Northcentral University was founded in 1996 as a 100% online university to combine rigorous academics with the convenience of the distance learning model. Since 1997 NCU has awarded 650 degrees. The school is headquartered in Prescott Valley, Arizona, USA.

NCU Mission

Northcentral University uses distance learning methodologies to provide adult learners throughout the world with opportunities to earn bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in recognized academic programs, and to acquire competencies and apply the knowledge and skills needed to participate and function effectively in modern society.

NCU Accreditation

Northcentral University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, one of the regional accreditation bodies recognized by the US Department of Education. Additionally, NCU's School of Business & Technology Management is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs.

NCU Enrollment

Individual courses begin on a monthly basis and run an average of 8 weeks for undergraduate courses and 12 weeks for graduate level courses. As of August 15, 2007 there were 5,493 Learners enrolled in NCU courses.

NCU Learners

NCU students come from all 50 states and 72 different countries. Canada, China and Vietnam have the most non-U.S. NCU students, but Antarctica is the only continent not represented on the NCU rosters. Of the 50 United States, the largest contingency hails from Florida (411) followed by California (379), Texas (374), Georgia (339), Arizona (307) and New York (289). Roughly 1,550 NCU Learners are in the U.S. military, stationed throughout the world.

NCU Mentors

Northcentral University has 300 Faculty Mentors teaching in the current course period. This results in a very good faculty/student ratio, but thanks to NCU's asynschronous 100% online education model, the ratio is better still — for the Mentor as well as for the Learner. Teaching at NCU, like learning, is a one-on-one process.

As with the Learners, NCU Mentors are widely scattered, residing in 34 of the 50 states and in 7 different countries. Their ages and ethnicities too are similarly varied.

The NCU faculty is well educated. 86.91 percent of NCU Mentors have earned at least one doctorate or terminal degree in their field. And most of the remaining 13.09 percent were selected because their practical experience in the field trumped any lack of advanced degrees. And at NCU, courses are never taught by “teaching assistants.” Our professors really are the teachers.

Some of the NCU Mentors' stories are featured here: School of Business & Technology Management mentors; School of Education; School of Psychology.

NCU Academic Programs

Degrees are offered through the schools of Education, Psychology, and Business and Technical Management. The schools of Psychology and Business have programs at the baccalaureate level as well as master’s and doctoral programs. In addition to master's and doctoral level programs, NCU's School of Education offers the BEd degree in partnership with Rio Salado College (Maricopa County, Arizona) in order to assure compliance with the standards of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC).

The School of Education awards degrees within 11 areas of specialization. These areas reflect specific knowledge and skill sets required within the modern educational environment. Learners who complete at least 18 hours in any one specialization may elect to have that recorded with their transcript and diploma. The degrees offered are Master of Education (M.Ed.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) and Doctor of Philosophy-Education (Ph.D.).

The School of Psychology, in addition to its undergraduate program, offers a master’s of psychology, with 4 areas of specialization, and a doctor of philosophy degree, with 3 areas of specialization. Learners in both advanced degree programs have the opportunity to concentrate on a Marriage and Family Therapy specialty at both the Master's and Doctoral levels.

The School of Business and Technology Management awards degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level. Baccalaureate studies feature 5 different areas of concentration—accounting, applied computer science, criminal justice, management, and marketing. At the master’s and doctoral level, 18 different specializations are offered. The two doctorates offered—the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) and the Doctor of Philosophy-Business Administration (Ph.D.-B.A.) differ primarily in emphasis: The DBA is aimed more at the practical application of business principles, while the PhD focuses more directly on research.

NCU also offers General Education and Non-Degree courses for professional development or to prepare Learners with the knowledge and experience needed for further life-long learning.

Our General Education program offers courses in the natural and social sciences, political sciences, quantitative reasoning, humanities and independent learning and research. Written communication and writing skills are essential for success in NCU’s programs and are therefore a foundation of our general education program.

CAGS, NCU's Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies, offers those having a master's degree or higher the opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge of a specific area of their field or of a field they wish to enter.

NCU offers 23 CAGS, each of which is an 18 hour/6 course program designed to articulate directly into an NCU doctoral degree program if the Learner decides to continue and extend their studies.

NCU Graduates

Having begun offering classes in the spring of 1996, Northcentral University awarded its first degree, a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, to Californian Yong Fenlon in October 1997. In 1998, four degrees were awarded—three BBAs and one MBA. Twenty-nine degrees were awarded in 1999, among them the first NCU doctorate, a Doctor of Business Administration earned by Kresten Krogsgaard-Jensen, of Denmark.

In the years since, NCU has awarded another 662 degrees; NCU's alumni now total 695. This includes 78 Bachelor’s degrees, 376 Master’s degrees, and 241 Doctorates. Broken out by discipline, 1996 to the present, NCU has awarded 432 degrees through its School of Business and Technology Management, 241 through the School of Psychology. The School of Education, formed in 2005 to offer Master’s and Doctorates only — and just recently accredited to award the B.Ed. — has awarded 22 degrees.

NCU Parking

Parking may occasionally be a problem for NCU students—particularly for those Learners who live in urban areas with alternating opposite-side parking. But not to worry: Visit our NCU Gift Shop and pick up your own Northcentral University Virtual Parking Permit. They’re just 95¢—available in magnetic or decal varieties—and honored at NCU campuses worldwide.

* Enrollment figures current as of mid-August 2007