Transform Your Career With New Opportunities
Doctor of Professional Studies
Building your professional expertise and leadership skills is essential to continuing your growth and opening new career opportunities. Northeastern University’s new Doctor of Professional Studies program transforms your career and provides the next-level personal growth to fuel your momentum.
The program advances the potential of mid-career professionals working in business, government, education, nonprofits, or as entrepreneurs—providing new critical-thinking skills, knowledge, and leadership capabilities. You’ll embark on a transformative journey—engaging in a rigorous practice-based curriculum that combines academic excellence and practical application, preparing you to solve complex problems and create meaningful change.
The online program provides the flexibility to tailor your learning path. You can choose a concentration in either project management or organizational leadership studies. Both paths allow you to study with colleagues from various disciplines, bringing new perspectives and empowering you to research, develop, and communicate solutions. You’ll also gain lifelong connections through in-person residencies for faculty, alumni, and students.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, the Doctor of Professional Studies program is being offered as a collaboration between the College of Professional Studies (CPS) and the Office of the Provost. CPS will continue to provide each student with full academic and student-support services. Students will follow Northeastern University’s Graduate (GR) Academic Calendar and be governed by the academic policies and procedures documented in the university’s Graduate Catalog.
Benefits of earning your Doctor of Professional Studies at Northeastern
- Gain practical knowledge and skills that increase your career opportunities.
- Accelerate your personal and professional growth with a focus on critical thinking and leadership.
- Learn to drive meaningful change and innovation in your field through research-based learning.
- Build your understanding of theoretical concepts and how to apply them effectively.
- Develop and execute a practice-based dissertation that showcases your ability to address tangible issues in your field.
- Complete your degree online—choosing from flexible part- and full-time options.
Ready to learn more?
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, 320,000-plus alumni, and more than 3,800 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.