25 Awesome Classes To Get You Excited About Northwestern Academics!
Classes are approaching quickly and this means you might have already started to think about what major classes you want to take this quarter. Besides major classes, Northwestern University students fill their schedules with distribution requirements, also known as "distros". These distribution requirements vary by school, but their purpose is to introduce students to areas of study outside of their field. These include everything from science to literature to history. Read below to hear about some student’s favorite distros to help you get an idea of what courses are out there!
Natural Sciences & Formal Studies
The Natural Sciences area introduces you to methods of inquiry and fundamental concepts. Courses consider the theoretical and empirical bases of generally applicable statements about the natural world. The area of formal studies introduces you to concepts, methods, and the use of formal rules of inference. All formal studies courses show how objects of thought and experience—and their relationships—can be analyzed in formal terms. They differ, however, in the data studied. For example, mathematics and statistics courses focus on numbers, while linguistics courses focus on structures and patterns in natural languages.
1. "Bioethics! To me it epitomized what I love about Northwestern in that it was not my area of study but I still found the class interesting, liked the professor, and learned a lot." - Emma Drake, '21
2. "COMP_SCI 397: Algorithms and Society! It dives into rapid expansion of algorithms in everything from social media to criminal justice. With technology gaining more and more influence, there's definitely potential for good but also harm with respect to bias and inequality, and that's one perspective of CS I hadn't thought about. Prof Brent Hecht is a great guy!" - Jayden Soni, '20
3. "Labor Economics. I thought it would be so so boring but we actually learned about interesting topics like college education, child welfare programs, and gender wage differentials." - Claire Hartman, '20
4. "Econ 310-2 has been one of my favorite classes I've taken. It introduced topics such as Game Theory and Social Choice Theory which I think is super cool and interesting and Professor Ogawa is a great teacher." - Hamilton Vuu, '21
5. "EECS 111 surprised me in a good way because I came in thinking I was not a good coder but gained a lot of useful skills and came out feeling much more confident in my ability to code." - Ariella Silver, '22
Social and Behavioral Sciences
The area of social and behavioral sciences introduces you to theories, methods, and empirical research findings focusing on human behavior and its relation to social, cultural, economic, and political groups and institutions. Courses examine the evidence for generally applicable statements about individual and group behavior, as well as social actions, policies, and institutions.
1. "I absolutely loved GSS 234: Language and Gender. It provided a great, concrete opportunity to analyze the power seemingly small choices can have, and I learned so much from Professor Ward and some amazing class discussion." - Jayden Soni, '20
2. "Race and Society. It was the most eye opening class. Being able to engage in racial debates in an educational and structured manner is incredible. You get the language and tools to have future conversations and dialogues about race." - Ryan Foreman, '20
3. "My favorite distro that I've taken is developmental psychology. (Okay, yes, this is related to what I study but it's still a great distro.) There's a lot of fun demonstrations in class, not to mention that because the primary focus is child and adolescent development you spend a lot of the class watching videos of babies trying to complete tasks. What's better than cute babies and psychology?" - Cady de Camara, '22
4. "One of my favorite distros I've taken at Northwestern is Psychopathology. It was really interesting to dive deeper into learning about specific mental disorders." - Olivia Cong, '21
5. "Positive Psychology taught by Wendi Gardner is a class every student should consider taking. The class is focused on social and cognitive behaviors that play into feelings such as optimism. Weekly assignments include practicing optimistic behaviors and thought patterns that have been tested to improve a person's overall outlook." - Patrick Ryan, '21
6. "My favorite distro class that I've taken is Intro Psych (Psych 110) with Renee Engeln because she is an incredible lecturer with passion for the subject that made it easy to enjoy the class and understand the material." - Lorren Nemorin, '22
7. "The humanities class "Alternatives: Modeling Choice (Humanities Explorations)" with Morty Schapiro and Professor Morison where they just argue about different topics and you write papers about their debates." - Jordi Parry, '22
Historical Studies
The area of historical studies introduces the chronological development of cultural, social, political, economic, and military affairs, and their historical relationships, in a broad temporal perspective. Courses in historical studies offer a wide choice of cultures and eras. Some deal with major national or continental civilizations, some focus on smaller geographic areas, and some look at cultures that transcend traditional geopolitical boundaries.
