On May 31, 1850, nine men gathered to begin planning a university that would serve the Northwest Territory. In 1853, the 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.
With a vast array of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, Northwestern provides students at every level with hundreds of options to suit their personal academic goals.
With well over one hundred research institutes and centers associated with the university, its colleges and schools, and its medical facilities, you’re never far away from the next new discovery. Some of our most exciting coursework includes:
The mission of Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA) is to foster excellence in career development, preparation, and professional opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and alumni by providing comprehensive services and programming and by promoting strong partnerships with employers, academic departments, and the university community.
All undergraduate students have the option to live in our residence halls, residential colleges, residential communities, and special-interest housing. We have 13 traditional residence halls on campus, ranging from residences with as few as 25 students to larger residences with more than 500.
As some of the busiest buildings on campus, the libraries serve over 1 million visitors annually. They come for immense and varied collections, databases and electronic journals, governmental information and more. Northwestern’s Libraries rank 12th among private universities in the United States.
The IT Service Catalog defines and categorizes information technology services provided to the Northwestern community. The goal is to allow faculty, staff, and students to quickly identify and order services and to enhance understanding of what each service provides. A general description is provided for each service along with a link to order.
The Health Service on both the Chicago and Evanston campuses provide general medical and women's health appointments with physicians or nurse practitioners, as well as immunizations, sports medicine, laboratory services, STD testing and more.
A Quintessential College Town
On the Evanston campus, you'll find beaches, shops, coffee houses, restaurants, and theaters just down the street from classrooms, labs and lecture halls.
A Global City
Located in the bustling Streeterville neighborhood, our Chicago campus is close to attractions such as the Magnificent Mile, the Museum of Contemporary Art and John Hancock Center.
Men's Sports
Northwestern University is accredited by Higher Learning Commission.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 2 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 24 | 26 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
Dropped 3 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 42 | 45 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | 30 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 31 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Based on 52 reviews
This university is perfect for someone who wants to work with school, some classes are online which means you can watch them whenever you have time. This uni teachers highly practical stuff, and people there are higly skilled and I would say more friendly than on other schools, you can talk to them like human beings and they will talk back as they talk with their collegues
Overall, I am satisfied with my choice of attending this university. The best parts about this university are the amount of resources available to you as well as the location. The worst part, in my opinion, is the weather in Evanston. I would recommend attending.
Particularly during the summer semester, there is a bustling array of activities and events that keep students engaged and entertained. This lively schedule adds to the excitement of campus life, creating opportunities for social interaction and personal growth.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
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