Northeastern’s campus in Arlington, Virginia launched in 2023, joining a growing global university system, now totaling 13 campuses in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Each Northeastern location offers varying combinations of undergraduate, graduate, and professional learning; use inspired research; and entrepreneurship—all aligned with the talent and innovation needs of the region. The Arlington campus gives Northeastern a foothold in the National Capital Region and provides access to a thriving tech community, evolving government contractor and federal workforces, and key policymakers. At the heart of the Arlington campus is the comingling of the public and private sectors through partnerships with government entities, industry, and the community. Our vision is that Northeastern University will be the preferred academic partner for the government, the community and industry in the National Capital Region. Northeastern’s engagement in the region will yield a high performing workforce equipped to solve the most wicked global problems and will contribute to better outcomes for government and industry.
Strategic Location and Market Alignment
The proximity of campus to Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and defense and tech industry leaders will enable strategic partnerships across the public and private sectors. Graduate degree programs will initially center on security, technology, innovation, and policy, mirroring the political and economic drivers of the National Capital Region and serving up in demand tech talent to meet employer needs. The campus is co-located with Northeastern’s Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security, which will enable learners to engage in groundbreaking research in real time. Co-location with KRI will help unlock unique partnership and experiential learning opportunities in classified and unclassified settings and will be a platform for us to grow the pipeline of cleared talent that is desperately needed in the region
Northeastern’s offerings in Arlington are focused on graduate level programs and certificates designed to close the skills gap in both the private and public sectors in the National Capital Region. Our growing number of master’s programs challenge students with real-world opportunities to develop hands-on job skills, merging academic and career success. Northeastern students graduate with the skills, experience, and confidence necessary to meet and keep pace with the workforce needs of the region’s top industries and the ability to fill mission critical skills gaps across the federal workforce. When you overlay the massive technology transformation underway both inside and outside of government with policy drivers in Congress and the Administration, you can see that our program offerings will position Northeastern to develop the talent that this region needs.
Experiential Education
Northeastern University is a global leader in experiential education across our 13 campus locations. Our new Arlington campus is no exception. We encourage our students to go beyond the classroom and engage in real- world, impactful experiences designed to immerse them within their chosen fields of study. Northeastern University is ranked number one in the country for co-op and internship programs. With over 125 years of coop expertise behind us, our students not only gain theoretical knowledge but actively use their education to interact with real-world projects and the strength of an R-1 top-tier research institution.
Leveraging the Global University System
With over 3,300 corporate, government, and non-profit partnerships around the globe, we position graduate students to learn from and work with the best and most innovative professionals within their desired industry. As a result, when Northeastern graduates enter the workforce full-time, they do so with curiosity, experience, and confidence. Our global university system also provides learners with the unique experience of collaborating and engaging with their peers and our industry partners across our global campus network. Our network of campuses, all of which, like Arlington, reside in the world’s top innovation hubs (such as Boston, Silicon Valley, Seattle, London and more), give our students access to a global network of 300,000+ alumni in over 180 countries and a supportive community of 9,000 alumni and parents in the National Capital Region.
Innovation Ecosystem
Northeastern University has a long-standing commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. The Arlington campus quickly joined the regional innovation ecosystem by hosting events such as the Arlington County Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business Summit (2023 and 2024) and an Arlington Economic Development Authority event featuring the Citrine Angels, an organization focused on the growth and success of female-founded businesses and increasing access to investment opportunities for women. The campus is also a Northern Virginia Technology Council Academic Partner.
