History
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.
Education
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.
Research
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 flagship NUvention course and Undergraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship at The Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
- Harvey Kapnick Business Institutions Program, which grants an undergraduate minor as well as courses
- Northwestern Law's full- or part-time Master of Science in Law program
- Courses in Kellogg's "Discover. Test. Launch" entrepreneurship track through the Levy Entrepreneurial Institute
Career
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.
Housing services
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.
Library services
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.
ICT services
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.
Medical services
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.
Campus life
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.
Sports facilities
Men's Sports
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Football
- Golfschedul
- Soccers
- Swimming & Diving
- Tenniss
- Wrestling
- Band And Cheer
- Spirit Squads
- Marching Band
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Fencing
- Field Hockey
- Golf
- Lacrosse
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming & Diving
- Tennis
- Volleyball
Student clubs
- .dev
- 1838 Chicago/Shepard Hall/Allison Hall
- 33+ Somos Latinos Unidos
- 3D4E - 3D Printing for Everyone
- 560 Lincoln/Kemper
Accreditation
Northwestern University is accredited by Higher Learning Commission.
Northwestern University Overview
Northwestern University Rankings
Study Portals Meta Ranking
Top 0.3% United States
Top 1% Worldwide
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
Best Global Universities Rankings
24
By U.S. News & World Report
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
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.
3 year trend Best Global Universities Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 24 | 24 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
World University Rankings
30
By Times Higher Education
Climbed 1 places compared to 2025
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.
3 year trend World University Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | 31 | 30 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Academic Ranking of World Universities
31
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Climbed 2 places compared to 2024
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.
3 year trend Academic Ranking of World Universities
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 33 | 31 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
QS World University Rankings
42
By TopUniversities
Climbed 8 places compared to 2025
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.
3 year trend QS World University Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 47 | 50 | 42 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Northwestern University Campus Locations
#1 Main Campus
United States Country
Evanston City
Northwestern University Student Reviews & Awards
4.2
Based on 54 reviews
- 5 Star 14 Reviews
- 4 Star 38 Reviews
- 3 Star 1 Review
- 2 Star 0 Reviews
- 1 Star 1 Review
How Students Rated This University
- Overall Satisfaction 4.3
- Student Teacher Interaction 4.6
- Student Diversity 4.1
- Quality of Student Life 4.2
- Career Development 4.8
The worst thing is the weather!
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.
High Class Summer School
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.
Community and Student Life
While Northwestern University is renowned for its exceptional academics, I wanted to highlight its strong sense of community and student life. The university�s commitment to fostering a welcoming environment begins with its outstanding freshman orientation program (Wildcat Welcome) in which students are sorted into groups by major and participate week-long in a variety of dialogues and events together. Orientation truly played a crucial role in helping me to build lasting connections with my peers and transition into university life and traditions like painting the Rock and fight song chants for Game Days. Beyond orientation, NU offers a wealth of clubs including identity-based student groups where students from diverse backgrounds can connect, participate in cultural events, and find a sense of belonging � something I found particularly valuable as a Chinese international student. At NU, I also found that while students are certainly academically motivated, they truly uplift and support one another for success.
Studied here? Share your experience
Global Student Satisfaction Awards 2025
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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Overall SatisfactionHow would you rate your overall study experience?
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Student Teacher InteractionHow helpful were your teachers?
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Student DiversityHow diverse was the atmosphere at your university?
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Quality of Student LifeHow was your everyday life?
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Career DevelopmentDid the university provide support for your career development?