January 16, 2011

Northeastern, Once Local, Goes Global

University expands signature co-op program and foreign enrollment

A Once-Local University Globalizes Through Its Work-Abroad Program 1

Courtesy of Northeastern U.

Co-ops are about "preparing students to go out into the real world," says Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern U., "and the real world is global now."

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close A Once-Local University Globalizes Through Its Work-Abroad Program 1

Courtesy of Northeastern U.

Co-ops are about "preparing students to go out into the real world," says Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern U., "and the real world is global now."

By Karin Fischer

Boston

Less than a generation ago, Northeastern University was chiefly a local institution, drawing nearly three-quarters of its students from the surrounding New England states. Its alumni, too, largely stayed in the region.

Today, however, the university's horizons are global. Nearly 10 percent of its undergraduates come from overseas, double the proportion of just four years ago, and the number of students that it sends abroad has increased threefold over the same time period. This past