Points of pride
Lumberjack pride
Top-tier programs. Cutting-edge research. World-renowned faculty. These are just a few of the distinctive qualities that make NAU a leader in higher education.
Recognition To activate the Recognition tab, press your spacebar.
- Flagstaff was named the third best college town in America in 2017 by Business Insider.
- NAU is the only state university in Arizona with its professional education programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.
- U.S. News and World Report ranked NAU’s graduate nursing program as one of the best in the nation.
- NAU’s School of Restaurant and Hotel Management was named the No. 12 best hospitality program in the world by CEO World.
- Military Times named The W. A. Franke College of Business one of the nation’s top business schools for veterans in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
- BestColleges.com ranked NAU among the 100 Best Online Colleges for 2018 and among the 25 Online Colleges with the Best Return on Investment.
Student success To activate the Student success tab, press your spacebar.
Each semester, Northern Arizona University recognizes seniors who have made outstanding contributions to the university in the areas of academic performance, service, leadership, and participation in activities. The seniors who are selected for their contributions will receive the prestigious Gold Axe Award. The most recent honorees are featured in NAU News.
Research To activate the Research tab, press your spacebar.
- NAU is at the brink of evolving technology. Our new School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems assembles some of the nation’s top thought leaders, who advance interdisciplinary research across the university. Our researchers address emerging challenges in science, engineering, and other disciplines that require vast datasets and high-performance networked computation.
- Through our established leadership in astronomy and planetary science, NAU has developed partnerships with regional, national, and international observatories—giving our researchers more access to advanced telescopes than most research institutions in the country.
- As our ecosystem science reputation grows, so does our expert faculty team at NAU’s Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, which is becoming a major global climate research center.
- Building on our faculty’s world-renowned contributions in their field, NAU launched the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute to focus on the evolution, ecology, and epidemiology of disease-causing bacteria—from hospital-acquired infections to anthrax, plague, and biological warfare agents.
- As health sciences, life sciences, and engineering converge in the field of bioengineering, faculty at NAU’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation are conducting research to advance the field through emerging science.
Global reach To activate the Global reach tab, press your spacebar.
- The Center for International Education offers undergraduate and graduate students hundreds of study abroad programs in dozens of countries.
- Interdisciplinary Global Programs (IGP) is an award-winning program that combines your first degree in STEM, business or hospitality with language and culture studies. The five-year program includes one year abroad.
- Global Track is a cutting-edge program that allows you to study abroad at a partner university. NAU’s College of Education has identified required courses that apply toward your degree during your semester abroad. Locations include: Australia, Germany, Ireland, and England.
- Each year, nursing and health sciences students earn credit while traveling to locales such as Africa and The Netherlands to participate in field research and community-based health initiatives.
Sustainability To activate the Sustainability tab, press your spacebar.
- Northern Arizona University is committed to building green, with multiple LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified buildings on the Flagstaff campus.
- The university composts over 120,000 pounds of material, which prevents 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
- NAU’s Construction Management program emphasizes sustainable building.
- The Sustainable Energy Laboratory is an instructional and research facility for the development of sustainable energy technologies including wind, solar, and hydrogen.
- Colorado Plateau Biodiversity Center promotes the preservation of biological diversity through research, education, and public outreach. More than one-half million specimens of vertebrates, plants, invertebrates, fungi, microorganisms, fossils, and genetic material are maintained in CPBC collections.