STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS & ACTIVITIES

Student Organizations & Activities seeks to engage students in involvement opportunities that build a sense of belonging and community at Northwestern University. Students have the opportunity to participate in 450+ student organizations on campus or create one of their own. Our office provides support, advising, and training for students and their organizations. Through educational and programming opportunities we facilitate and nurture experiences in:

• Leadership
• Collaboration
• Student community service
• Student organization development

We encourage students to visit us to find their passion, develop ideas, and think creatively about their student organizations.

Students who engage in programs, activities, and services provided by Student Organizations & Activities will be able to:

• Choose opportunities for involvement that enable them to collaborate with others across communities at Northwestern and beyond. (Interpersonal Competence)
• Develop professional and leadership skills (such as empathy for others, event planning, conflict resolution, and team building) that can be transferred to their professional goals after Northwestern. (Cognitive and Practical Skills)

SOA promotes a student involvement experience free from barriers to finding belonging and community at Northwestern. SOA believes all enrolled students are entitled to full participation in a student organization without extraneous barriers such as applications, interviews, and specific backgrounds.

SOA defines a barrier-free organization as one that has no extraneous barriers to general membership (i.e. applications, interviews, membership fees, auditions, academic class restrictions, questionnaires, etc.). This should allow general members full participation in meetings, events, and other organizational activities. Applications and interviews for organizational leadership (i.e. chair) may be used to determine specific leadership roles within the organization, but not as a requirement or prerequisite for general membership engagement.

SOA works with individual organizations to:

• center their recruitment on welcoming interested students with minimal barriers to entry
• identifying avenues for involvement beyond established and narrowly defined roles
• reach interested students beyond org fairs 
• use observed behaviors in their student organization to identify an individual's future roles responsibilities rather than experience prior to Northwestern
• promote depth in the involvement experience rather than quantity of roles

Follow SOA on Instagram at @soa_nu to stay in the know about upcoming events and activities happening on campus!

Check out ways you can utilize resources from and get involved with other departments:

• Religious & Spiritual Life
• Multicultural Student Affairs
• Fraternity & Sorority Life
• Leadership Development & Community Engagement
• Center for Leadership
• Northwestern Career Advancement
• Health Promotion and Wellness