What's so special about our graduate programs?

  

Exceptional Mentorship and Professional Partnerships

Northern Arizona University is open, collaborative, and a great place to forge relationships and pursue graduate study.  You can expect one-on-one interactions with outstanding faculty and a close working relationship with your advisor. Faculty mentors help guide you to service, publication, presentation, and research opportunities, plus access to premier facilities and equipment required for your thesis or dissertation research. 
 
Within the tight-knit academic community, you will know your fellow graduate students well and can easily explore related fields and interdisciplinary projects. For distance education students, NAU offers an increasing number of cohort classes with students who move through a program together, encouraging students to network and make lasting connections.

High-level Opportunities for Research, Service, and Teaching

Research: Innovative, scholarly, and creative research here spans more than 50 departments and 30 institutes and centers, and generates approximately $50 million in grants and contracts each year. Sponsored program support at NAU has increased more than 300 percent since 2000. Graduate students and research assistants find themselves working closely with high-profile faculty. See www.research.nau.edu for information on research support services and facilities.

Teaching: More than 300 Flagstaff campus graduate students hold teaching assistantships and receive substantive training in undergraduate instruction. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, you are regarded as part of the faculty team.

Service and Outreach: Service and outreach opportunities abound, and you'll find support and guidance in creating new ones. Representative programs include Engineers Without Borders, which is addressing critical water issues in Ghana. The College of Health and Human Services and School of Nursing offer field study in public and environmental health in Kenya. The Student Association of School Psychologists hikes each year to one of the most remote sites in the nation to bring books and literacy to Native American children.

Because of the university's strategic location on the Colorado Plateau, organizations like the Diablo Trust, Grand Canyon Association, Centennial Forest, Museum of Northern Arizona, and Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth call upon faculty and student expertise and offer partnerships, internships, and research opportunities.  

A Diverse Cultural and Geographical Landscape

Northern Arizona is unique in its diverse ecosystems and cultures. The Flagstaff campus lies within a landscape of unparalleled natural beauty with nearby cultural and natural destinations including the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Monument Valley, and the Navajo and Hopi nations. Flagstaff is the cultural hub of northern Arizona, with a bustling music, art, and entertainment scene and the Snowbowl ski resort. At 7,000 feet, there are marvelous summers and an average annual snowfall of 109 inches.

The university values and promotes an ethnically rich and diverse academic community. Recent reports from Diverse Issues in Higher Education typically rank the university in the top ten for awarding master’s degrees in education to all minorities and Hispanics, and first in the nation for Native Americans. One fourth of NAU graduate students are ethnic minority, and 2 percent are international.

A Green Campus

You will see sustainable practices all around campus: progressive recycling efforts, shuttle buses powered with biodiesel, and several energy-efficient buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The Flagstaff campus is home to the new Applied Research and Development Building, the greenest building in Arizona and one of the three greenest in the world. Sierra magazine named NAU among the nation’s “coolest schools” for our efforts to stop global warming.

Quality + Credibility in Distance Education

NAU is accessible to all learners and seamlessly integrates on-campus and distance education options. NAU recently was awarded a 21st Century Best Practice Distance Learning Award for leadership, innovation, and technology in distance education. Classes and programs are offered on-site at more than 30 locations across the state as well as online.