90 PhD programmes offered by the university

The Learning Sciences program at Northwestern University prepares researchers, developers, and practitioners to advance the scientific understanding and practice of teaching and learning.

The Psychology program at Northwestern University prepares students to be future leaders in scientific psychology through programs in five areas: clinical psychology; personality, development & health psychology; cognitive psychology; social psychology; and brain, behavior, & cognition.

The Computer Engineering program at Northwestern University is a joint program between the Department of Computer Science (CS) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and offers programs leading to the MS and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering (CE).

In the Biomedical Engineering - Biomechanics program at Northwestern University, rigid body biomechanics research aims to better understand the neural control of movement, to improve rehabilitation interventions, and to develop medical devices such as exoskeletons, prosthetics, and orthotics.

The Health Sciences - Social Sciences and Health program at Northwestern University offers doctoral student training across multiple disciplines within the health sciences, spanning from informatics and program evaluation to implementation science and outcomes research. 

The Mathematics program at Northwestern University aims to develop students into productive research mathematicians. 

The Economics program at Northwestern University prepares students for careers in college teaching and research, government and international agencies, or private business. 

Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (NUIN) is a highly interactive and collaborative program, with faculty distributed across more than 20 departments on the Chicago and Evanston campuses.

The Rhetoric, Media, and Publics program at Northwestern University is grounded in the humanistic tradition of rhetoric and its focus on the study of politics, philosophy, and the arts. 

The Finance doctoral program at Northwestern University provides students with rigorous training in finance, economics, mathematics and statistics. These tools, plus opportunities for supervised independent research, enable students to make their own contributions to the understanding of financial markets and institutions that lead to productive research careers. 

The Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences program at Northwestern University provides the resources and training environment necessary to promote the development of Ph.D. students into independent, creative research scientists and teachers.

The Anthropology program at Northwestern University fosters the historic diversity of the discipline by building an intellectual dialogue between different humanistic and scientific approaches. 

The Materials Science and Engineering program at Northwestern University was the first in the world and is internationally renowned for the excellence of its graduates.

In the Biomedical Engineering - Imaging and Biophotonics program at Northwestern University, research in imaging and biophotonics includes new technology development, image-based biophysical modeling of disease processes, the application of these techniques to address crucial problems in fundamental biology and human physiology, and translation into clinical applications and patient studies.

The Philosophy program at Northwestern University trains students historically and systematically, fosters the growth of philosophical skills, and encourages broad and incisive exploration of individual interests.

The Civil and Environmental Engineering - Geotechnical Engineering program at Northwestern University provides a strong background in the theory and practice of modern civil and environmental engineering through formal course and research requirements. 

The Medicine and Public Health program at Northwestern University is available to incoming medical students in the Feinberg School of Medicine. 

The Religious Studies program at Northwestern University is highly flexible and profoundly interdisciplinary. All students take courses both within and outside the department, most choose at least one dissertation adviser from another department, and many students take one qualifying examination in another discipline. 

The Health Sciences - Health Services and Outcomes Research program at Northwestern University offers doctoral student training across multiple disciplines within the health sciences, spanning from informatics and program evaluation to implementation science and outcomes research. 

The Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning program at Northwestern University primarily prepares students to become expert independent researchers.