phd history northeastern

Welcome to the Department of History

The Department of History at Northeastern emphasizes the study of national and regional histories as well as of the global exchanges between nations, regions, and cultures.

In Memoriam: Jeffrey Burds

The history department is sad to report the passing of Professor Jeffrey Burds. Jeffrey was a brilliant and generous scholar, a dedicated teacher, and a kind colleague. He will be missed.

An associate professor in history, Jeffrey published widely on Ukranian nationalism, Soviet counter-insurgency, and the Soviet secret police.  His published works include,  Holocaust in Rovno: The Massacre at Sosenki Forest, November 1941  (2013) (also translated in Russian, Ukrainian and Polish); “Sexual Violence in Europe in World War II,” published in  Politics and Society  (2009) (also translated into Ukrainian);  Espionage and Nationalism  (published in Russian in 2010), and  Soviet Informants’ Networks (published in Russian in 2007). He was principal investigator for the Soviet Archive Project, a joint collaborative effort with Russian scholars and archivists to produce and publish detailed inventories of archival collections in Moscow. Educated at Northwestern University and Yale University, Professor Burds was the recipient of numerous grants and honors from IREX, Fulbright-Hays, the Social Science Research Council, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the National Council, and the Holocaust Educational Foundation. He was also a Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies (2008), and the 2014 Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Annual Lecturer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 

Jeffrey was well-known for his classes on espionage and assassinations. Students often remarked on the passion he brought to his subjects, the great stories he could spin, and the intensity with which he pursued historical inquiry. He was committed to helping students understand how to identify and assess information, to parse fact from fiction even in a world where those lines were blurred. 

I will most miss Jeffrey’s integrity. He always said it how he saw it, even if what he had to say ruffled a few feathers. He was committed to serious intellectual inquiry and debate. From the first day I arrived at Northeastern in 2013, Jeffrey invited me to participate in conversations about the cold war, security, and global affairs. Sometimes we argued, but we always ended on good terms. 

Even if we went months without seeing one another in Meserve, he would occasionally check in. Usually with an email containing obscure documents he had uncovered in the archive and wanted extra eyes on. When I received tenure, he showed up with a box of cold war unicorn figurines, which have been on the top shelf in my office ever since. A small kindness that was demonstrative of his attention to detail and connection.

Gretchen Heefner Chair, History Department  March 2024

The Department of History

Experience in conducting original research is a hallmark of the undergraduate program. faculty research and teaching focus on africa, asia, the americas, europe, russia and the soviet union, the atlantic world, the middle east, and on the histories of race; imperialism and colonialism; violence and war; political and social movements; cultural history; women and gender; and public history. with guidance from their faculty mentors, history majors have won numerous research scholarships. in addition to university-sponsored semester abroad programs, history students regularly participate in month-long summer dialogues of civilization courses taught by history faculty in world cities, such as prague, istanbul, accra, beirut, budapest, or beijing., highlighted stories from our history faculty, students, and staff.

Professor Malcolm Purinton Interviewed by David G. Allan of CNN Travel

Professor of History Dr. Kabria Baumgartner Earns the 2024 Black Excellence on the Hill Award

Revolution, Resistance, and Resilience in History: Annual History Graduate Student Association Conference, March 22nd – 23rd, 2024

Public History M.A. Student Laurel Schlegel Recognized with Northeastern University’s Outstanding Master’s Student Award in Leadership

Victoria Dey, World History PhD Student, Awarded Fulbright Fellowship to France, 2024 – 2025

Jeffrey Lamson Awarded SHAFR Dissertation Fellowship

Dr. Jessica Parr and PhD Student Halimat Haruna Conduct Research in Benin

Claire Lavarreda, World History PhD Student, Earns the William T. Buice III Scholarship to Rare Book School

Victoria Dey, third year World History PhD student, featured in the Library of Congress.

World History PhD students Janika Dillon and Claire Lavarreda present at the Oral History Association.

