Northeastern University is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. Its athletic mascot is the Husky.It is located on 360 Huntington Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Arts, and is accessible by the T through the
Green (Northeastern and Symphony stops) and Orange (Massachusetts Avenue and Ruggles stops) Lines.Northeastern began in 1898 as an "Evening Institute for Younger Men" hosted at the
Huntington Avenue
YMCA, and catered to the large immigrant population of Boston. Within a few years of its
formation, it offered classes in a diverse spectrum of subjects ranging from law to engineering to finance. In 1909 the school began offering day classes and it moved to a new location on Huntington Avenue in
1913. The new location grew further with the purchase of the Huntington Avenue Ground
(former Boston Red Sox ballpark). The school was officially organized
as a college in 1916, and in 1922 it was renamed to
"Northeastern University of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association." Today it enrolls over 26,000 students.In Northeastern University a typical degree program may take five
years (rather than the more common four) because of its Co-op program. The Co-op program enables a student to use entire semesters for participating in an
internship-type experience that is often paid employment; relates to the
student's field of study; and ties back into the unversity's programs for evaluation of acquired experience. Most of the school's
undergraduate students take part in this program.The college sports a well-traveled network of underground tunnels connecting major
campus buildings for easier travel during inclement or winter weather. It is also unique for its sprawling growth integrated into a dense commercial area, with two four-lane city thoroughfares and a pair of street-level light rail tracks (plus an elevated light rail bridge) running through the campus. The school and its
residences occupy a considerable swath of land between the upper-middle-class neighborhood of the Fens and the urban working class neighborhood of Roxbury. This has led to a uniquely challenging level of interaction and concession with diverse
local urban communities.In recent years the university has continued its growth, converting parking lots to green parks and walkways, adding numerous
new residence halls, and increasing the quality of its academic and
research resources.