Skip to main content
Spring 2023
Campus

Want to Learn Something New? Try Mini Courses

For 50 years, the Norris Mini Courses have offered an array of fun, noncredit courses for students and the general public.

norris
Image: Yanni Economos

Spring 2023
News

Now in its 50th year, the Norris Mini Courses program offers more than 30 noncredit courses on a wide range of topics such as sewing, photography and American Sign Language. Offered quarterly, courses are open to Northwestern students and the general public. Here are just a few offerings:

Coffee Appreciation

A partnership with local shop Backlot Coffee, this course offers lessons about the farming practices and history of coffee, as well as a tasting and brewing tutorial.

Introduction to Pole Dance

In partnership with the student group Polerize, this course covers basic moves and dance techniques of pole dancing, helping students increase strength, flexibility and body awareness.

Credit: Josh Jung

Wine Appreciation

Featuring wines from California and around the world, this course teaches students to taste and describe wines like a sommelier. Mark Gruber ’76 has taught the course for more than 30 years.

Wheel Throwing I

Students learn the basics of making pottery on a wheel, with a focus on ceramics such as cylinders and bowls. There are also intermediate and advanced levels of this course.

See the current Norris Mini Course offerings. 

Share this Northwestern story with your friends via...

Reader Responses

No one has commented on this page yet.

Submit a Response

Check out these related stories...

Campus

All That Jazz

This winter, Nitasha Tamar Sharma offers a new Black studies course for students: New Black Music in Chicago: Artists’ Reflections on Music, Race and Entrepreneurship. Students will organize a free public jazz event for the community, which will take place March 4 as part of the Department of Black Studies’ annual Leon Forrest Lecture Series.

Portrait of grammy-nominated harpist Brandee Younger playing the harp
Campus

Strength in Numbers

Anyone who makes a gift of any size for three or more consecutive years is recognized as a member of NU Loyal, the University’s largest giving society, with more than 42,000 active donors. Gifts from members of NU Loyal have impacted more than 1,500 areas across the University.

NU Loyal members David Leuchter and Dulce Vasquez pose together in the stands at a Northwestern football game at Wrigley Field, smiling for the camera. Leuchter is wearing a Northwestern jacket and scarf, and Vasquez is wearing a hat with a Northwestern N. A large crowd is visible in the background as well as several football players on the field.
Campus

Inspired by Gratitude

A health crisis motivated Victor Su and Patricia Kou to help expand Northwestern’s speech and language services to a wider community. Their gift establishes the Su Family Community Impact Fund, which will support the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and create a scholarship fund for undergraduate students in the McCormick School of Engineering.

A group of children and adults pose in a mirrored studio room, holding up peace signs, hearts and thumbs up and smiling at the camera.