Northeastern University, Boston
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Template:Infobox University Northeastern University or NU is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, in the New England region of the United States. Its campus is located primarily in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood between Fenway and Roxbury Crossing, generally in the vicinity of and along the broad street known as Huntington Avenue.
NU is perhaps best known for its distinctive "co-op" program, which encourages students to alternate semesters of study with periods of paid work-study (on-the-job-training) with co-operative partners in business and industry taking on the co-op students in their field. Co-op students have much in common with the more widespread student interns, which in general receive a token remuneration compared to a generally more substantial co-op paycheck.
Northeastern, as of 2005, is ranked 115 (top-tier) in the Best National Universities category in the US News and World Report college rankings. In 2003, Northeastern ranked #1 in the Best Co-ops/Internships category in the same publication.
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History
Image:Hendersonhouse 01.gif Northeastern began in 1898 as the "Evening Institute for Younger Men" at the Huntington Avenue YMCA. The Institute catered to 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." The University continues to rent space for undergraduates in the adjacent Huntington Avenue YMCA. In a period of rapid campus expansion, the University purchased the Huntington Avenue Ground (former Boston Red Sox ballpark) in 1929, but was unable to 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 School of Continuing and Professional Studies) (1960), College of Pharmacy and College of Nursing, which were subsequently combined into the Bouvé College (1964), College of Criminal Justice (1967) and College of Computer Science (1982).
In 1980s, the University decided to drastically reduce the number of enrolled students. In recent years, the institution has become substantially more selective. In addition to expanding academics, Northeastern embarked on large building projects residence halls in the early 1990s, some of which have gone on to win national architectural awards.
The Campus
Northeastern's campus spans three of Boston's neighborhoods: Back Bay, Fenway, and Roxbury. The campus is something of an urban oddity; despite its location in central Boston because Northeastern is home to a remarkable amount of green open space in a city that has little of such. One result was that in 2003, Northeastern was awarded the prestigious gold medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A unique feature of the University is its well-traveled network of underground tunnels that link major campus buildings for easier travel during inclement weather.
Snell Library
Snell Library, the heart of Northeastern's academic life, holds 985,000 volumes and welcomes over one million visitors a year. Snell's Reference, Instruction, and Peer Tutoring programs, Meet the Author talks, and computer labs play an integral role in the intellectual life of the campus.
Snell is home to the Favat Center; a comprehensive and current collection of children's literature and K-12 curriculum resources, instructional materials, and related information in a variety of formats to support courses offered by the NU School of Education for the practice of teaching.
The NU Libraries received federal depository designation in 1962 under the sponsorship of Massachusetts Congressman John W. McCormack. As a selective depository, the Libraries receive forty-five percent of the federal publication series available to depository libraries.
The Snell Library opened in 1990. It was designed by the Cambridge-based firm The Architect's Collaborative (TAC). The cost of the building was $35 million.
West Village
West Village was originally Northeastern University's largest parking area. In the early 1990s, Northeastern plotted the land into several sections to be turned into residence halls as well as academic buildings. The West Village area was opened in 1999 with the opening of West Village A, and is expected to be completed in 2006 with the opening of West Village F, the new Honors housing and home to the African-American Institute Library.
The construction of West Village has been the cause of some controversy on campus and in the community, namely concerns about construction noise and the loss of parking spaces where the buildings are now located. The Museum of Fine Arts was also concerned about the height of West Village H, and whether it would cast a shadow on the Museum during the day. However, the controversy and complaints have been low-key compared to that of other construction and expansion projects the university has undertaken.
The following buildings make up West Village with their respective opening dates: Image:WestVillageE.gif Residential Buildings:
Academic Buildings:
- Behrakis Health Science Center (West Village D) - 2002
Combination Residential and Academic Buildings:
Under Construction:
- West Village F - 2006
Public Transportation
Of the many colleges and universities in the greater Boston area, Northeastern has the best overall access to both intercity and intracity public rail and bus transportation as it is serviced directly by two of the four color coded subway and tram subsystems. The larger part of Northeastern's campus is directly adjacent to Huntington Avenue and is accessible by the MBTA (known simply as the 'T' locally); three Green Line (all "E" Branch) tram stops (Northeastern, Symphony, and Museum of Fine Arts) and two Orange line (Massachusetts Avenue and Ruggles) stops. Riders can connect easily via a short ride to the Red line or Blue line by either of the orange or green lines. The red and orange lines are the longest lines in the greater Boston MBTA system, and give the campus extended reach far into the outlying suburbs.
Presidents
Presidents of Northeastern (with years of tenure and campus buildings named in their honor):
- Frank Palmer Speare (1898-1940, Speare Hall residence hall)
- Carl Stephens Ell (1940-1959, Ell Building and the former Ell Student Center, now the Curry Student Center)
- Asa S. Knowles (1959-1975, Knowles Hall law school building)
- Kenneth G. Ryder (1975-1989, Ryder Hall arts and humanities classroom building)
- John A. Curry (1989-1996, Curry Student Center)
- Richard M. Freeland (1996-2006) (Announced his retirement in August 2005, effective August 2006.)
