Science in Human Culture Adjunct Major

Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.

NOTE: This Catalog describes Weinberg College BA requirements that pertain to students who matriculated at Northwestern after spring quarter 2023. Refer to the Archives if you are following BA requirements described in the 2018-2019 through 2022-2023 editions.

Adjunct Major Requirements (10 units)

  • Courses are chosen from the list of Eligible Courses or the approved list on the program website and generally relate to a theme developed with the program director.
  • 3 must be core courses, including at least 1 from each of the following lists:
    Course Title
    History core courses
    HISTORY 251-0The Politics of Disaster: A Global Environmental History
    HISTORY 275-1History of Early Modern Science and Medicine
    HISTORY 275-2History of Modern Science and Medicine
    HISTORY 325-0History of American Technology
    HISTORY 378-0History of Law and Science
    HISTORY 379-0Biomedicine and World History
    Course Title
    Other core courses
    HUM 220-0Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society
    PHIL 268-0Ethics and the Environment
    PHIL 269-0Bioethics
    PHIL 326-0Topics in Philosophy of Medicine
    SOCIOL 220-0Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society
    SOCIOL 319-0Sociology of Science
    SOCIOL 355-0Medical Sociology
  • At least 6 of the 10 courses must be at the 300 level.
  • Course substitutions may be allowed with the consent of the program director.
  • All adjunct majors require completion of a stand-alone major as well. Up to 2 courses for the science in human culture adjunct major may be counted toward another major.

Honors in Science in Human Culture

Majors with strong academic records and an interest in pursuing honors should submit a proposal to the program director by the end of the sixth week of spring quarter of junior year. To graduate with honors, students must take 9 courses toward the major (not counting the honors sequence) and must satisfy the core course requirements. In addition, they must write a senior thesis of sufficiently high quality while enrolled in the 3-quarter honors sequence:

Course Title
SHC 398-1
SHC 398-2
SHC 398-3
Science in Human Culture Senior Seminar
and Science in Human Culture Senior Seminar
and Science in Human Culture Senior Seminar

Students whose theses and grades meet program criteria are recommended to the college for graduation with honors. For more information see the detailed explanation on the program website, contact the program director, and see Honors in the Major.