Northeastern University

Northeastern University is located in Boston Massachusetts and is considered a secular, private research university. It has eight colleges and offers a bachelor’s degree in 65 different departments. At the graduate level, Northeastern University offers more than 125 programs and awards given in masters, doctorial, or professional degrees.

Northeastern University is likely most famous for coming up with the world’s first co-op program. Through this program students completed eight semesters of study, full time, and then work up to three six-month terms of paid work. Recently, Northeastern University’s co-op program has been voted as the best program of its sort in the country. Employers through the co-op program have included many top- tier employers, from Microsoft and Disney to Proctor & Gamble. Needless to say, these terms of full-time work are a great way for undergraduates to get their feet in the door at big and important firms. This co-op program is one of the main draws of Northeastern University, and one of the reasons why students flock to the school and more and more students are applying every year.

Northeastern has found several different areas to excel in when creating its reputation as one of America’s best universities. The campus itself is located in the Fenway Cultural District of Boston, and has won awards for its beauty and space-conscious design. In both 2010 and 2011, US News & World Report ranked Northeastern University as the second “Best Up-and-coming University,” and Forbes Magazine considers it one of America’s most entrepreneurial campuses. The school of architecture at Northeastern is rated particularly highly – twelfth in the nation according to Key Institute National Rankings. On top of all of this achievement, Northeastern University is also one of the greenest universities in the country – it was ranked fourth in the “UI Green Metric Ranking of World Universities 2010.”

While Northeastern might not be the oldest college in the country and it might not have the biggest name in New England, it’s certainly a university that commands a great deal of respect and offers many students the chance to get both an education and a shot at work in the big times. Not many universities can compare.