Academics
Image:Eganbld.jpg Northeastern offers undergraduate degrees through the University's seven undergraduate day colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, Bouvé College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the College of Business Administration, the College of Computer Science, the College of Criminal Justice, the College of Engineering, and the College of Nursing–and through The College of Continuing and Professional Studies part-time evening undergraduate programs, which are administered under the supervision of faculty from the day colleges. The Bachelor of Arts degree is offered in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Computer Science, and University College; the Bachelor of Science degree is offered in all the undergraduate colleges. Associate degrees are awarded in Bouvé College, the School of Engineering Technology within the College of Engineering, and University College; the School of Engineering Technology also awards the associate's degree in engineering. A six-year combined undergraduate/graduate degree, the Doctor of Pharmacy, is offered through Bouvé College. Because of Northeastern's historical orientation toward professional education, a sizable portion of the University's undergraduate degree programs are professionally accredited, including all of the programs in the College of Engineering, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Nursing; most of those in Bouvé College; and significant numbers in other units.
Northeastern University recently allotted $75 million towards the "Academic Investment Plan" (AIP). Over five years, the University plans to enhance its academic programs in three areas: undergraduate education, core graduate professional programs, and centres of research excellence. The cornerstone of the Academic Investment Plan is the expansion of University faculty by 100 tenured and tenure-track professors between 2005 and 2009. Additionally, the University plans to expand its undergraduate majors and advance research in areas of interdisciplinary sciences and engineering, namely biotechnology, nanotechnology, and sensing and imaging.
Colleges and schools
- Bouvé College of Health Sciences
- The College of Arts and Sciences
- The College of Business Administration
- The College of Computer and Information Science
- The College of Criminal Justice
- The College of Engineering
- The School of General Studies
- The School of Law
- The School of Professional and Continuing Studies
- The School of Technological Entrepreneurship
Majors and concentrations
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Dual majors
Dual majors are programs between departments and colleges that eliminate some of the more redundant course requirements and still allows the student to major in two subjects. Dual majors are different from Double majors in that some of the major requirements are waived.
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Computer Science and Information Science
- Computer Science and Cognitive Psychology
- Computer Science and Mathematics
- Computer Science and Physics
- Computer Science and Biology
- Computer Science and Business
- Computer Science and Multimedia Studies
- Computer Science and Music Technology
- Information Science and Business
- Information Science and Cognitive Psychology
- Cinema Studies and Communication Studies
- Cinema Studies and English
- Cinema Studies and Journalism
- Cinema Studies and Modern Languages
- Cinema Studies and Theatre
- Graphic Design and Multimedia Studies
- Linguistics and English
- Linguistics and Psychology
- American Sign Language and Psychology
- American Sign Language and Human Services
- American Sign Language and Theatre
Additional "informal" dual major programs may exist where there is an agreement within departments to waive some of the requirements for double majors (such as Business Administration and Economics).
Minors
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School Statistics & Awards
Ten-Year Highlights: 1995-2005
National Ranking (US News & World Report) 162 (1995 ed.) 115 (2006 ed.)
Endowment $282 (FY96) $558 (FY05)
External Funding $22M (FY96) $46M (FY05)
Applications Received for Freshmen Admissions 11,800 (Fall 95) 24,500 (Fall 05)
Acceptance Rate for Freshmen Admissions 1995- 85% 2005- 47%
Average SAT Scores of Entering Freshmen 1995-1008 2005-1224
Freshmen in Top 10% of High School Class 1995-16% 2005-36%
Freshmen from Outside Massachusetts 1995-49% 2005-66%
Freshman of Color 1995-21% 2005-25%
Awards & Recognition
- In 2002, the campus was designated an Engineering Research Center by the National Science Foundation.
- In 2004, NU was one of six institutions to be selected by the National Science Foundation as a center for research in Nanotechnology.
- Since 2002, NU has received three major awards for design excellence including the 2005 Harleston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects.
- In 2003, the first and only year in which this ranking was done by US News, Northeastern ranked #1 in the country for universities that connect classroom study and workplace experience.
Notable alumni
- Kevin Antunes
- Adam Chapman
- Richard Egan
- Damien Fahey
- Jim Fahey
- Alex Garcia
- Shawn Fanning (dropped out freshman year)
- Gregory Jarvis
- James Franklin Jeffrey
- Aisha Kahlil
- Lyndon LaRouche (dropped out)
- Reggie Lewis
- Hadassah Lieberman
- Roger Marino
- Sean McGarr
- Dan McGillis
- Russ Oasis
- Don Orsillo
- Carlos Peña
- Dan Ross
- Albert Sacco
- Wendy Williams
Notable faculty
- Michael S. Dukakis
- Surendra M. Gupta
- Clare Dalton
- Nicholas Daniloff
- Robert B. Parker
- Gary Goshgarian
- Pran Nath
- Ravi Sundaram
- Matthias Felleisen
- Jack Levin
- Joe Castiglione
- Harlan Lane
- M. Shahid Alam
Student media
- The Northeastern News (newspaper)
- Spectrum (literary magazine)
- WRBB (radio station)
- NUTV (television station)
- NU Shuffle (humor site)
- NU Times New Roman
External links
- Northeastern University Website
- Northeastern University Resident Student Association
- Northeastern University Student Government Association
- Northeastern Livejournal Community
- Northeastern Flickr Group (Photos)
- Northeastern University Athletics
- Northeastern University College Democrats
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