Schools, Departments, and Programs

Africana Studies Program

American Sign Language & Interpreting Education

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Writing Program

Doctoral Training in World History: The Northeastern University Experience

Patrick Manning | Mar 1, 1999

In an April 1992 article in Perspectives , I described a proposed PhD program focusing on world history.1 Seven years later, I am able to report that the program is in place, has 17 doctoral candidates (including 11 working on dissertations), and that as many as 3 will complete their degrees this year. These students are comfortable in area studies literatures and discourse, but approach their problems globally. The Northeastern University program, while modest in size by comparison to established doctoral programs, appears already to have gathered the largest concentration of doctoral students in world history. A description of this program provides an occasion to ask what role doctoral programs in world history might have in the future of the historical profession.

Research in World History

As a teaching field, world history has grown dramatically during the last two decades. World history is now one of the principal high school courses in history, along with U.S. history. At community college and university levels, world history courses and textbooks equal in number those of Western civilization. Still, the approach of most textbooks and courses in world history, though intended to be global, relies heavily on the national and area studies traditions in which the teachers and authors were trained. To interpret world history as a string of regional histories is one logical approach, but it is not the only one.

Research in global history has also expanded during the past generation. Global historians, in constructing a field where there was none, have created an impressive body of scholarship, and have extended their audience from the Journal of World History to their share of articles in the American Historical Review . The level of research, however, has lagged far behind the demands of teaching, and the contribution of doctoral dissertations to that research has been negligible. Research in world history has developed incrementally through the contributions of individual scholars, mostly at senior levels, working on their own.

Aside from these individuals, the leading historians and their institutions have been content to stick with the inherited national and civilizational frameworks in interpreting the past. They have implicitly joined with the globalization theorists to assume that global social phenomena are a characteristic of the present and not the past. In this still-dominant view, the rise of agriculture, the iron age, organized religion, planet-wide maritime contact, industrialization, and democratic aspirations are appropriately analyzed as local, and not as global, phenomena.2

The thin line of senior scholars who have taken up world history, working in their second academic language for the last 20 years of a career, are perhaps not the best-chosen group for breaking through the limits of national and civilizational paradigms. It is our view that younger scholars, whose first academic language is global and who may have up to 40 years to enunciate interpretations in its terms, could do more to develop a planetary approach to our past.

The formal training of world historians, however, has grown at a very slow rate. The expansion of training in world history has been achieved with almost no organized or consistent investment in research. Efforts at concentrated study in world history from the 1950s into the 1970s, at Chicago, Northwestern, and Wisconsin, were not sustained. In the 1980s graduate study in world history began again, notably with the work of Philip Curtin at Johns Hopkins, Jerry Bentley at Hawaii, and Carter Findley at Ohio State. Investment in global programs remained minimal. The 1996 grant of $690,000 by the Annenberg/CPB Project to Northeastern for developing the Migration in Modern World History CD-ROM may be the largest grant for world history, but it is far below the amount necessary to launch research in the field.

The work to be taken on by doctoral programs in world history may be identified at three levels. First is to produce teachers of world history and professors who will train teachers. Second is to address the many issues in transnational and transregional history that now appear on the historical agenda—issues in global environmental and economic history, but also in social and cultural interactions. The third level is to develop a historical perspective on the current reconceptualization of the world. Two centuries ago, scholars elaborated a new world view through a vision of progress and evolution, structured by notions of separate nations, races, and continents. Today we witness the emergence of a systemic conceptualization of the world, emphasizing interconnections among phenomena previously considered as discrete. The task of historians, in this effort, is to explore the record of global connections in the past.

The Northeastern University Program

Northeastern University's doctoral program admitted its first students in September 1994. Creating a new program provided a chance to take a fresh look at doctoral study in history. Our faculty's consensus in favor of a focus on world history has been central in getting the program through various challenges.3 After a few years of development, the program has these general emphases:

• Focus on world history with courses, bibliography, exams, and dissertations on the various aspects of world history.
• Reliance on the program's linkage to the World History Center. This center, focusing on research, curriculum development, and institutional development in world history, has provided substantial support and practical applications for doctoral students.
• Substantial focus on historical methodology—the analytical skills of historians, and theories and methods of disciplines on which history draws.
• Articulation of global historical study with strong area studies training in the regions of each student's choice, including history of the United States and of European countries.
• Exploration of the variety of approaches to world history—comparative, interactive, and synthetic.