1. "I think my favorite distro class has been a History 300-Special Topics course in the history of pop music. Just the title sounded cool, and the professor ended up being even cooler. He was super understanding and wanted everyone to be excited about the material, and gave me the chance to write papers about topics I actually cared about!" - Jennimai Nguyen, '20
2. "History of Religion because it was so obvious that my professor was so passionate and knowledgeable. It was focused on actually educating me rather than having me prove that I can regurgitate information." - Layne Hartman, '20
3. "Introduction to African American history was not quite what I had expected but still highly engaging. The class focused on reading, interpreting, and writing about primary source documents. Most of my other classes had featured carefully constructed textbooks that synthesized many experiences into one. However, it was very engaging to read from the people of the period themselves. In addition, the class examined how historical events have shaped today's political landscape, dating back to as early as the 1400s. The class really put into perspective how long historical events may remain relevant." - Patrick Ryan, '21
4. "The first 300 level class I took was U.S. Foreign Policy! While challenging, the content was so interesting that it was easier for me to tackle. It was super fascinating to learn how current events going on now fit into historical trends of foreign relations and different theoretical paradigms. The class made me a much more informed citizen about global events going on in the news!" - Megan Munce, '22
Ethics and Values
This area introduces you to the analysis of values, to ways of addressing ethical problems and choices, and to systems of thought or religion that affect value judgments. Courses examine the foundations upon which such systems are constructed and the processes through which judgments are made. They examine ethical questions in different contexts (religious, biomedical, environmental, etc), and/or value systems, both secular and religious, that guide human behavior. Courses may also address the dynamics of ethical change in a society (e.g., why the separation of races may be acceptable to one generation but problematic to another). They may be organized historically or analytically, but all place problems in a context that has a widespread cultural impact.
1. "My favorite so far as been Philosophy 220, Intro to Critical Theory. This class was my very first philosophy class, and it really challenged my way of thinking. I grew up being taught the philosophy associated with my faith, and it was wonderful to be exposed to the plethora of ways people approach living a "good" life. Marx, Weber, Freud, and Nietzsche are all very different than what I'd ever been exposed to beforehand!" - Grainne Caughey, "22
2. "My favorite distro class was Philosophy of Religion! Professor Seeskin is an extremely engaging and clear lecturer and it's a great way to get into philosophy if you've never taken a philosophy class before! You learn a lot about philosophers who try to answer who or what God might be, and it was fascinating for any religious background!" - Megan Munce, '22
3. "Philosophy 255: Theory of Knowledge because it required me to think about current day social issues and how I can help bring justice to the world." - Julia Borelli, '21
Literature and Fine Arts
Literature and fine arts courses help you understand how the attitudes, ideas, and values of individuals, groups, societies, or cultures are represented in their literature, arts, and other creative activities. This area includes surveys of broad topics, courses that focus on significant eras, and courses that focus on a significant writer or artist. Some courses involve the study of a specific literary or artistic genre, and others involve more analytical and abstract approaches to the arts.
1. "English 385: Medical Humanities - Reproduction, Gender, and Medicine! It’s a special topics class about pregnancy and how it’s portrayed in the media. We read a lot of super cool articles and watch snipits of things like Ali Wong’s Baby Cobra (funniest thing on Netflix!)." - Amy Szkorla, '20
2. "Expressive Arts Therapy! We did everything from making our families out of play dough to putting on puppet shows to learn how different forms of arts therapy can help treat conditions in ways that traditional talk therapy cannot! I didn’t even know what Arts Therapy was before taking the class, but it ended up being my favorite at Northwestern! The class always left me in a great mood and so intrigued to learn more!" - Eugenie Morton, '20
3. "The Art and Culture of Food Writing is by far my favorite course I have ever taken at Northwestern. It was a residence-community based course that met once per week and emphasized group discussions and interactive activities. Course content included examining the role of a critic in Ratatouille, eating at Farmhouse in Evanston and writing a review, and cooking apple turnovers with a chef from Housier Mama's. The professor valued each student's own experience and was intensely passionate about food." - Patrick Ryan, '21
4. "Definitely Gender Studies 374 (Imagining the Internet) for Lit & Fine Arts! The class talks about very interesting and relevant topics and you watch real movies (movies people actually watch... not like for educational purposes) about the digital sphere. Your final project can be on whatever you want... I did my final project on Kim Kardashian... so if that entices you take! this! Class!" - Claire Hartman, '20
5. "I took Intro to Creative Nonfiction kind of on a whim--my friend was taking it and convinced me to, too. It turned out to be the most amazing class I've ever taken at NU. Freedom to write about WHATEVER you want and a class that really lets you take it in whatever direction you want. I loved it so much, I applied to the Creative Writing program and now I'm minoring in it!" - Jennimai Nguyen, '20
6. " My favorite distro class I’ve taken was Intro to Fiction with Professor Jules Law. The class brought a new dimension to some classics, gave me the tools to analyze literature, and provided me with a ton of fun facts to drop into everyday conversation." - Kasi Garcia, '20
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