An Authentic View of Exciting Topics
CTD Encounters provides bright, curious students an immersive, half-day learning experience that delves deeply into a defined topic within a larger field of study. Expert teachers use hands-on, collaborative methods that support student creativity, inquiry, and investigation.
Why Choose CTD Encounters?
CTD Encounters is the perfect program for busy students with diverse interests looking for enrichment that fits their schedule. Read more about how CTD defines enrichment.
Benefits Include:
- Single-day, 3-hour experiences on weekends during the school year
- Deep dives into high interest topics
- Experienced instructors
- An engaging classroom experience involving a variety of small and large-group activities
- Opportunity to engage with like-minded peers
The CTD Encounters program welcomes applications from any interested student. CTD Encounters courses are part of our Amber Tier, open -enrollment programs. There is no need to provide further documentation once you submit your application. Please do ensure that you are registering for the correct grade.
Applications must be completed one-week prior to the start of the class. Applications completed after the deadline may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
When you are ready to apply for a course or CTD program, you can do so by creating or logging into your MyCTD account found on the top right corner of this page. Once you have logged into your MyCTD account, please follow the prompts to enter required account information, apply for the course(s) of your choice, and submit additional application materials if necessary.
For detailed guidance on the application process, we encourage you to reference the following documents:
- For questions regarding CTD Encounters application, please contact:
ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu - For questions about current CTD Encounters enrollments, please contact:
ctd-enrichment@northwestern.edu - For questions about school partnerships, please contact:
ctd-school-services@northwestern.edu
CTD Encounters courses are at the Amber Tier for eligibility, which is open enrollment. There are no test scores or further documentation required for participation. Please note that successful completion of a CTD Encounters course does not pre-qualify students to enroll in future classes outside of the Amber Tier.
Requests for Grade Advancement/Acceleration
CTD course content is advanced or grade-level accelerated, as reflected in course descriptions and the standard admission requirements. Though course content is advanced, students can engage with intellectual peers who are also age- or grade-level peers. Therefore, most students should apply for courses aligned to the grade-level in which they are currently enrolled. Still, for some students demonstrating a need for an even higher level of instruction than CTD’s advanced and accelerated courses already provide, further acceleration may be an option. Visit the Requesting an Accelerated Placement web page for more information about the process, timeline, and required materials.
Tuition
- $95 for single-day courses
Withdrawals
Please see CTD withdrawal and refund information for policies.
Financial Aid
Financial aid is not available for CTD Encounters courses. If you would like to inquire about a payment plan, please contact us at ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu.
This is an example schedule for a CTD Encounters program. Times of activities are approximate, and schedules will vary from course to course and grade level to grade level.
Time |
Activity |
|---|---|
| 10-25 minutes | Introduction |
| 45-65 minutes | Course work |
| 10-15 minutes | Share out/Discussion |
| 15 minutes | Break |
| 45-60 minutes | Course work |
| 10-15 minutes | Share out/Discussion |
| 10-20 minutes | Debrief |
Introduction: Introduction to the topic(s) of the day, ice-breaker, discussion of class expectations
Course Work (2 or more of the following activities during each course work session - will vary depending on grade level):
- Interactive instructor lecture and/or slide deck
- Introductory video related to the day's topic
- Hands-on activity (individual or small group)
- Interactive demonstration
- Read-aloud with discussion
- Informational article that is read and discussed in small groups
- Large-group discussion
- Small-group collaborative exploration
- Individual research
- Practice with new skill or strategy
- Written reflection
Share Out/Discussion: Sharing out of student products or findings from small group/individual work and follow-up large-group discussion
Break: Students take a bathroom / snack break.
Debrief: Recap learning experiences, revisit essential question(s) of the day, complete exit slips
