Northeastern University Northeastern University ( NU ) , is a private , secular , coeducational research university in Boston , Massachusetts . Northeastern has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments . At the graduate level , the university offers more than 125 programs and awards master ' s , doctoral , and professional degrees . Founded in 1898 , the university is the home of more than 35 specialized research and education centers . Its main campus is located in the Fenway Cultural District of Boston . Northeastern is classified as a RU / H institution ( high research activity ) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching . Among Northeastern ' s past and present faculty are several Guggenheim Fellows and a MacArthur Foundation " Genius Award " winner , a former Democratic nominee for President of the United States , and a Pulitzer Prize winner . In 2012 , Northeastern received 44 , 208 applications for the 2 , 800 seats of the fall freshman class . 32 % of that year ' s applicants were accepted . Northeastern ' s cooperative education ( co - op ) program was one of the first of its kind in the world , with many corporate and non - profit co - op partners both in the United States and abroad . Employers have included major newspapers , popular television shows , international law firms , banks , government offices , and corporations and many Fortune 500 companies . History . Northeastern was established in 1898 as the " Evening Institute for Younger Men " at the Huntington Avenue YMCA . Its first class was held October 3 , 1898 . The institute catered to the needs of the rapidly growing immigrant population in Boston . Within a few years of its formation , it offered classes in law , engineering and finance . In 1909 the school began offering day classes and it moved to a new location on Huntington Avenue in 1913 . The school was officially organized as a college in 1916 and in 1922 it was renamed " Northeastern University of the Boston Young Men ' s Christian Association . " In a period of rapid campus expansion , the university purchased the Huntington Avenue Grounds ( former Boston Red Sox ballpark ) in 1929 , but did not build on the land due to financial constraints during The Great Depression . In 1935 , the College of Liberal Arts was added to Northeastern , and the university ' s name was simplified to " Northeastern University . " In 1937 The Northeastern University Corporation was established , creating a board of trustees made up of 31 members of the NU Corporation and 8 members of the YMCA . In 1948 Northeastern separated itself completely from the YMCA . Following World War II , Northeastern began admitting women , and in the boom of post - war college - bound students , Northeastern created a College of Education ( 1953 ) , University College ( now called the College of Professional Studies ) ( 1960 ) , College of Pharmacy and College of Nursing ( 1964 ) . The College of Pharmacy and College of Nursing were subsequently combined into the Bouvé College of Health Sciences . Northeastern also added the College of Criminal Justice ( 1967 ) and College of Computer Science ( 1982 ) , since renamed the College of Computer and Information Science . Similar to a number of urban universities , Northeastern began as a commuter school with many part - time and evening students , and by the early 1980s had grown to 60 , 000 enrollees . In the 1990s , the university reduced the number of enrolled students in order to become a " smaller , better " university and began building more residence halls on campus . It cut its freshman class size from around 4500 students to 2800 students . From 1996 to 2006 , President Richard Freeland led an institutional change ; average SAT scores increased more than 200 points , retention rates rose dramatically , and applications doubled . President Freeland oversaw Northeastern ' s largest expansion ever , opening $ 485 million in new facilities , including residence halls , academic and research facilities , and athletic centers . The institution also became substantially more selective , leading to a more academically talented student body . During the transition , students experienced a re - organization of the co - operative education system to better integrate classroom learning with workplace experience . The university also switched its full - time undergraduate and graduate programs to a new academic calendar comprising two traditional semesters and two summer " minimesters " , replacing the four - quarter system . This new calendar allowed students to delve more deeply into their academic courses and to experience longer , more substantive co - op placements . Throughout the transformation , President Freeland ' s oft - repeated goal was to crack the Top 100 of the U . S . News rankings , which was accomplished in 2005 . With this goal accomplished and the transformation from commuting school to national research university complete , he stepped down from the presidency on August 15 , 2006 . His successor is Dr . Joseph Aoun , formerly a dean at University of Southern California . Since coming into office in the fall of 2006 , President Aoun has implemented a decentralized management model , giving the academic deans of the university more control