Northeastern's medium-sized department is relatively well balanced by region and specialization. Of the fourteen full-time faculty members regularly teaching in the department, six are trained in U.S. history, four in European history, and four in history of other areas. Of the U.S. historians, two faculty members direct three doctoral students, two of the four trained in European history direct four doctoral students, and the four trained in history of other areas direct eleven doctoral students.

We have admitted from three to seven doctoral students per year. Two came to us with BA degrees; two more entered the doctoral program after completing MA degrees at Northeastern, and thirteen came to us with MA degrees from other institutions. Two students are from outside the United States (both from China). Three of our students received previous degrees from Ivy League institutions, three completed degrees at other private institutions in the northeast, and eight obtained degrees from public institutions from Maine to Wisconsin to Texas.

The doctoral students take courses along with MA and MAT candidates, of whom a growing proportion focus on world history. The department offers six to eight graduate classes per term on a quarter system; students take two or sometimes three courses per term. Doctoral students take a course in global historiography, as well as introductory and advanced courses in methodology, and at least two of the seminars we offer are on global political, social, and cultural history. "Approaches to World History" is a one-quarter survey of world history, of particular interest to students in our MAT program, but also taken by doctoral students. Courses such as "Gender and Colonialism, "The African Diaspora," and "The Early Modern Atlantic" are inherently global; courses in environmental history and urban history, taught by U.S. specialists, have become significantly global in reach. A course on borderlands, rather than on the Soviet Union, emphasizes regional linkages. Even explicitly regional courses, as on the Caribbean and modern China, include global dimensions.

Doctoral students select a major professor immediately and a committee of three as soon as possible. One committee member may be from outside the department or outside the university. In deliberations with the committee, the student sets a program for language study, for methodological specialization (which should consist of three courses), a dissertation topic, and prepares for the comprehensive exams. Candidates are required to take a teaching tutorial, a mentored practicum, and then to teach their own courses.

Students take three comprehensive exams, two written and one oral. One of the exams is on world history—for this exam, the student must address a significant portion of the literature summarized in the departmental bibliography on world history. A second exam focuses on the candidate's regional specialization and the third focuses on the candidate's methodological and thematic specialization. The dissertation proposal must be approved before the candidate takes comprehensive exams.

The dissertation is the crucial element of the program. It is commonly argued that students should begin with a localized study before taking on a broad study. In contrast, we argue that our students' formative book-length research should be with a global study, so that for the balance of their career they can advance their insights within that framework, rather than begin global work only after they have left graduate school. Dissertation projects in process indicate the range of topics and approaches of students in the program: comparative studies—women in bus boycotts in Montgomery and Johannesburg and the cultural revolution in China and the revolutionary offensive in Cuba; localized studies in global context—a letter-writing family in late 18th-century Massachusetts, communalism in 19th-century South India, and a French-Canadian parish in Massachusetts; broadly systemic studies—20th-century decolonization, Latin American migration in the 20th century, and opinion management in the mid-20th century; intellectual biography—Owen Lattimore and his interpretation of world history; and curriculum development—creating thematic curricula for high school and college courses.

The World History Center

The World History Center is designed as a comprehensive center for research, curriculum development, and for strengthening the institutions of world history. The center has had significant success in gathering resources and assembling an active node of scholarly discourse, even now that hope is gone for gaining federal support for a world history equivalent to the area studies centers set up in the cold war era. The center's funding has come from multimedia projects, from professional development work for teachers of world history, and from research grants awarded to associates of the center.

The World History Seminar supports about 14 presentations a year by visiting scholars, Northeastern faculty members, and graduate students. The multimedia work of the center has included the Migration CD-ROM, preparatory work on a CD-ROM on technology in world history, and a time line for Encyclopaedia Britannica . The web site of the center includes teaching resources, bibliography, papers and credentials of students and faculty, and working papers. Students are active in H-WORLD as coeditors and book review editors; they help maintain the H-WORLD web site; and participate as discussants. The World History Resource Center, linking the World History Center and the School of Education, conducts outreach and professional development for elementary and secondary teachers. It works cooperatively with school systems and with other outreach centers to provide teaching materials and to develop teaching skills and an awareness of issues in world history.

