MORE REQUIREMENTS

Does everyone need 1 major?

• Yes, all NEIU students are required to have at least 1 major. A "major" is a large sequence of courses that provides students with specialization in a given topic.

• The Justice Studies Major (12 courses) is an example of one major, but there are many other majors offered at NEIU as well.

How do I declare a major?

• "Declaring" a major means that the major will appear on your graduation transcripts, and therefore declaring a major (and completing the course requirements of that major) is required before graduating.

• You are permitted to take courses in a department without declaring the major. However, if you think you may want to become a major in a department, consider declaring the major early on -- because once you declare the major, you'll be assigned a faculty advisor, who can help advise you on which classes to take.

• After you have decided what to major in, declare your major by completing this form and emailing it to the department that houses your major. (For declaring the Justice Studies Major, email your completed form to justice-studies@neiu.edu)

What about a minor?

• Minors -- such as the Criminology Minor or Social Justice Minor -- are optional and not required. 

• However, in addition to their major, many students choose to also complete a minor. The minor does not need to be (but can be) in the same department as the student's major. Minors can be beneficial because they help a student gain greater expertise on a given topic, and they may also help in applying for employment or graduate school.

Who needs to complete General Education (GenEd) requirements?

• If you do not have an Associate's Degree, you will need to complete GenEd requirements. If you are transferring into NEIU, find out from the Transfer Center or your faculty advisor whether any of the courses you transferred into NEIU satisfy some of the GenEd requirements

• If you transferred into NEIU with a certain type of Associate's Degree, you may qualify to have ALL of your GenEd's waived (so that you won't need to take these courses). If you're not sure whether your Associate's Degree qualifies to waive your GenEds, please either inquire with the Transfer Center or your faculty advisor. 

What are the GenEd requirements?

• 2 Fine Arts (FA) courses (must be FA courses on this list; cannot take both in same dept., and note that Dance is part of the Music Dept.)

• 3 Humanities (HU) courses (must be HU courses on this list; cannot take all 3 in same dept.)

• 3 Natural Sciences (NS) courses (1 must have a lab component; must be NS courses on this list; cannot take all 3 in same dept.)

• 3 Social-Behavioral Sciences (SB) courses* -- (must be SB courses on this list; cannot take all 3 in same dept.)

  • *NOTE: Completing the Justice Studies Major automatically satisfies 2 Social-Behavioral GenEd courses (i.e, you just need 1 extra SB GenEd course outside of Justice Studies)

What exactly are Engaged Learning Experiences (ELE)?

• An ELE course includes "deep reflection on and integration of knowledge across boundaries," often involving some type of hands-on or experiential learning.

• ELE courses can be taken in any department, not just your Major department. 

• There are 2 ELE types:

  • ELE Boundary-Crossing (multi-disciplinary)

  • ELE Discipline-Specific (focused more on one core topic)

What is the ELE requirement?

• 3 ELE courses, of which:

  • At east 1 must be at the 300-level (i.e., have a course number that starts with a 3)

  • At least 1 must be ELE Boundary-Crossing

How is the ELE requirement different for Justice Studies Majors?

• The final course required in the Justice Studies Major (JUST 350 Field Work Seminar) is a 300-level ELE Discipline-Specific course. Therefor, in addition to completing your major and JUST 350, Justice Studies Majors only need to take 2 ELE courses, including:

  • 1 ELE Boundary-Crossing course

  • 1 more ELE that can be either Boundary-Crossing or Discipline-Specific 

Which courses are designated as ELE Boundary-Crossing and ELE Discipline-Specific?

• Click here to find a general list of ELE courses, although not all of these are offered each semester.

What is NEIU's Math / Quantitative Reasoning Requirement?

• "One course, 3 credit hours that has Intermediate Algebra as a stated prerequisite, or is on the General Education Program-Distributive Learning List of Approved Courses. (Note: A Math/Quantitative Reasoning course is required of all students earning a bachelor’s degree, however, effective Fall 2016, the Math/Quantitative Reasoning requirement is no longer considered part of the General Education-Distributive Learning Program.)"

• If you are a tranfer student, find out from the Transfer Center or your faculty advisor whether you transferred in a course to NEIU that might satisfy this requirement.

Do I need to take a Math Placement Exam first before taking a course that satisfies this requirement?

• For students that have not yet completed the Math / Quantitative Reasoning requirement, typically you will first need to take the Math Placement Exam. If your score on the Math Placement Exam is high enough, then you'll be eligible to register for a course that satisfies the Math / Quantitative Reasoning requirement. If instead your score is below this threshold, you may be required to take 1-2 math preparatory courses, before you are permitted to register for a course that satisfies the Math / Quantitative Reasoning requirement.

