Administrative Policies

Structure and Requirements

Students who successfully complete the course requirements of a PDP will receive a certificate of completion from SCS. Although there are no prerequisites for entry into the PDPs (with the exception of the Professional Health Careers PDP), there may be prerequisites for individual courses (see Course Descriptions). Current degree-seeking students may apply elective courses (those outside their major requirements) toward a PDP certificate.

Courses audited or taken with the pass/ no credit option cannot be applied toward a PDP. Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree at SCS may not retroactively apply courses toward PDP requirements. Students who have taken courses in a PDP in the past two years as a student-at-large may apply up to two of these courses toward the completion of a PDP. In the Professional Health Careers PDP, students may apply courses taken in the last two years as a student-at-large to the certificate, subject to the approval of the admissions committee. However, students must still meet all admission requirements for the program.

Courses from an institution other than Northwestern may not be transferred to satisfy requirements, except for those in the Professional Health Careers PDP. Students in the Premedicine concentration may transfer in up to eight semester hours, or twelve quarter hours of academic credit. Students in the other concentrations of that PDP may transfer in up to six semester hours, or nine quarter hours of credit.

Duration

Students are expected to complete PDPs in one to two years. The maximum time allowed is three years from the date of admission or initial enrollment.

Enrolling

To enroll in a PDP (with the exception of Professional Health Careers, which requires a formal application), students must complete an Academic Plan Form (PDF Format). This form should be submitted to the SCS offices in either Chicago or Evanston at the beginning of the first course in the program.

GPA Requirements

As of fall 2005, students must have a cumulative 2.0 GPA within a PDP (excluding the Professional Health Careers PDP) in order to qualify for a certificate. Only courses in which a student has earned at least a C- will count toward the certificate. Students in the Professional Health Careers program must have at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA to qualify. Students who are enrolled in a PDP previous to fall 2005 will not be affected by this policy.

Completion

To receive a PDP certificate, students must complete a Program Completion Form and submit it to the SCS office in Chicago. Once SCS determines that requirements have been satisfied, the student will be notified and issued a certificate of completion.

Tuition and Payment

For tuition costs, fees, and methods of payment, please refer to this page.

Financial Aid

PDP students are not eligible for federal financial aid, except for those admitted to the Professional Health Careers PDP. Those students should refer to the requirements and additional information on the financial aid web site at http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/scs.

International Students

Please contact the International Office (630 Dartmouth Place, Evanston, 847-491-5613) to determine whether the proposed program of study meets the criteria for the F-1 visa category and whether an I-20 can be issued for full-time study.In addition to meeting the basic enrollment requirements and holding an appropriate visa, an international student must present evidence of the ability to speak, read, and write the English language by achieving a score of at least 600 (paper version), 250 (electronic version) or 100 (Internet version) on the TOEFL.

Students Enrolled at Another Northwestern School

Students enrolled in another school at Northwestern should register through their own school for SCS courses. SCS students have priority where enrollment is limited.