Difficulties for Graduate Study in World History

The greatest difficulty for graduate study in world history has been the first step: creating programs. For large departments in particular, the focus on specializations within world regions makes it organizationally difficult to find a space for world history. Historians of the United States and Europe have been preoccupied by their large literatures, so that ventures in world history have tended to remain in the hands of smaller factions of Third World historians. The lack of world history lines in these prestigious departments is itself a disincentive to training global historians. Nevertheless, several new programs have formed and others are under discussion.4

If the founding of programs has been difficult, enabling them to flourish has also had its problems. The World History Association (WHA) is an energetic organization, whose membership of 1,300 is now less than 10 percent of that of the AHA. But the WHA has low dues, no professional staff, and is not at the table of the American Council of Learned Societies along with the area studies organizations and the AHA. With the exception of Northeastern's World History Center, there are virtually no equivalents in world history to the research centers for national and area studies scholarship.

Locating fellowship funds for language study and dissertation research has not been easy. Fellowships for overseas study are generally tightly focused on regional study. Even the International Dissertation Research Fellowship of the Social Science Research Council, which includes comparative and global study within its purview, has in practice been awarded to students writing area studies dissertations, and not to applicants with projects in global history.

Area studies scholars have been cautious about embracing world history, fearing that global studies are proposed as a substitute for area studies. It is true that the end of the cold war and the rising interest in globalization have brought cuts in area studies funding. There has not, however, been any equivalent rise in funding for global studies in history or other social sciences. Meanwhile, to address this potential conflict between world history and area studies, we have sought to form an alliance in New England among area studies specialists and those focusing on world history.5

An analogous issue is the relationship between world history and the history of the United States and Europe. Roughly half the students in our program have a primary regional interest in the United States and Europe. This puts us in a position of learning how to articulate where the United States and Europe fit into global history. To pick two issues: studies of fascism in global context will necessarily focus heavily on Italy, but may elicit connections that would not come forth in a study in primarily European context; and studies of film history will naturally focus on Hollywood and on European film, but in global context may show unexpected parallels with Indian or Mexican film.

A Research Agenda

The theme of the WHA International Conference for 2000 (hosted by Northeastern in Boston, June 22–25, 2000) is "The Research Agenda for World History." This conference and the research agenda will address the analytical and empirical choices of world historians.

The analytical approaches among which world historians choose may be labeled as local, comparative, interactive, synthetic, and planetary. World history is more than a single field of study, and the world is more than an additional area to work into a crowded curriculum. Study of the world involves selecting among competing frameworks of analysis: Istanbul and Malacca are significant nodes in world history, but deforestation is a planetary issue. A major element of the debate on the research agenda should be the balance among these alternative approaches.

In empirical study, debate on the research agenda will focus on the allocation of research efforts among early and recent times and on the various themes, topics, and regions. For instance, political and economic studies have always been central in the literature on world history, and the current debate on the economic history of the modern world will surely be prominent at the conference. At the same time, issues in social and cultural history are open for important work—for instance on migration, on cultural connections among regions, and on the interplay of religious communalism and nationalism.

Developing global perspectives on history is already beginning to elicit a distinctive view of the past. The works of Alfred Crosby, Philip Curtin, William H. McNeill, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Andre Gunder Frank have had significant impact on historical studies generally. Yet with so vast a topic, we require organized and disciplined study. There is a great deal of work to be done, and over a long time, before the intellectual potential of global historical studies can be realized. It appears that, after false starts in earlier times, world history is now getting its grounding as a research field.

Patrick Manning teaches history at Northeastern University.

Tags: Global History Graduate Education

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Academic Catalog 2023-2024

Sociology, phd, four proseminars, post coursework but prior to proposal defense, degree candidacy.

