Northeastern Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning Ken Henderson presented an annual university update to Northeastern’s faculty senate Dec. 11, 2024, covering a wide range of topics from application metrics to expanding campus student spaces. Here’s what you need to know about the university’s growth over the past year.
Increased applications
In the update, Henderson highlighted the record 98,373 applications Northeastern received in 2024. Since 2015, the university has seen a 660% increase in early decision applicants. Additionally, Northeastern has a 54% yield rate — the number of students who chose to attend a university after receiving an acceptance.
Undergraduate enrollment added up to 23,783 students, and graduate enrollment totaled 23,985 students across Northeastern’s 13 campuses, bringing the total Northeastern student body to 47,768 students as of December 2024.
Program growth
In the past year, Northeastern opened three new research institutes: the Institute for NanoSystems Innovation, dedicated to expanding chip-level technology advancements and applications; the Institute for Mechanobiology, which is working to advance mechanobiology discovery and technology to improve human health and the Quantum Materials and Sensors Institute, which is developing the next generation of quantum materials and sensing technology.
The Experiential Digital Global Education program, or EDGE, has experienced massive growth, Henderson said. EDGE is an online master’s degree program that offers students a combination of professional experience with the flexibility of online learning. In the fall of 2024, EDGE had approximately 700 students and is projected to have more than 2,000 students in the fall of 2025. The Office of the Provost reported that the program has an 85% retention rate and has experienced a 175% increase in revenue growth over the last two years.
Henderson shared that 5,193 students participated in The Experiential Network Projects, a program that connects students interested in real-world work experience with organizations and projects at no cost.
Global expansion
Similarly, Northeastern’s global experiential learning programs continued to grow. In 2024, 1,554 students participated in N.U.in across nine university partner locations worldwide in countries including Portugal, Ireland and the Czech Republic. Additionally, 811 Global Scholars students spent their first year at Northeastern’s Oakland and London campuses. Also, 733 students participated in the London Scholars program, in which students spend their entire first year in London.
The Dialogue of Civilizations programs, which allow students to go on weeks-long study-abroad trips over the summer with faculties, had 1,377 participants across 40 different countries. Additionally, 957 students took part in the Study Abroad and Exchange program.
The university has four “comprehensive” campuses in Boston, London, Oakland and, most recently, New York City, whose addition came after Northeastern announced a merger with Marymount Manhattan College in May 2024. Between 300 and 350 first-year students will begin their Northeastern education at Northeastern’s New York City campus in fall 2025 via the university’s new New York City Scholars program.
In the university’s doctorate program, there were over 100 partnerships and over 70 LEADERs Fellows, a “new experiential learning initiative that integrates leadership and professional-skills education with a research project at an organization in industry or the public sector.”
Sixty-six students were awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, or NSF. In 2024, there were 32 active NSF fellows, compared to only one in 2006. A new Global Doctorate is now available to Northeastern doctoral and visiting students interested in pursuing research at one of Northeastern’s network of universities worldwide.
Campus growth
The Boston campus underwent construction in 2024, adding over 36,000 square feet of space “allocated for bookable student study space” and “new flexible furniture is being added to eight lobby locations,” Henderson said. Fifteen classrooms were renovated on the Boston campus, including rooms in Dodge Hall, Robinson Hall and Snell Library. On the Oakland campus, a new maker space opened, among other updates.
Among the most notable updates to the Boston campus is Snell Library, which underwent a two-year phased renovation of 140,000 square feet in the building. All four floors were renovated over the span of two years beginning in 2022, adding student study spaces, faculty and staff research space, a refurbished entry, event areas and space for the Archives and Special Collections.
Faculty and staff updates
Dean Elizabeth Mynatt of Khoury College of Computer Sciences is under routine review, Henderson said. The College of Arts, Media and Design and College of Science are actively seeking new deans as the deans from both colleges are stepping down.
As of fall 2024, Northeastern’s faculty profile has a total of 2,095 tenure, tenure-track and full-time non-tenure track faculty and 147 new faculty were hired for the fall 2024 semester. Across both the Boston and Oakland campuses, there has been an increase of 94 full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members since 2015. Additionally, there has been an increase of 667 full-time, non-tenure track faculty members since 2015.
