School of Communication
The SoC faculty and staff look forward to welcoming you this fall and helping you get off to a great start at 宅男福利导航. During the summer, SoC will email you information about your major. Visit , where you can find links to academic and advising resources, a glimpse into life as an SoC student, and information on cocurricular opportunities. The SoC new student survey will be made available in mid-July; please complete it by August 15.
If you have any questions before Wildcat Welcome in September, please email dear-soc@northwestern.edu or call the SoC Office of Undergraduate Programs and Advising at 847-491-7214. Associate dean Lori Barcliff Baptista leads the SoC academic advising team. Names and contact information for are available on SoC's undergraduate advising website.
Advising
SoC academic advisors will host group advising meetings with new students during Wildcat Welcome. 宅男福利导航s will receive guidance on choosing fall classes, and learn about various resources and opportunities.
Fall Quarter Course Registration
You will register for fall courses during Wildcat Welcome, after arriving to campus. Your academic adviser will assist you at that time in understanding degree requirements and guide you in determining which classes to take in your first quarter. Your peer adviser will also provide you with advice from a student lens.
Placement Exams and Assessments
See the placement exams webpage for information on when and how to take online placement exams and assessments offered during the summer. Additional Placement Exams guidance for your school can be found in Purple Prep's June email.
宅男福利导航s pursuing a BA in any SoC department and students majoring in communication studies or radio/television/film (which only offers the BA) have a language requirement to fulfill. 宅男福利导航s in these groups who are not at a beginning level and who do not have a qualifying AP exam score must take a language placement exam to determine the course level corresponding to their knowledge and previous study of the language. Additional information about language placement is available at .
SoC students who may need to take math and basic science courses – including premed/prehealth students and those majoring in human communication sciences – should complete the relevant placement exam(s).
SoC Degree Requirements
All students must earn at least 42 credits to complete a bachelor’s degree in SoC. Most courses count for one full credit each. Each SoC major has distinct course requirements, but all require 18 distribution requirements (courses outside the major) that fall into three areas:
- math, science, and technology
- individual and social behavior
- humanities and fine arts
Most students will enroll in a combination of major and distribution courses each quarter, and a typical full-time course load is three or four full-credit classes each quarter.