Northwestern University offers a variety of arts and literature degrees. Students who choose to major in comparative literary studies explore cultural literary differences, disregarding language barriers by reading translations. Students focus on themes, movements, genres and periods throughout historical and modern literature while being encouraged to branch out beyond Euro-American works. Music composition majors are offered composition colloquiums, where students and faculty present and discuss their works. Undergraduate students take classes alongside graduate students, which are taught by internationally recognized faculty. Other students may choose the radio/television/film major, which prepares them for careers in media, including production, editing and producing films, creating TV shows, computer animation and much more. The faculty is composed of practicing filmmakers, and many students have won awards both nationally and abroad.
Art history majors focus on the historical meaning of art, architecture and visual culture not only in America but throughout the world. They engage in other areas of study, including but not limited to anthropology, literature, film and critical theory. Art history offers students a solid foundation in liberal arts. Northwestern University also offers Asian Languages and Civilizations as a major, where students must take 7 years of Chinese, Hindi, Japanese or Korean; however, if the student is already fluent in the language, it will not count toward the major. Students in the major focus on the culture of East Asia, Southeast Asia or South Asia and must fulfill the study abroad requirement. For students interested in a major that hits a little closer to home, Northwestern offers an urban studies major, which focuses on city life, from people and neighborhoods to architecture and transit systems. Students explore the problems of city life, the economy and the personal networks that develop. With Chicago around the corner, students are able to obtain both local and national internships.
Earth and planetary sciences majors study the physical, chemical and biological processes on Earth and other planets. The major combines math, physics and chemistry. Students research with faculty and other students, and attend seminars and field trips. Northwestern University also offers a human communication sciences major for students who want to pursue medical careers. These students typically continue their education in medical or dental schools or obtain advanced degrees in biomedical engineering. Students may choose the general concentration or audiology and hearing science, speech and language pathology, or learning disabilities. Material sciences majors are part of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, which is approved by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology. Students who choose this major research energy and conservation science and have the option of combining the bachelor's degree with a master's degree. Core courses include math, science, engineering and computer programming. Seniors are eligible for up to $200 in financial aid for their senior projects.
One of Northwestern University's Weinberg College's most popular majors is economics, which prepares students for careers in the government, industry, finance or further education, such as law degrees. More than half of economics majors choose to double-major, choosing degrees such as industrial engineering, political science, psychology, education, journalism and more. In the spring of the students' junior year, economics majors may choose to apply for the four-year combined bachelor's/master's degree program. Students may also choose to major in Northwestern's statistics program. Statisticians are needed in the fields of medicine, public policy, law, accounting, finance, engineering, psychology and sociology for research, large-scale surveys and experimental data. Statistics majors are in strong demand because they can collect, analyze and interpret numerical data in fields that have nothing to do with numbers.