over their own budgets , faculty hiring decisions , and fundraising . As part of Northeastern ' s five - year , $ 75 million Academic Investment Plan , the University is concentrating on three areas : undergraduate education , core graduate professional programs , and centers of research excellence . The Plan centers around the addition of 100 tenured and tenure - track professors between 2004 and 2009 . This plan was recently expanded to provide for the hiring of an additional 300 tenure and tenure - track faculty in interdisciplinary fields . Aoun has also placed more emphasis on improving town relations by reaching out to leaders of the communities surrounding the university . In addition , Aoun has created more academic partnerships with other institutions in the Boston area including Tufts , Hebrew College and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts . Under Aoun ' s leadership , the university continues to climb in the rankings . In the 2013 edition of U . S . News and World Report ' s " Best Colleges Guide " , Northeastern increased its ranking to , up 6 spots from 2012 . Presidents . Presidents of Northeastern ( with years of tenure and campus buildings named in their honor ) : Satellite campuses . The university plans a number of remote campuses in several cities in the United States . The first campus , in Charlotte , North Carolina . opened in October , 2011 ; a Seattle campus is planned for 2012 , and Silicon Valley ( California ) , Austin , Texas , and Minneapolis for future years . Admissions . Northeastern ranks as the top private American university in the number of applications it receives annually . Barrons College Guides rates admission to Northeastern University as " highly competitive " . U . S . News and World Report rates Northeastern as " more selective . " The middle 50 % of admitted students for Fall 2011 had weighted GPA ' s of 3 . 7 - 4 . 2 , SAT scores of 1890 – 2140 and ACT scores of 29 - 32 . A report by The Huntington News , NU ' s newspaper , claimed that for the 114th entering class , Northeastern University received 42 , 948 applications from prospective freshmen for the fall term . This represented a 15 % surge from last year ' s record of 38 , 000 applications . For this particular year , Northeastern University beat Boston University and New York University in terms of " the most applied - to private university in the United States " . For the same year , the admissions rate dropped to a record - low 34 . 3 % . Approximately 3 , 000 students enrolled , one - sixth of them international students . Academics . Northeastern offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments . At the graduate level , there are more than 125 programs . Academics at Northeastern is grounded in the integration of classroom studies with experiential learning opportunities , including cooperative education , student research , service learning , and global experience . The university ' s cooperative education program places about 5 , 000 students annually with more than 2 , 500 co - op employers in Boston , across the United States , and around the globe . In 2010 , College Prowler gave Northeastern an " A - " rating for the quality of classes , professors , and overall academic environment . Colleges and schools . Colleges listed including schools and degrees offered : Honors Program . The University Honors Program offers selected students an enhanced curriculum . Starting with the First Year Reading Project and moving on to participating in a wide range of courses during the undergraduate years , the program gives students a variety of academic choices . The culminating experience is advanced specialty work in a major field through college - specific choices including specialized advanced honors seminars and an independent research project . In addition , students in the Honors Program exclusively can live in a Living - Learning Community housed in West Villages C and F . Since Fall 2009 , first - year Honors students are housed in the North and West Towers of the newly constructed International Village residence hall . Senior Capstone . The Senior Capstone is an advanced level course related to the student ' s major . The course requires the student to integrate what they have learned through their academic coursework and their experiential learning experience ( co - op , research , study abroad , and service ) . Pre - med program . The university recently partnered with Tufts University School of Medicine to create an early acceptance BA / MD Program . Northeastern ' s campus is just a few blocks from the Longwood Medical and Academic Area where Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine are located along with their associated world class teaching hospitals . These institutions provide NU pre - med students with significant internship opportunities . Boston is also home to a burgeoning biotechnology industry Study abroad . Northeastern has semester - long study abroad programs with placements in Europe , Asia , Africa , Australia , and South America . Some participating schools include : University of Edinburgh , Scotland ; Reims Management School , France ; University of Cape Town , South Africa ; University of Cambridge and London School of Economics , England ; University of Auckland , New Zealand ; Swinburne University of Technology , Australia ; Obirin University , Japan ; American College of Thessaloniki , Greece and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Chile and also Antarctica Northeastern ' s International Business program is a member of the International Partnership of Business Schools . Through this program International Business students have the opportunity to be awarded a dual - degree from Northeastern as well as from a sister school in Europe , Mexico or Hong Kong . Northeastern also has the notable Dialogues of Civilizations program , which features dozens of one month - long programs ( usually taking place in the summer ) where a faculty member will lead a group of students in the country of their choice . A sort of " mini " study abroad , each program has an area of focus - for example , the Geneva program focuses on small arms and multilateral negotiations while the South Africa program is based in non - governmental organizations . This program is meant to be a communicative experience and an exchange of ideas and cultures . It is open to all majors and all years , and is the most popular study abroad option at Northeastern . Since the arrival of President Aoun in 2006 , the school has also been emphasizing co - op abroad , in an effort to make the school more global and internationally engaged . There are many programs being offered including social entrepreneurship in the Dominican Republic , Belize , and South Africa . Northeastern also offers a program called NUin for first - year students who choose to spend their first semester studying abroad . In 2012 , 500 students enrolled in the NUin program in destinations of England , Ireland , Greece , Australia , and Costa Rica . Research . Research Centers and Institutes at Northeastern include : The university provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to engage in research through the Center for Experiential Education , CenSSIS Research Experience for Undergraduates , Honors Research , Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program , and Provost ' s Office research grants . In FY 2007 , annual external research funding exceeded $ 78 million . In FY 2009 - 2010 , the research funding is close to $ 82 million . In 2002 , Northeastern ' s Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems was designated an NSF Engineering Research Center . In 2004 , Northeastern was one of six institutions selected by the National Science Foundation as a center for research in nanotechnology . In 2010 , Northeastern was granted $ 12 million by an alum for a Homeland security research facility , to be named the George J . Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security , after its chief benefactor . Faculty . Many of Northeastern ' s 973 full - time and part - time faculty members have garnered national and international acclaim for their achievements in teaching and research , with particular strength in interdisciplinary scholarship . Northeastern faculty members direct more than 35 research and education centers , including a National Science Foundation ( NSF ) Engineering Research Center , an NSF Nanomanufacturing Center , and two NSF Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeship programs . Co - op / internship program . Northeastern has one of the largest co - op / internship programs in the world . Started in 1909 , NU ' s co - op program is one of the oldest in the nation . In the co - op program , students alternate periods of academic study with periods of paid professional employment related to their major . Most majors offer a four - year graduation option with fewer co - op placements , but the five - year program is more popular with students . The co - op program typically starts sophomore year ( after a traditional freshman year ) . Co - op placements range from small dynamic start - up companies to large multinational companies with thousands of employees , including many Fortune 500 corporations . The program also places students with government agencies , branches of government , nonprofits , and non - governmental organizations . Northeastern students can be found interning in the United States Congress , the White House , United Nations , and at NASA . Student placements usually last six months , and are mostly paid . Students may live in the university residence halls on campus during co - op employment , and the university currently leases housing for students co - oping in New York City and Washington , D . C . and assists elsewhere . Northeastern University is also a partner with the Boston Youth Fund , which is run by the Boston Youth council and provides summer job and enrichment placement for the City of Boston . Accreditation . Northeastern University is accredited by New England Association of Schools and Colleges ( NEASC ) Student activities . Northeastern has over 19 varsity teams in the NCAA , over 30 club sport teams , and over 200 student organizations . Several prominent student - run organizations , including the Resident Student Association ( RSA ) , Student Government Association ( SGA ) , Northeastern University Television ( NUTV ) , Fraternity and Sorority Life ( FSL ) , and the Council for University Programs ( CUP ) organize activities for Northeastern students as well as the surrounding community . Athletics . Fourteen of eighteen Northeastern varsity sports teams have been competing in NCAA Division I ' s Colonial Athletic Association , since 2005 . The school sponsors the following sports teams : The NU mascot is Paws . The school colors are red and black with white trim . The fight song , " All Hail , Northeastern " , was composed by Charles A . Pethybridge , Class of 1932 . Some notable athletes have played for Northeastern ' s sports teams . Dan Ross played football at Northeastern long before setting the Super Bowl record for receptions in a game . Reggie Lewis still holds the men ' s basketball career scoring record . Carlos Peña was named Major League Baseball ' s American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2007 and an AL Gold Glove winner in 2008 . The U . S . Olympic women ' s ice hockey teams have included Northeastern alumni Shelley Looney and Chanda Gunn . The baseball team has competed in one College World Series and played in the NCAA regionals seven times . In its first year in the CAA , the men ' s basketball team finished in 6th place ( out of 12 teams ) and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament . The CAA proved to be a competitive conference in the 2006 NCAA Basketball Tournament , as George Mason University advanced all the way to the Final Four . In 2007 , its second year in the CAA , the women ' s track team captured the conference championship , while the volleyball team finished second . The women ' s basketball team won 10 more games in 2008 than the previous year , the biggest one - year turnaround in the CAA , and advanced to the tournament quarterfinals . Northeastern ' s men ' s and women ' s hockey teams compete in the Hockey East Conference . During the 2007 – 08 season , the men ' s team ranked as high at # 7 in the country and held the top spot in the conference before finishing the season in sixth place in Hockey East . Both teams also participate in the annual Beanpot tournament between the four major Boston - area colleges . Northeastern ' s men ' s team has won the annual event 4 times in its 54 - year history , while the women ' s team has captured the Beanpot 14 times . During the 2008 – 2009 season , the men ' s team ranked as high as 3rd in the nation and held the top spot in Hockey East until the last weekend of the season ; the team made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994 , the Beanpot championship game for the first time since 2004 , and goalie Brad Thiessen made the Hobey Hat Trick , only the second Northeastern player to do so . The Northeastern Crew team consistently ranks as one of the top 10 teams in the nation . In the 2008 National Championship , the team made the Grand Finals and placed fourth behind University of Wisconsin – Madison , University of Washington , and University of California , Berkeley , while beating Brown University , Princeton University , University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University . Northeastern offers 40 club sports , including judo , rugby , lacrosse , squash , cycling and ultimate frisbee . In 2005 the women ' s rugby team finished third in the nation in Division II , while in the same year the men ' s rugby team won the largest annual tournament in the United States . The men ' s lacrosse team began the 2008 season ranked in the Top 10 nationally . The men ' s and women ' s squash team finished the 2008 season ranked in the Top 20 nationally . In the 2008 – 2009 academic year the Northeastern Club Field Hockey and Women ' s Basketball teams won their respective National Championships . From 2007 to 2009 , the Northeastern Club Baseball team won three straight New England Club Baseball Association championships . On May 25 , 2010 the club baseball team defeated Penn State to win the National Club Baseball Association Division II World Series and national championship . Citing sparse attendance , numerous losing seasons and the expense to renovate Parsons Field to an acceptable standard , the university Board of Trustees voted on November 20 , 2009 , to end the football program . According to president Joseph Aoun , " Leadership requires that we make these choices . This decision allows us to focus on our existing athletic programs . " Campus . Northeastern is located in Boston ' s Fenway , Roxbury and Back Bay neighborhoods adjacent to Huntington Avenue near the Museum of Fine Arts and Symphony Hall . The area is also known as the Fenway Cultural District . Although located in the heart of Boston , the NU campus is still filled with trees , flowers , and grassy quads . Since the late 1990s , Northeastern has been considered a model of design for urban universities and has twice won the " most beautiful new or renovated exterior space " award ( presented by the American Institute of Architects ) in 2001 and 2004 . Matthews Arena . Opened in 1910 and widely known as the Boston Arena , Matthews Arena is the world ' s oldest surviving indoor ice hockey arena . Located on the east edge of Northeastern University ' s campus , it is home to the Northeastern Huskies men ' s and women ' s hockey teams , and men ' s basketball team as well as the Wentworth Institute of Technology ' s