NMU is a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university that offers 180 undergraduate & graduate degree programs. Its mission is to challenge students to think independently & critically, develop lifelong learning habits, acquire career skills, embrace diversity and become productive citizens.
Northern Michigan has a population of about 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 147 degree programs, including 25 graduate programs. The university has two semesters per year, a fall and winter semester, and two summer sessions. NMU is one of three Michigan public universities to also serve a community college role for its region, which means the breadth of NMUs academic programs range from one-year diplomas through masters degrees. NMU will begin offering its first doctoral program – the Doctor of Nursing Practice – in fall 2014. NMUs most popular bachelors degrees are art and design, nursing, criminal justice, elementary education and biology. The universitys fastest growing academic areas are clinical science, biology, and the geographical and environmental sciences.
Some of the NMU degree programs to receive national or international recognition in the past three years have been art and design, business, computer science, education, English and nursing. Some unique aspects of Northerns academic menu include being the only university to offer five national Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science accredited programs in the United States and one of three universities nationwide with both diagnostic molecular science and cytogenetics programs. NMU is one of only two Michigan universities to have an entrepreneurship major. It also has one of the few programs in the country for both ski management and wildland firefighting. Programs that boast 90 percent placement rate or higher are business, clinical sciences, engineering technology, music education, line and power technician, and theater, as well as our pre-medical and pre-dental students for professional school admittance. In fact, Northern has programs in 42 of the 50 fastest growing occupations as identified in the Training for Michigans Hot Jobs report.
One of Northerns most consistent traits is for providing outstanding personal attention to students. More than 75 percent of NMU's 300-plus full-time faculty members have doctorates or the highest degree in their fields, and a hallmark of the NMU experience is that full-time faculty members teach at all levels – freshmen through graduate courses. NMUs 1,100 employees view helping students succeed as not only a university priority, but a personal goal.
Northern Michigan University has two highly acclaimed leadership programs: the Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP) and Superior Edge. The SLFP, which has been in existence for more than 20 years, is a highly selective, two-year leadership experience for the 50 selected students each year. The Superior Edge program is open to all NMU students and has nearly a third of the student population participating in the programs four edges: citizenship, diversity awareness, leadership and real-world application of classroom theory. These two programs, along with NMUs efforts in academic service learning, an active volunteer center on campus that does extensive outreach throughout Michigans Upper Peninsula region, and about 300 student organizations combine to make the NMU campus a place where involvement is a natural component of the Northern student experience. Northern Michigan University was selected as the recipient of the 2013 Engaged Campus of the Year Award from Michigan Campus Compact. Northern is one of about 300 colleges and universities nationwide to have the Carnegie Foundations community-engaged campus designation.
Other NMU programs of note include the First Year Experience program, Honors Program, Freshman Fellows, which matches incoming freshmen with faculty members for collaborative research. Northern also offers outstanding study abroad opportunities.
