Northwestern Data Shows Where Degrees Concentrate
Applicants comparing Northwestern with other schools can use its newly released degree and enrollment figures to weigh their major options.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in College Applications
Northwestern University has published its 2025-26 Common Data Set, a detailed report on enrollment, degree production and class offerings. The release is voluntary, but rankings organizations such as U.S. News & World Report require it for a school to be included in their rankings.
Why it matters
For applicants comparing schools, the Common Data Set is one of the most standardized sources of enrollment and academic information available. Its release shows what majors students actually earn and how large the first-year class has grown, which can help families judge how a school's offerings fit their goals.
Northwestern reported 2,363 undergraduate non-discussion class sections for 2025-26, and first-year enrollment is about 150 students higher than in 2016-17. Degree shares are counted across first and second majors, and majors were grouped using the Department of Education's Classification of Instructional Programs codes.
The players
Northwestern University
A private research university in Evanston with a large undergraduate enrollment and a selective admissions profile.
U.S. News & World Report
A national publication whose college rankings require the Common Data Set for a school to be included.
The details
The Common Data Set uses a standard template so that schools report enrollment, admissions, and academic figures in the same way. Majors are grouped according to the Department of Education's Classification of Instructional Programs codes, and degree percentages count both first and second majors, which is why shares can reflect students with more than one field. Because rankings organizations require this report for inclusion, its publication also feeds directly into the comparison tools many families use during their college search.
Timeline
The 2016-17 academic year serves as the baseline for the first-year enrollment comparison.
The 2024-25 academic year showed a median class size of 20 to 29 students.
The 2025-26 Common Data Set reports 2,363 undergraduate non-discussion class sections.
Education Landscape
The Common Data Set gives families a standardized way to compare schools, a function that has become more important as college rankings rely on it. Northwestern's figures show modest growth in first-year enrollment over the past decade, a pattern that fits the broader admissions cycle in which selective universities manage class size and program capacity.
If you are building a list of schools, the Common Data Set is a useful document to read alongside a school's admissions materials, especially its degree distribution and class-size information. Questions about how a major's course availability affects your planned path are worth raising with the school's admissions or academic advising office.
The takeaway
Northwestern's data show that social sciences, communication and journalism, and engineering together make up about 41% of bachelor's degrees, which is a useful signal for students weighing their major options. When comparing schools, ask the admissions office how its published degree and class-size figures apply to the program you are considering.
Further reading
For more on how schools present their figures to applicants, explore our guide to College Applications.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Daily Northwestern.