men ' s hockey team . The arena is named after former Chair of the Board of Trustees George J . Matthews and his wife , the late Hope M . Matthews . The arena is the original home of the NHL Boston Bruins and the WHA New England Whalers ( now the NHL Carolina Hurricanes ) . It was also the secondary home to the NBA Boston Celtics in the 1940s . It has hosted all or part of the America East Conference men ' s basketball tournament a total of seven times and hosted the 1960 Frozen Four . The arena also served as the original home to the annual Beanpot tournament between Boston ' s four major college hockey programs . Marino Recreation Center . The Marino Center features on its first floor an atrium with two cafés and a food market . The second floor includes a student exercise area , a multipurpose room is used for aerobics classes and martial arts clubs . The gymnasium consists of three basketball courts . On the third floor , a state - of - the - art resistance training area and a fully equipped free weight room . A three - lane suspended track is available for either walking or jogging , and rowing ergometers are available . Library facilities . The NU Libraries include the Snell Library , the John D . O ' Bryant African - American Institute Library , and the library at the NU Marine Science Center in Nahant , Massachusetts . The NU School of Law Library is separately administered by the NU School of Law . Snell Library opened in 1990 at a cost of $ 35 million and contains 1 . 3 million volumes . The Digital Media Design Studio within the library is a collaborative and interdisciplinary learning environment for creating course - related multimedia presentations , projects and portfolios . The library is home to the Favat Collection , a current collection of children ' s literature and K - 12 curriculum resources , instructional materials , and related information to support courses offered by the School of Education . It contains three computer labs operated by NU Information Services . Two are available to all NU students , faculty , and staff ; the other is a teaching lab . . The NU Libraries received federal depository designation in 1962 . As a selective depository , the Libraries receive forty - five percent of the federal publication series available to depository libraries . The Snell Library is also home to the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections department , which includes the Benjamin LaGuer papers collection . The Special Collections focus on records of Boston - area community - based organizations that are concerned with social justice issues . Snell Library is also opened 24 hours a day , allowing students to study at any given time . Spiritual Life Center and Sacred Space . Within the urban environment that characterizes the campus as a whole , NU has carved out a quiet , peaceful space in the centrally located Ell Building for the Spiritual Life Center ' s Sacred Space . The nondenominational Sacred Space , the Center ' s main assembly hall , can be configured with carpets , mats or chairs . It has a distinctive ceiling consisting of 3 hanging domes made of overlapping aluminum tiles with an origami - like effect , warm wood floors and accents , and glass - panelled walls that lean outward slightly , their shape and material giving a sense of openness and volume to the space . Faucets for ablution are available in a flanking antechamber , and the Center also contains a smaller meeting space and library . The Sacred Space opened in 1998 . The architects Office dA ( Nader Tehrani & Monica Ponce de Leon ) received the 2002 Harleston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects for the design . West Village . The West Village complex includes eight buildings serving mainly as residence halls and classrooms . The plans for Building K , a 22 - story high rise housing 600 beds , have been suspended indefinitely as a result of the troubled economy . South Campus ( Columbus Avenue ) . Northeastern University ' s southernmost section of campus is located along Columbus Avenue in Roxbury , parallel to the Orange line . The University expanded south into Roxbury at the same time as they were building West Village . In 2001 , Davenport Commons was opened , providing 585 students housing in two residence halls while 75 families representing a range of incomes have been able to purchase a condo or townhouse at or below Boston ' s market value . Davenport Commons also created commercial space on Tremont Street . During the summer of 2006 , Northeastern University proposed a new residence hall further away from the main campus , at the corner of Tremont Street and Ruggles Street . Construction began in late February 2007 . The building opened in Fall 2009 and has a total of 22 stories . In the Spring of 2009 , The complex was named International Village and opened later that Summer . Its nicknames include " IV " and " INV . " It consists of three residence halls , an office complex and administration building , and a gym . The residence halls house honors freshman and all levels of upperclassmen . A 400 seat dining hall available to all members of the Northeastern community as well as the public , along with several fast food locations . The following buildings make up the South Campus , : Residential buildings Administrative buildings Athletic buildings Dodge Hall . Dodge Hall is mainly used for Northeastern ' s business programs ( Before Snell Library opened in 1990 , it served as the university ' s main library ) . Dodge Hall has five floors . The basement houses a computer lab and is connected to the university ' s large network of underground tunnels which connects many buildings . Classrooms and a lounge area occupy the first floor . The D ' Amore - McKin School of Business undergraduate office is on the second floor , and the graduate office is on the third floor . The School of Professional Accounting office is on the fourth floor . Sustainability . In order to reduce the campus ’ environmental impact , Northeastern has formed a Sustainability Committee that meets several times a year to create proposals to the President ' s Office . The 22 - story residence Hall ( International Village ) will be the campus ’ second LEED certified building , with the renovation of Dockser Hall the first building on campus to achieve LEED certification . The Clean Plates initiative , which encourages students to separate their leftover food in dining halls , has allowed dining services to compost seven to eight tons per week . Consequently , initiatives , the University was awarded an overall grade of " B " on the Sustainable Endowments Institute ' s College Sustainability Report Card 2009 . In addition , in 2010 the Princeton Review rated Northeastern as one of the top 15 " Green Colleges " in the nation . In 2011 , the GreenMetric World University ranking put Northeastern as the second greenest university in the world , and first in the US . Public safety . The University Police Department is a full service law enforcement agency with full powers of arrest on university property or property used by Northeastern students and faculty . The campus is adjacent to the Boston Police Department ' s Headquarters . A 2008 Reader ' s Digest survey ranked NU as the second safest school in the United States after Johns Hopkins University in Maryland . Public transportation . Northeastern is bracketed by the MBTA ' s Orange Line and Green Line " E " Branch . Six stations serve the campus : Massachusetts Avenue and Ruggles on the Orange Line ; and Symphony , Northeastern , Museum of Fine Arts , and Longwood Medical Area on the Green Line . The Green Line is paralleled by the # 39 bus . Ruggles also serves several of the southside lines of the MBTA Commuter Rail system . Campus development background . Northeastern ' s campus is mostly located along Huntington Avenue in an area known as the " Fenway Cultural District " which is part of Boston ' s Fenway and Back Bay neighborhoods . Other notable institutions in the district include : the Museum of Fine Arts , Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Symphony Hall , the Huntington Theater , New England Conservatory , Boston Conservatory , Berklee College of Music , Christian Science Center , Mary Baker Eddy Library and Harvard School of Public Health . Northeastern ' s campus is something of an urban oddity ; despite its location in central Boston , Northeastern is home to a remarkable amount of green open space and quads . A site master planning competition awarded a contract to revive and rejuvenate the campus ; the process was started in 1988 with the creation of the new Northeastern Quad and Mt Ryder . A small oval of land centrally located at the campus main entrance was refurbished by the donations of the graduating class of 1989 . What was once a concrete square , outside of the library and student center , was transformed with brick pavers and granite curb stones , in a scalloped design that would eliminate all square corners , a concept developed by the outgoing class of 1989 in a " Northeastern News " poll and suggestion to the President Box that was presented to the board of Trustees in March 1988 . The " No Corners " campaign kicked off with a fund raiser at the Ell Student Center on Parents weekend in October 1988 . The later selection of a nationally recognized green space landscape architect in 1990 started a renewal plan that continues today . Since the late 1990s Northeastern has twice won the " most beautiful new or renovated exterior space " award presented by the American Institute of Architects in 2001 and again in 2004 . In 2008 , West Village Building F was recognized in American Institute of Architects New England 2008 Merit Awards for Design Excellence . In 2003 , Northeastern was awarded the prestigious gold medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for its Dedham Campus . Rankings . Northeastern is one of the fastest rising schools in the U . S . News rankings . Since 2001 , Northeastern has moved up 94 spots in the rankings . In the 2013 edition , US News and World Report rated Northeastern 56th in the Top National Universities category , ranking the university as a Tier 1 National Research University . Additional Northeastern rankings include : Northeastern University College of Engineering D ’ Amore - McKim School of Business ( undergraduate program ) Graduate School of Business Administration School of Law Commencement speakers . Over the years , several notable individuals have spoken at commencement : References . Notes