Northwestern College

Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university based in Evanston, Illinois, United States, with other campuses located in Chicago and Doha, Qatar, and academic programs and facilities in Miami, Florida; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco, California.

Along with its undergraduate programs, Northwestern is known for its Kellogg School of Management, Pritzker School of Law, Feinberg School of Medicine, Bienen School of Music, Medill School of Journalism, and McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Northwestern was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1917 and remains a research university with "very high" research activity. Northwestern's schools of management, engineering, and communication are among the most academically productive in the nation. Northwestern received $649.7 million in research funding in 2016.

 Northwestern supports nearly 1,500 research laboratories across two campuses, predominately in the medical and biological sciences. Through the Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO), Northwestern researchers disclosed 247 inventions, filed 270 patent applications, received 81 foreign and US patents, started 12 companies, and generated $79.8 million in licensing revenue in 2013. 

The undergraduates have a number of traditions: Painting The Rock (originally a fountain donated by the Class of 1902) is a way to advertise, for example, campus organizations, events in Greek life, student groups, and university-wide events. Dance Marathon, a 30-hour philanthropic event, has raised more than 13 million dollars in its history for various children's charities.

Two annual productions are especially notable: The Waa-Mu Show and the Dolphin show. Waa-Mu is an original musical, written and produced almost entirely by students. Children's theatre is represented on campus by Griffin's Tale and Purple Crayon Players. Its umbrella organization — the Student Theatre Coalition, or StuCo — organizes nine student theatre companies, multiple performance groups and more than sixty independent productions each year.

Many Northwestern alumni have used these productions as stepping stones to successful television and film careers. Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company, for example, which began life in the Great Room in Jones Residential College, was founded in 1988 by several alumni, including David Schwimmer; in 2011, it won the Regional Tony Award.