independent institution covering 55 acres (22 hectares) in Boston, Mass. Its history traces back to a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) educational program founded in 1898. Northeastern now conducts a range of programs at the associate through doctoral levels in such disciplines as engineering and related technologies, journalism, law, pharmacy, health sciences, liberal arts and sciences, education, visual and performing arts, business, computer science, criminal justice, and nursing. More than 80 percent of the full-time faculty hold doctorates. The university also employs numerous part-time instructors. Northeastern has long been a leader in cooperative education, and after their freshmen year virtually all undergraduates alternate between quarters of study and quarters of paid work in their area of interest. Students earn a bachelor']s degree after five years of study. Enrollment consists of roughly 12,000 full-time undergraduates, 10,500 part-time undergraduates, and 8,000 graduate students. About half of the students come from outside the state. Campus housing serves primarily freshmen and international students. University life includes some 150 extracurricular activities covering a range of interests, including fraternities and sororities. Varsity sports teams, nicknamed the Huskies, compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (except the football team, which participates in Division I-AA). School colors are red and black. |