Beginning this summer, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences students will be able to count two Interdisciplinary Studies courses to fulfill an area requirement, a Weinberg official said.
Weinberg has six distribution areas, and students are required to take two approved courses in each area to graduate. Previously, students could put only one Interdisciplinary Studies course toward each distribution area.
“It seemed like a rule whose time had passed,” said Mary Finn, associate dean for undergraduate academic affairs.
Finn announced the changes in an e-mail to Weinberg students sent May 4.
The previous rule was meant to prevent students from avoiding courses in a single subject area, especially for the natural sciences requirement, Finn said. The dean’s office submitted a proposal for the rule change, which was then approved by Weinberg’s Curricular Policies Committee and passed to the Weinberg faculty for a vote, she said.
Six faculty members and two students from the Student Advisory Board constitute the Curricular Policies Committee. Structured the same way, the Curricular Review Committee approves courses that students may use to fulfill distribution requirements.
“The change came about because the number of courses that are interdisciplinary has grown exponentially,” Finn said.
The Curricular Review Committee reviews all Interdisciplinary Studies courses to ensure that course content covers topics in more than one area before they are approved, she said.
The distribution requirements are always being looked at, Finn said. The Interdisciplinary Studies course category itself was created about 10 years ago.
An academic shift was the impetus for the changes, Finn said.
“Curriculum follows from our scholarship of our faculty members,” she said.
Weinberg sophomore Alex Gurvits said he did not realize there was previously a rule limiting the number of interdisciplinary courses a student could apply to a distribution area. He said he was glad the rule has been changed.
“I am literally going to graduate on time just because of that rule (change),” said the economics and urban studies major, who said he is in the process of applying for a third ad hoc major in Italian culture and film.
Gurvits said he was specifically looking for interdisciplinary courses in order to have flexibility in fulfilling his distribution requirements.
On CAESAR, the old rule was not apparent to students searching for classes, Finn said.
Gabby Daniels, Associated Student Government academic vice president, said the change may encourage a more positive outlook toward distribution requirements as well as help students looking for more flexibility in the requirements.
“Having the interdisciplinary approach toward education at Northwestern is incredibly important,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “A lot of people come into school not knowing what they want to do. … It increases flexibility in your education. I personally had a really good experience with (distribution requirements) because they encourage me to take classes that I may not have normally taken.”
