Parental Leave of Absence: Parental leaves are available to active students of all gender identities and gender expressions in The Graduate School who experience the birth or adoption of a child for whom they have parental responsibilities.
Childcare
The University offers the following resources for parents seeking information on childcare:
Childcare Resources: Learn about area childcare centers, community resources, and free childcare referral services
Fee Assistance: Discounted tuition on a sliding scale at four area childcare centers. Cannot be used with the TGS Graduate Student Childcare Grant.
TGS Dependent Care Grants: Taxable funds to assist PhD and MFA students with dependents so that they may participate in professional development meetings and opportunities including research-related travel.
Backup and Drop-In Care: Northwestern offers a subsidized childcare backup care program through Care.com
Health Insurance
The University offers students the option of enrolling dependents in the student health insurance plan. Learn more on the Student Health Insurance website. Please note that you may now pay for dependent coverage up front or on a quarterly basis. For additional information, please go to Aetna's Dependent Enrollment page, enter your Student ID and date of birth, and then click on "View Plan Details" (and scroll down) to review the quarterly payment schedule. Please select an option via the drop down box on the Aetna payment page.
The All Kids program provides comprehensive, affordable health insurance to Illinois children whose families cannot afford private health insurance. All Kids also offers two health insurance programs for pregnant women. Parents who meet certain income requirements may have access to coverage through Illinois FamilyCare Health Insurance.
Accommodations
Providing a family-friendly environment for faculty, staff and students is important at Northwestern. Read about Lactation Support on the human resources website.
The HR Well-being team is happy to help you find schools, pet care, community information and other area family resources.
Contact Information
Email wellbeing@northwestern.edu with questions about Northwestern benefits for students who are parents, as well as to set up a one-on-one consultation.
In 2016, Northwestern held conversations about the needs of graduate students who are parents. A task force issued recommendations to senior administration. A significant number of recommendations have been implemented into the resources listed on this page.