Course Descriptions
Every CFS course connects theory and experience through analysis, discussion, coursework, and reflection on internships with classmates. These thematic seminars are typically limited to 16 students to allow the maximum time for students to share their experiences and ideas in course and ensure close working relationships between students and instructors. Students explore Chicago through their internships, field trips, guest speakers and educational opportunities. Although classroom experience and grading varies by course, students should expect to participate in classroom discussion, do course reading, write reflective essays or blog posts, and create a final project, presentation, or paper.
When choosing a CFS course to apply for, you should decide:
- which course themes match your internship interests - the Modern Workplace and Humanities courses have the broadest topics and are able to connect with the widest range of internships while courses such as Business and Legal are more restricted.
- the amount of time you have to dedicate to your CFS Course + Internship Experience - can you dedicate a whole quarter's worth of credit or do you have to take 1 or 2 other courses while doing CFS?
We have two types of courses:
- Full-time courses (4 credits) allow students to focus solely on their CFS course and internship for a quarter. 4 credit course days and times change quarter to quarter but typically meet once a week in the evening.
- Variable credit courses (1-4 credits) allow students to either take up to 3 other NU courses or focus exclusively on their CFS experience for a quarter. Variable credit course days and times change quarter to quarter but typically meet once a week in the evening.
The number of credits you chose to take the CFS course for will dictate both the amount of coursework and the number of hours per week that you are expected to work at your internship. CFS courses typically count toward general graduation credits, but students should check with their departments or programs to see if CFS credits can count toward their major or minor. Read more about how CFS credit works.
CFS courses that are Full-time (4 units of credit)
CFS courses that are Variable Credit (1-4 units):
- Humanities
- Business (currently available for 2-4 credits)
- Civic Engagement
- Legal (currently available for 1-4 credits)
- Social Justice
- Public Health
- Environment, Science & Sustainability
- Business Culture (Online)