While some students return to Boston for another year of their Northeastern education, others flock to Northeastern campuses across the country and the world to begin their school years. Undergraduate and graduate students call more than 13 campuses and partner institutions at home each year.
The school's official satellite campuses include Arlington, Virginia; Boston? Burlington, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; Miami; Nahant, Massachusetts; Oakland, California; Portland, Maine; Silicon Valley and Seattle in the United States, as well as London, Toronto and Vancouver abroad.
Northeastern is not alone in its quest for global expansion — colleges began pursuing this kind of expansion about 25 years ago, according to Terry Hartle, senior fellow at the American Council on Education.
“When globalization first became the rage, we saw a lot of schools actually building physical campuses,” Hartle said. “As Tom Friedman's book, “The world is flat” became so visible, people were thinking, “Well, you know, this is one way to help further connect the globe, is to connect educational opportunities.” And so we've seen schools do that.”
Of the roughly 4,500 colleges and universities in the United States, 1,000 of them are community colleges uninterested in global expansion, and another 1,000 are private liberal arts colleges just trying to get by, Hartle said.
“You have a lot of institutions that have the visibility and the financial resources and the desire to expand their footprint,” said Hartle, who has an honorary JD degree from Northeastern. “You see them establishing campuses or finding other ways to provide educational opportunities to students. And Northeastern is clearly among them.”
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[Expansion] it's just the next step in its evolution [Northeastern]. It is becoming more and more a national institution. The focus will always be Boston — that's the mothership, that's the campus — but students will just have a range of offerings.”
— Terry Hartle, senior fellow at the American Council on Education
Northeastern's expansion, while gradual, has become more pronounced over the past 10 years. Boston is the university's flagship and began offering classes in 1898. In Nahant, the Center for Marine Sciences has been operating for at least 50 years. The school's first true satellite — in Charlotte — launched in 2011, followed by the Seattle campus in 2012. The remaining 10 locations have been announced over time since 2015.
Northeastern isn't the only school expanding at an increasing pace – Arizona State University and Northeastern are the leaders in “efforts to advance their educational footprint[s]Hartle said.
“Arizona now has over 100,000 online and media students TempeHartle said. “Both Northeastern and Arizona are very exciting institutions to watch because of the ways in which they are trying to expand their ability to provide a high-quality education.”
Since the 1980s and 1990s, Northeastern has undergone an extraordinary evolution, transforming from suburban secondary school in one of the more selective institutions in the country, Hartle said. That change can be attributed, at least in part, to the co-op program, according to Hartle.
“[Expansion] it's just the next step in its evolution [Northeastern]Hartle said. “It is becoming more and more a national institution. The focus will always be Boston — that's the mothership, that's the campus — but students will just have a range of offerings.”
Students' experiences on college campuses appear to be mixed, with many encounters application confusion and lack of clear communication, but many also appreciate the travel opportunities and valuable campus programming.
Last school year, Mills College campus in Oakland It first hosted students from Northeast Europe through NUin and NU Bound, now known as Global Scholars.
“I have a video of my acceptance. It said “congratulations,” but it said NU Bound, and we were like, “What's that?” said Isabella Kun, who was an NU Bound student in Oakland last year. “We really had no idea and there was no information for a long time. But it was great.”
When applying to Northeastern, Kun, a sophomore majoring in business administration, remembers checking the box asking if she would like to begin her college experience abroad. While she wanted to start studying abroad to spread her wings further, she wasn't sure what being an NU Bound student in London entailed.
“It's been great to be here for a long time to be away from home,” Kun said in an interview last spring. “I think it's great to be here for a whole year and really experience as much as you can compared to just one semester.”
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Northeastern builds campuses where the economy is growing and where jobs are. From everything I've been able to tell, they do it carefully, thoughtfully, and try hard to get it right even if they could do it faster. They emphasize getting everyone established before moving on somewhere else.”
— Terry Hartle
Being placed on a campus across the country or across the ocean came as a surprise to some students starting college in the fall of 2022.
“I was glad it was in the North East, but then I thought, 'Is this really worth it?' said Vishwa Madhusudhanan, a second-year pharmaceutical sciences student who studied at the Oakland campus last year. “Because this is my dream school, … I had to justify it properly. In my head I was like “Okay, okay, I guess I'll live on both coasts.” … Also, I was like I'm having fun no matter what I do. I can make the best of it.”
Some incoming students this fall have already faced unexpected application results, house transfers and it remains unclear what—if any—challenges students outside of Boston will face.
What's next for Northeastern?
While it's unclear where Northeastern's next global campus will be, it seems inevitable that another campus will pop up soon.
“I suspect — especially since Northeastern is opening campuses in other cities and especially with the experience with Mills — that Northeastern hears about once a week from some small college that would like Northeastern to take them on,” Hartle said. . “If Northeastern wanted to expand very quickly it could.”
The university is also making smart decisions about how it expands, Hartl said, pointing specifically to the university's tendency to rent rather than buy buildings, expand into economic hubs and stable countries overseas.
“Northeastern is building campuses where the economy is growing and where jobs are,” Hartle said. “From everything I've been able to tell, they do it thoughtfully, carefully, and try hard to get it right, even if they could do it faster. They emphasize getting everyone established before moving on somewhere else.”
Opening campuses doesn't make money for Northeastern in terms of student tuition, Hartle said. Instead, adding to the global network enriches the possibilities for collaboration that can help keep the university in a stable financial position.
“What opening up the other campuses does is it enriches the student experience. And because of that, it makes it a campus that good students from all over the world want to be on,” Hartle said. “[It also] it expands the opportunity for connections with local communities and business groups and companies that can provide programs and assistance to help the operation.”
Northeastern has grown into a top-tier research university with campuses scattered across the country and the world, bringing in record numbers of undergraduate applicants each year. The extensions have added value to a Northeastern education in some people's eyes, but they have also presented new challenges.
“I think Northeastern is on a great run. They have truly laid out a plan that will continue to expand the wealth of educational and career opportunities available to students. It's admirable,” Hartle said. “It is very desirable in the market and for students who happen to be there now. It's a good thing. Will there be glitches? Sure. So ask questions, ask questions, ask questions.”
Editor's note: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of the article misstated the number of Northeastern's satellite campuses. It's 13, not 14. An earlier version also incorrectly identifies Arizona State University as the University of Arizona. The News regrets the error.
