excellence, and its faculty and alumni have included numerous heads of state, Nobel Prize laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, Marshall Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, and Olympic medalists. Northwestern is also recognized internationally, being ranked among the top 10 US universities, and the top 20 globally, by various rankings such as U.S. News & World Report and Times Higher Education.

History

Northwestern University was founded in 1850 by a group of prominent Chicago businessmen, Methodist leaders, and attorneys who saw a need for a university to serve the Northwest Territory. They were granted a charter by the Illinois General Assembly in 1851, making Northwestern the first chartered university in the state. Despite having little money, no land, and limited higher education experience, the founders were able to make their vision a reality through creative financing, shrewd politicking, religious inspiration, and hard work.

In 1853, Northwestern's founders purchased a 379-acre tract of land on the shore of Lake Michigan, 12 miles north of Chicago. They established a campus and developed the land near it, naming the surrounding town Evanston in honor of one of the University's founders, John Evans. Northwestern's first building, Old College, opened in 1855, with two faculty members and ten students. Over the years, Northwestern grew to include twelve schools and colleges, with additional campuses in Chicago and Doha, Qatar.

Northwestern was originally affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, but its founders favored a non-sectarian admissions policy, believing that Northwestern should serve all people in the newly developing territory by bettering the economy in Evanston. Northwestern admitted its first female students in 1869, and the first woman graduated in 1874. Frances Willard, who later gained fame as a suffragette and one of the founders of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), became the school's first dean of women. In the 1870s and 1880s, Northwestern affiliated itself with already existing schools of law, medicine, and dentistry in Chicago. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the oldest law school in Chicago.

By the turn of the century, Northwestern had grown in stature to become the third largest university in the United States after Harvard University and the University of Michigan. Under Walter Dill Scott's presidency from 1920 to 1939, Northwestern began construction of an integrated campus in Chicago designed by James Gamble Rogers, to house the professional schools. The university also established the Kellogg School of Management and built several prominent buildings on the Evanston campus, including Dyche Stadium, now named Ryan Field, and Deering Library among others. In the 1920s, Northwestern became one of the first six universities in the United States to establish a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC).

Courses

Northwestern University offers a wide range of undergraduate programs across its various schools and colleges. The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college, offering majors in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and interdisciplinary fields. The McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science offers majors in various engineering fields, while the Bienen School of Music offers programs in music performance, composition, and education. The School of Communication offers programs in journalism, media, theatre, and performance studies, while the School of Education and Social Policy offers programs in education, social policy, and learning sciences.

At the graduate level, Northwestern offers a diverse set of programs across its schools and colleges. The Kellogg School of Management offers MBA, EMBA, and doctoral programs in business and management, while the Pritzker School of Law offers programs in law and legal studies. The Feinberg School of Medicine offers programs in medicine, biomedical research, and public health, while the School of Education and Social Policy offers programs in learning sciences, social policy, and human development. The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications offers graduate programs in journalism, media, and marketing communications, while the Bienen School of Music offers graduate programs in music performance, composition, and education.

Northwestern also has a strong focus on research, with numerous research centers and institutes across its various schools and colleges. The University conducts research in areas such as biomedicine, engineering, economics, social policy, and communication, among others. Undergraduate and graduate students can participate in research through various programs and initiatives, and many faculty members are involved in cutting-edge research projects.

Global MBA rankings

Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management is highly regarded globally and has consistently been ranked among the top MBA programs in the world by various publications. Here are some of the most recent global MBA rankings for Northwestern University:

Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2021: Kellogg School of Management was ranked 8th in the world, and its alumni reported the highest increase in salary among all ranked schools.
QS Global MBA Rankings 2022: Kellogg School of Management was ranked 6th in the world, and its graduates reported the highest average salary increase among all ranked schools.
The Economist Global Full-Time MBA Rankings 2021: Kellogg School of Management was ranked 9th in the world, and its alumni reported the second-highest average salary increase among all ranked schools.
Bloomberg Businessweek Best Business Schools 2021-22: Kellogg School of Management was ranked 4th in the United States and 8th in the world, and its graduates reported the highest average salary increase among all ranked schools.

Job integration rate

According to Northwestern University's 2021 Employment Report for its Kellogg School of Management MBA program, 92.8% of graduates accepted job offers within three months of graduation.