About NMU

Northern Michigan University, located in Michigan's pristine Upper Peninsula, is a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university offering 180 degree programs to nearly 9,600 undergraduate and graduate students. Northern is the largest public university with a notebook computer campus, where every full-time student is provided with a ThinkPad or iBook computer as part of tuition and fees. The university has won national and international awards for its innovative use of technology in higher education.

NMU employs 308 full-time faculty members, 52 part-time faculty members and 633 academic support staff for a total of approximately 1,000 non-student employees. Our student-to-faculty ratio is 23:1. Most faculty at Northern are members of the AAUP. Four other unions represent some specialized faculty members, administrative professionals, administrative support and other staff. NMU is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution and is strongly committed to increasing its diversity.

Northern’s most popular undergraduate majors are nursing, art and design and elementary education. In addition to associate and bachelor degree programs, Northern offers 16 master’s level degree programs including a three-track Master’s of Fine Arts in writing, as well as a doctor of nursing practice degree in conjunction with Oakland University.

Campus Facilities

The 350-acre NMU campus is known for its safe, friendly and natural environment. It features 52 facilities, including the Seaborg Science Complex, a state-of-the-art venue with more than two dozen laboratories, and the newly renovated art and design building. Northern's campus also houses a theater, a music recital hall, an award-winning library, a conference and university center, two art galleries, and a three-structure sports and recreation complex which include the Superior Dome, the world's largest wooden dome.

History

When Northern State Normal school first opened its doors in 1899, 32 students were greeted by a faculty of six on a 22-acre campus. For many years, educating teachers was the sole mission of the school. As enrollment swelled in the '50s and '60s, this small teacher's college became a diversified institution with dramatic growth in faculty and facilities.

Under a state constitution in 1963, Northern, like all public institutions in Michigan, was granted university status and an autonomous Board of Trustees.

Curriculum for the 21st Century

In response to the changing needs of NMU graduates and employers, Northern continues to re-examine the mission and purpose of post-secondary education today adding focus on citizen-leader development and the internationalization of NMU’s campus.

Northern’s Superior Edge program is unique among university leadership development programs with components in each of four areas: citizenship, diversity, leadership and real-world experience. Any NMU student, regardless of major, grade point average or class standing may participate in one or more of the four Edges. Superior Edge graduates have concrete examples of their initiative, integrity, leadership and experience in applying classroom learning to real-world situations.

In an increasingly global society, college graduates are better prepared by having international experiences and understanding other cultures. University faculty lead students on trips abroad while teaching an academic-credit course through our Concentrated Learning Experience Abroad (CLEA) program. NMU’s CLEAs offer an alternative to the financial and time commitment barriers to traditional semesters abroad facing many students. Other components of Northern’s internationalization initiative are providing students with partial scholarships for international study, promoting at least one international study experience for each undergraduate student and increasing the number and diversity of international students and faculty on campus at Northern.

Research

Maybe it’s the spectacular natural setting, or the get-things-done attitude in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Northern Michigan University, while not classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research institution, has faculty, staff and students who conduct significant research, especially in biological sciences.

Some current examples of research are:

• In cooperation with Marquette General Health System and the Upper Michigan Cancer Center, Northern’s biology department is researching the genetics of primary brain tumors to identify the mechanisms that cause a cell to become cancerous.
• An effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is a target of research by chemistry department head, Suzanne Williams, Ph.D. By examining cell surface receptor proteins, Dr. Williams is determining whether certain proteins in human tissue help or harm the body’s repair of damaged brain tissue.
• Numerous Northern students and faculty in NMU’s biology department are partnering with Dendreon Labs of Seattle, Wash., to research genetic markers for cancer growth and use of vaccines in the prevention of cancer.
• Through a grant from the National Institutes of Health, genetically-modified mice stand in for human subjects in a study on human hearing loss. Undergraduate and graduate students work side-by-side with Dr. Cynthia Prosen to explore the effects of noisy environments, tinnitus and the feedback system that operates from the brain to the ear.

Student Life

Student excellence can be found in Northern’s classrooms, around campus and beyond. Among NMU's highly recognized programs are its Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP); First Year Experience (FYE) program; Honors Program; Freshman Fellows, a program that pairs incoming freshmen with faculty members for collaborative research; and its outstanding study abroad program. Northern offering academic, service and recreation opportunities.

United States Olympic Education Center

Northern Michigan University is the site of the United States Olympic Education Center (USOEC), one of only four Olympic training centers in the nation and the only one on a college campus where athletes attend school while training for their sport.

Location

Marquette, a city of about 20,000 residents along the southern shore of Lake Superior, is Northern's home community. This vacation destination has year-round advantages for Marquette residents. The area has been recognized by several guides:

• Sherman’s Travel named Michigan’s Upper Peninsula one of the top ten global summer vacation destinations in 2006.
• Men’s Journal, 2006, named the region on of the best places to buy vacation property.
• Author John Villani named Marquette one of America’s 100 Best Art Towns in 2005.
• Bike Magazine rated it among the best places to mountain bike in 2003 and 2005.
• We are also honored as an All-America County and one of America’s Most Livable Cities.

Residents enjoy 80 miles of Lake Superior beaches, hundreds of miles of hiking, mountain biking and cross-country ski trails and 500+ miles of snowmobile trails in Marquette County. Sailors, kayakers, scuba divers and those who love to fish have a favorite playground in Lake Superior or in the 1,000 miles of rivers and streams, set in almost 1 million acres of wilderness.

Annual cultural and sporting highlights in Marquette include the U.P. 200 dog sled race, Blueberry Festival, Hiawatha Music Festival, Art on the Rocks juried art show, Superior Bike Fest, Ore to Shore mountain bike race, Noquemenon cross-country ski marathon and the Marquette Area Blues Fest.

The Marquette area is served by Sawyer International Airport, with three airline carriers providing daily flights to major hubs, including jet service to Chicago O’Hare and Minneapolis.

The three largest employers in Marquette County are Marquette General Health System, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (mining) and NMU.