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University is home to a distinguished graduate program offering a PhD in Sociology. The primary objectives of our graduate program are to offer a strong curricular foundation in sociology and the social sciences; to inculcate in students a depth of knowledge in the basic tools of the discipline; to train our students to be outstanding teachers and researchers; and to provide professional socialization that adequately prepares students for a career in the discipline.

The PhD program is designed to attract students who wish to develop a broad base of sociological knowledge, such as would equip students to embark on academic careers in leading institutions of higher education. The PhD program boasts a wide array of curricular strengths and diverse methodological offerings, all of which draw upon the department’s emphasis on the study of social inequalities along lines of race, class, and gender. Faculty expertise ranges widely from domestic U.S. concerns to issues that affect groups, regions, and societies on a global scale.

The PhD program is designed to admit relatively small numbers of graduate students each year, which affords students the opportunity to forge close working relationships with the faculty. Our faculty and graduate students work together in a number of interdisciplinary research projects, programs, and centers, including the  Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute ; the  Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict ; the  Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy ;  and the  Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research . Many of the faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology have additional interests and are affiliated with other departments on campus, including environmental studies; law and public policy; Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean studies; African American studies; international affairs; Jewish studies; and criminal justice. Students who wish to work with faculty in other disciplines are encouraged to enlist the aid of the sociology graduate director or their advisors in contacting individual faculty members.           

Students interested in the PhD apply directly to that program.  Students admitted without a master's degree earn the Master of Arts in Sociology en route once PhD coursework is completed.  Please note that all applicants for the doctoral program are required to submit a writing sample that should consist of written materials that demonstrate their capacity for scholarship at the doctoral level. (Copies of several course or term papers or a copy of a master’s thesis or paper are appropriate.)

Doctoral students are required to complete 60 standard credit hours (SH) with grades of B or higher if coming in with a bachelor’s degree and 40 credit hours if coming in with a master’s degree in sociology.  Students admitted without a master’s degree earn the MA in sociology en route to completing their PhD requirements (30 credits). 

Required courses cover the core areas of sociological theory, research methods, and statistical analysis. All students must take courses in these areas regardless of their areas of specialization. Students must fulfill these requirements during their first year in the program.  Students entering our program may be able to substitute courses taken at the prior institution for some or all of these requirements by submitting a course waiver form (a course waiver does not waive the associated semester hour requirement) or transfer of credit (courses submitted with a transfer of credit cannot have counted toward another degree). 

Proseminars provide  students  structure for their first two years in the PhD program to  help   ensure their professionalization into the discipline  and to help them move more smoothly through program requirements.

Each course  meets weekly for 60-minute sessions throughout each fall and spring semester for the student's first two years.  Each 1-credit course will be taken on a pass/fail basis. In order to receive a passing grade, students must attend most proseminar class meetings,  complete the requirements for the proseminar course in a satisfactory manner, and attend most  intellectual and professional development events organized by the department.  Proseminar 1 and 2 are completed in the first year; Proseminar 3 and 4 are completed in the second year.

Students must complete two field statements prior to their proposal defense and will register for Exam Preparation—Doctoral ( SOCL 8960 ) (with the field statement chair listed as instructor of record).

Once field statements are complete and students are working on their dissertation proposal, students should register for a Research course (with their committee chair listed as instructor of record) until the proposal is successfully defended.

To enter into degree candidacy, the student must have earned a Master of Arts degree or its departmental semester-hour equivalent, completed the four proseminars, successfully defended two field statements, and defended their dissertation proposal.

Students who have completed ​required coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or better may be eligible to receive ​an MA in Sociology  degree.  In addition, students who ​do not qualify for the doctoral degree, but who have completed ​required coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or better, may be eligible to receive ​a terminal MA in Sociology degree. Note that no students will be admitted directly into the MA in Sociology to pursue a masterʼs degree.

Bachelor's Degree Entrance 

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Annual review Two field statements Dissertation committee Dissertation proposal PhD candidacy Dissertation defense

Core Requirements

Dissertation

Progression Requirements

Students who receive two grades below B may be placed on academic probation and risk being separated from the program.

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

60 total semester hours required Minimum 3.500 GPA required

40 total semester hours required Minimum 3.500 GPA required

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DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

Welcome to the Department of History's Graduate Program page.  

