Academic Programs and Centers
African American Studies Department
Founded in 1972, the Department of African American Studies at Northwestern is a vibrant place for intellectual exchange, pedagological innovation, and community engagement. As you explore our website, you will notice our department's diasporic focus and its engagement with questions of race and blackness as they manifest all over the globe.
Asian American Studies Department
Asian American Studies offers a program of study that gives access to the long and rich histories, culture, and politics of Asians in the United States. The program consists of core faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and lecturers who offer over 20 courses.
Buehler Center on Aging, Health and Society
The mission of the Buehler Center is to improve the quality of life and quality of care for older adults, the terminally ill, and other vulnerable populations through education and research.
The Buffett Institute sponsors and facilitates collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship on crucial problems facing the world. Our activities promote dialogue on international affairs enriching the educational program at Northwestern. Working with a variety of organizations and communities, we contribute to preparing exemplary global citizens.
Cells to Society: Center on Social Disparities and Health (IPR)
Our mission is: (1) To bring together the social, life, and biomedical sciences to understand the origins, consequences, and policy solutions for contemporary health inequalities in the United States; and (2) to examine how broad social, race/ethnic, and economic disparities "get under the skin" and affect human development and physical health.
Center for African American History
The Center for African American History (CAAH) draws together scholars from across the disciplines to promote the study of all aspects of African American history and the history of the African Diaspora.
Established in June of 2001 at the Kellogg School of Management, the Kellogg CEW is dedicated to helping senior-level women advance to top executive and board positions.
Center for Global Culture and Communication
The Center for Global Culture and Communication (CGCC) is an interdepartmental forum for bringing together School of Communication faculty and students to address the emerging importance of globalization in communication studies.
The Program for Healthcare Equity is dedicated to eliminating disparities in health care and improving the quality of care for all individuals. Our goal is for every person to get the highest quality of health care possible, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural beliefs, language socioeconomic status or health literacy.
Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR)
CNAIR's mission is to advance scholarship, teaching, learning, and artistic or cultural practices related to Native American and Indigenous communities, priorities, histories, and lifeways. CNAIR is committed to building relationships with Native American and Indigenous communities and conducting meaningful and collaborative research.
Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy
The mission of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy is to stimulate research, dialogue, and civic engagement about the relationship between diversity and democratic politics.
Diversity Science at Northwestern
Interests in diversity among faculty and students in Northwestern's Department of Psychology take many forms. We seek to promote diversity and cultural competence in research, teaching, professional training, and representation among faculty and students.
Gender and Sexuality Studies Program
We ask questions about gender and sexuality in the U.S., transnationally, and in history, and answer them using research and teaching tools from across the humanities and social sciences, as well as from feminist, masculinity, LGBT and queer studies.
Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing
Our mission is to be a University-wide Institute that connects scholars from numerous disciplines with the SGM community to forge collaborations and stimulate new research. It provides leadership and infrastructure that promotes innovative, multidisciplinary research to improve the health and well-being of SGM individuals and communities.
Our nationally renowned faculty members are engaging in dynamic and cutting-edge scholarship and teaching about U.S. Latino/as. We are building bridges among ourselves, as any Latino/a community embraces heterogeneous identities, socioeconomic status, racial, national, and generational differences, among others.
Poverty, Race and Inequality (IPR)
Issues of inequality, poverty, and racism are consistent threads woven throughout Institute for Policy Research faculty initiatives—and have constituted major research themes from the day the Institute first opened its doors. To examine these pernicious problems, faculty researchers cast a wide net, tackling a variety of topics that shed light on gaps in race, socioeconomic status, opportunity, and housing.
The Program of African Studies (PAS) at Northwestern has achieved international prominence for fostering the production of innovative scholarship, the training of hundreds of African specialists, and the development of new ways of thinking about the African world.
Science in Society is a Northwestern University research center dedicated to science education and public engagement. Through partnerships with Chicago-area schools and community groups, we train Northwestern researchers to share their expertise and creativity in a community-centered way. Our focus is to develop sustainable educational initiatives that deliver proven results for groups that need us most.
Sexualities Project at Northwestern (SPAN)
SPAN funds research by Northwestern faculty members; selects postdoctoral fellows in an international competition; and awards dissertation fellowships, summer research grants, and conference travel support to Northwestern graduate students. SPAN also organizes workshops, brings speakers to campus, and promotes a range of educational activities relating to sexuality studies. Their goal is to support Northwestern’s contributions to the emerging research agenda on sexual orientation and sexuality, particularly within the social sciences (broadly construed).
Transgender Voice/Communication Therapy
Transgender voice and communication therapy helps establish voice, speech, and language that is reflective of each individual's identified gender. Clinic services begin with a comprehensive speech, voice and language evaluation that allows a customized therapy plan to be created for each client.
Women’s Health Research Institute
The mission of the Women's Health Research Institute is to accelerate the rate of discovery in the sciences that impact women’s health and well-being and to increase the research and education portfolio in women’s health at Northwestern University and its clinical affiliates.