• There are some students though who may qualify to skip the placement exam and are eligible to enroll directly in a course that satisfies the Math / Quantitative Reasoning Requirement. To find out if you are eligible to skip the placement exam, or for any questions about the placement exam, please contact Testing Services (testingservices@neiu.edu).

How do I sign up for the Math Placement Exam? 

• You can learn about how to study for and sign up for a Math Placement Exam by contacting Testing Services here.

• You are encouraged to sign up for the Math Placement Exam early in your time at NEIU. In the event that your exam score is lower and requires taking 1-2 preparatory courses plus a Math / Quantitative Reasoning course, it is preferable if you still have several semesters remaining in your time at NEIU, to avoid the risk of delaying graduation.

• NOTE: students who are either preparing for the Math Placement Exam or are enrolled in a Math course are eligible for free math peer-mentoring -- if interested, please reach out to the Learning Success Center.

What is NEIU's English 101 Requirement?

• "All students must successfully complete ENGL-101 or its equivalent, with a grade of “C” or better. This requirement should be completed within the first 30 credit hours at Northeastern in order to ensure that students have the necessary writing skills to complete their studies."

• If you are a tranfer student, find out from the Transfer Center or your faculty advisor whether you transferred in a course to NEIU that might satisfy this requirement.

Do I need to take an English Placement Exam first before taking a course that satisfies this requirement?

• For students that have not yet satisfied the English 101 requirement, typically you will first need to take the English Placement Exam. If your score on the English Placement Exam is high enough, then you'll be eligible to register for English 101. If instead your score is below this threshold, you may be required to take several English preparatory courses, before you are permitted to register for a course that satisfies the English 101 requirement.

• There are some students though who may qualify to skip the placement exam and are eligible to enroll directly in English 101. To find out if you are eligible to skip the placement exam, or for any questions about the placement exam, please contact Testing Services (testingservices@neiu.edu).

How do I sign up for the English Placement Exam? 

• You can learn about how to study for and sign up for a English Placement Exam by contacting Testing Services here.

• You are encouraged to sign up for the English Placement Exam early in your time at NEIU. In the event that your exam score is lower and requires taking English preparatory courses plus English 101, it is preferable if you still have several semesters remaining in your time at NEIU, to avoid the risk of delaying graduation.

• NOTE: students who are either preparing for the English Placement Exam or are working on writing assignments in any NEIU course are eligible for free writing peer-mentoring -- if interested, please reach out to the Learning Success Center.

What is NEIU's Improving Human Relations Requirement?

• "Illinois Bill 110 ILCS 205/9.21 requires that 'each public institution of higher education to include, in the general education requirements for obtaining a degree, coursework on improving human relations to include race, ethnicity, gender and other issues related to improving human relations to address racism and sexual harassment on their campuses, through existing courses."

How do I complete the Improving Human Relations Requirement?

• As with certain other majors/minors, if you are majoring or minoring in Justice Studies, you do NOT need to complete the Improving Human Relations Requirement.

• Not majoring or minoring in Justice Studies, or one of the other approved majors/minors that waive this requirement? Speak with your major adivsor to help you in registering for a 3-credit course designated as fulfilling this requirement.

What is NEIU's Writing Intensive Program (WIP)?

• "All students must successfully complete a writing intensive (WIP) course of at least 3 credit hours within their discipline. This requirement cannot be fulfilled with transfer credit. Students should check with an academic advisor or the Center for Academic Writing to determine which WIP course(s) may fulfill this requirement for their major."

• Note that students enrolled in any WIP course are elligible for free WIP peer-tutoring -- if interested, reach out to NEIU's Learning Success Center.

Do the Justice Studies Major, Social Justice Minor, and Criminology Minor each satisfy the WIP requirement?

• YES! JUST 202 (Writing Intensive Program: Justice and Inequality) is a course that satisfies NEIU's WIP requirement. And JUST 202 is a required course in the Justice Studies Major, Social Justice Minor, and Criminology Minor. Therefor, completing any major or minor in the Justice Studies Department automatically satisfies NEIU's WIP requirement.

Do I need to take a certain number of credits total to graduate?

• NEIU requires that students complete at least 120 credits to graduate. This is inclusive of all courses taken at the university.

Do I need to take a certain number of upper division courses?

• Yes: of the 120 credits needed to graduate, 40 credits must be at the 300-level (i.e., courses with a course number that begins with a 3, such as JUST 348). Your 300-level credits do not need to be (but can be) in your home department.

Are you a member of one of NEIU's Success Programs?

• Many 1st-year students will select a Success Program upon joining the university. Some -- but not all -- Success Programs have a specific course requirement, unique to that program. Not sure if this applies to your program? Contact your assigned Success Program advisor, to learn more.