Prospective Students are invited to learn more About the Program, to find out more about Admissions and Financial Aid, to read our Application FAQ, to peruse our Course Offerings, to examine the Cross-Field Strengths of our faculty, to investigate our Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative, and to read about the Scholarly Environment in our program.

Current Students may be interested in reviewing our Degree Requirements, in investigating our Course Offerings, in learning more about our Departmental Prizes, in browsing the profiles of Current Graduate Students, and in reading through a list of Graduate School Links.

Incoming Students please see this resource for information regarding your rights, responsibilities, and resources for living off-campus from Northwestern’s Off-Campus Life , including How-To Guides and videos (such as the How to Move Off Campus or Navigating Places4Students videos).

Prospective students, current students, and alumni may also be interesting in following our Grad News and gathering information about the career placement of our graduates.

All history graduate students belong to the History Graduate Student Organization . HGSO's student representatives support current students and the graduate program by working on issues including teaching, professional development, and new student recruitment.

Master’s and Certificate Programs

Programs that flex to fit your future.

Northeastern’s master’s degree and graduate certificate programs are aligned to the growing needs of some of today’s fastest-growing industries, equipping students with the 21st-century skills necessary to advance in their career.

Our graduate campuses in Charlotte , Seattle , San Francisco Bay Area , and Toronto reinforce that idea. Each offers high-demand degree and certificate programs targeted to the unique workforce development needs of the region.

Advanced degree holders earn an average 35% higher salary than those with a bachelor’s degree. (State of Higher Education Officers, 2012)

Students can choose a location and learning format flexible to their needs. The university’s programs are delivered in online, on-ground, or hybrid formats, allowing students to create an educational experience that best meets their personal and professional goals.

Master’s Degrees

By 2022, 18 percent of jobs will require a master’s degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Northeastern is preparing students to meet the demand by offering more than 200 graduate programs.

Our variety of interdisciplinary research and professional master’s degrees let students pursue their desired path, whether in academia or industry. Experiential learning opportunities help students determine that path and gain hands-on experience in their field.

Graduate Certificates

Seventy-two percent of employees say their managers prioritize skills over pedigree, according to Glassdoor. A graduate certificate is ideal for those who want to diversify their skill set and enhance their knowledge in a specialized area.

Northeastern’s certificate programs include four to six graduate-level courses focused on a concentration within a broader field of study. In today’s hyper-competitive global marketplace, a graduate certificate can help students stay ahead of the trends emerging in their industry. If students wish to further their education, they can apply the credits earned through their certificate program toward a master’s degree.

Location: Cambridge, MA;

About Merck:

Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. known as Merck in the United States and Canada, is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where Merck has codified its legacy for over a century. Merck’s success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.  

Merck is on a quest for cures and is committed to being the world’s premier, most research-intensive biopharmaceutical company. Today, we’re doubling down on this goal. Merck Research Laboratories is a true scientific research facility of tomorrow and will take Merck’s leading discovery capabilities and world-class small molecule and biologics R&D expertise to create breakthrough science that radically changes the way we approach serious diseases.  

The mission of the Genome Sciences team is to develop high-throughput cutting-edge genomic technologies to better understand disease mechanism and to accelerate the discovery of new targets and biomarkers across therapeutic areas. Our group utilizes innovative genetic screening (CRISPR) and multi-omics single cell sequencing approaches (Optical pooled screening, CROP-seq/Perturb-Seq, and Spatial Transcriptomics) to impact all stages of the pipeline from pre-clinical to clinical development.  

We are looking for a passionate and talented computational biologist with expertise in image and data analysis. In this exciting role, you will apply image-based analytics to analyze large datasets in collaboration with cross-functional teams of lab scientists, computational biologists and data scientists.

Start Date: 9/3/24

Project Title – Developing automated image and data analysis pipelines for accelerating Optical Pooled Screens     

In recent years, the integration of imaging techniques with CRISPR technology has resulted in the emergence of Optical Pooled Screening (OPS). The primary objective of this project is to create automated image and data analysis pipelines to analyze fluorescen t microscopy images. Through quantitative and statistical analysis of extensive in vitro imaging datasets, the project aims to identify new targets for drug discovery .  The implementation of these automated pipelines would significantly accelerate drug discovery efforts, impacting multiple disease areas.

