Evanston, Illinois · Private nonprofit · 4-year · Small city
Overview
Northwestern University is a private nonprofit four-year institution in Evanston, Illinois. Its campus is in a small city. It enrolled 23,856 students in fall 2024, including 9,399 undergraduates and 14,457 graduate students. It holds the Carnegie R1 designation for very high research activity.
Northwestern University offers certificates, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and professional doctorates across 234 programs. Its largest programs by number of graduates are Management Science, Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia, and Econometrics and Quantitative Economics. It awarded 8,806 degrees and certificates in 2024-25. 8 of its programs can be completed entirely online.
98% of full-time first-year students return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio is 6 to 1.
Key figures
23,856
Students enrolled
98%
First-year retention
8,806
Degrees and certificates awarded, 2024-25
234
Programs and majors
6:1
Student-to-faculty ratio
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Delivery modes
CampusOnlineHybrid
Program levels
CertificateBachelorMasterPhDProfessional
Programs and majors offered 234
Graduate counts are degrees and certificates awarded in each program between July 2024 and June 2025. Largest fields are listed first.
Retention is for students who started in fall 2023 and returned in fall 2024.
First-year retention, full-time students
98%
Student-to-faculty ratio
6:1
Degrees and certificates awarded
Awards conferred between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
Bachelor's degrees
2,431
Master's degrees
4,981
Doctoral degrees (research)
544
Professional doctorates
557
Certificates of 1 to 2 years
84
Postbaccalaureate certificates
152
Post-master's certificates
57
Enrollment
Students, fall 2024
23,856
Undergraduates, fall 2024
9,399
Graduate students, fall 2024
14,457
Full-time, fall 2024
85%
Students over the full 2024-25 year
27,226
Undergraduates, 2024-25
10,890
Graduate students, 2024-25
16,336
Full-time, 2024-25
81%
Size category
20,000 students or more
Student body
Share of all students enrolled during 2024-25. Small groups can round to zero and are not listed.
Women
55%
Men
45%
White
33%
Hispanic or Latino
10%
Black or African American
6%
Asian
16%
Two or more races
5%
International (U.S. nonresident)
21%
Race or ethnicity unknown
8%
Online and flexible learning
Distance education in 2024-25.
Programs that can be completed fully online
8
Programs with a fully online option
11
Online undergraduate programs
Yes
Online graduate programs
Yes
Students studying fully online
4%
Students taking some online courses
7%
Weekend or evening classes
Yes
Campus and services
Setting
Small city
Academic calendar
Quarter
Carnegie classification
Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity
Research designation
Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production
Athletic association
NCAA
Athletic conference
Big Ten Conference
Interim President
Henry Bienen
Services and opportunities
Study abroad, ROTC, Undergraduate research, Teacher certification, Academic and career counseling, Student employment services, Job placement for graduates, Accepts AP credit