Learn to effectively influence policy and create lasting change
Doctor of Law and Policy
Today’s leaders formulate policies in a complex global environment. If you’re an experienced professional in the public, private, or nonprofit sector, then Northeastern University’s Doctor of Law and Policy degree can provide you with the next-level expertise needed to advance your career and drive lasting social, economic, and political change.
Our program offers a curriculum focused on the impact of political, economic, and social trends, allowing you to craft strategies that move organizations forward. You’ll study at the intersection of law, research, and policy, gaining knowledge and analytical skills that let you influence stakeholders with a multidisciplinary approach. You’ll graduate ready to succeed in senior policy and management positions in government, nonprofit agencies, research organizations, consulting firms, and corporations.
In our program, you will:
- Advance your current career by learning to utilize the law to be a more effective policymaker and change agent.
- Earn your degree in a flexible, hybrid program that combines online learning with immersive residencies.
- Complete your doctorate in as little as two years through our Executive Doctor of Law and Policy format with Boston residencies—or enroll in our flexible program format with Charlotte or Seattle residencies and earn your degree in three to six years.
- Develop your leadership and strategic thinking skills alongside accomplished classmates and industry leaders from around the world who represent a wide range of fields.
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“I gravitated to Northeastern because it was the only program that offered the duality of law and policy—where it wasn’t just law and wasn’t just policy. I felt that duality would present more than one option for me to further my career.”—
Cherron Payne, Doctor of Law and Policy ’20
What program format is right for you?
Executive DLP Format
More flexible DLP Format
"I had been looking for a doctoral program for several years that would not require me to move, was built specifically with the demands of a professional career in mind, allowed me to focus on a topic that was relevant, and enable me to take my career to the next level."
Chrissie Noonan
College of Professional Studies '19
About Northeastern
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experiential lifelong learning. Our approach of integrating real-world experience with education, research, and innovation empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create worldwide impact.
Our global university system provides our community and academic, government, and industry partners with unique opportunities to think locally and act globally. The system—which includes 13 campuses across the U.S., U.K., and Canada, 300,000-plus alumni, and more than 3,500 partners worldwide—serves as a platform for scaling ideas, talent, and solutions.
Northeastern’s personalized, experiential undergraduate and graduate programs lead to degrees through the doctorate in 10 colleges and schools across our campuses. Learning emphasizes the intersection of data, technology, and human literacies, uniquely preparing graduates for careers of the future and lives of fulfillment and accomplishment.
Our research enterprise, with an R1 Carnegie classification, is solutions oriented and spans the world. Our faculty scholars and students work in teams that cross not just disciplines, but also sectors—aligned around solving today’s highly interconnected global challenges and focused on transformative impact for humankind.