Academic disciplines considered: Computational biology/ Bioinformatics / Bioengineering /Biotechnology /Cell and Molecular Biology or related fields

Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes Required:  

• Programming skills with application in high-content imaging (e.g. Python) and/or statistical analysis (e.g. R)   
• Basic knowledge of fluorescence microscopy and cell biology is preferred.   
• Highly self-motivated and capable of prioritizing deliverables among multiple simultaneous projects  
• Candidates must have excellent academic achievement and analytical ability.  
• Candidates must have demonstrated superior communication and interpersonal skills and must be able to work well in a collaborative team environment.  

Competencies Preferred / Required:  

• Experience working with one or more of the following tools- CellProfiler, FIJI/ImageJ, SImA, Harmony, HALO, or other image analysis programs.   
• Experience visualizing and analyzing high-dimensional data.
• Merck Research Labs

Nomination for LEADERs Opportunity in Fall 2024 – Developing automated image and data analysis pipelines for accelerating Optical Pooled Screens @Merck

Request information for phd leaders in fall 2024 – developing automated image and data analysis pipelines for accelerating optical pooled screens @merck.

About Northeastern

A global research university, powered by experience 

Experience is at the heart of everything we do .

Founded in 1898, we’re renowned for our experiential learning model, high-impact research, deep partnerships, and worldwide reach. From day one, we’ve pursued innovative ways of teaching and research that place a premium on experience and engagement with the world. Today, our signature approach erases traditional boundaries, empowering not only students, but faculty, alumni, partners, and innovators to solve problems and pursue impact. 

Opportunity is always in motion 

We’ve created a one-of-a-kind global university system of 13 campuses, 49 alumni communities , and 3,500+ employer partners that forms a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive community. We create new opportunities for richer educational experiences and deeper collaborations across industries and disciplines to bring the right expertise together to go from promise to reality. 

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Meet our president

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in financial aid grants for 2023–2024

in external research awards for 2022–2023, up 480% since 2006

employer partners hire our undergraduate and graduate students for short-term projects that contribute to their organization 

Initiatives with purpose

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PhD LEADERs Program Helps Alum Secure Multiple Job Offers and Shape Career Path

Burcu Özek, PhD’24, industrial engineering, credits Northeastern’s LEADERs program with helping her effectively communicate the value of her machine learning research in healthcare, leading to multiple job offers and ultimately guiding her career path.

She had multiple job offers before she’d even graduated. The hard part was whittling down to the best fit.

Burcu Özek, PhD ’24, industrial engineering, was one of the fortunate ones with job offers before she’d even graduated—from an industry startup, a hospital-university research collaborative, and academia in a coveted full-time faculty position. The hard part was whittling down to the best fit.

She could have told you anything about her work at the intersection of machine learning and healthcare. Her work in the lab (of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Professor Sagar Kamarti) made her—like many PhD students—an expert. But what good was it if she couldn’t translate the value of her discoveries to those who knew nothing about it?

That’s where, in 2021, the PhD Network’s LEADERs program came in. In the flagship course, “Leading Self and Others,” Özek learned how to talk about the impact of her research, plain and simple: “We’re trying to develop machine learning models to objectively understand the level of pain of a patient, which would be especially useful for babies or patients in paralysis who can’t tell us how they feel,” says Özek. “Whenever any one of us goes to a hospital’s emergency room, doctors will ask us to self-report our pain level based on a chart with sad and happy faces, but that’s subjective to individuals with different pain levels.”

Relying on data collections of physiological signals, from skin conductance to muscle activity, her models predicted an objective estimated range of pain intensity that she hopes will one day be used in a hospital setting. “Without knowing the true level of pain, doctors can’t provide the correct treatment—like how many opioids they need to prescribe,” she adds.

In the LEADERs course, when she presented her research to PhD students outside her discipline, she says, “they responded with amazing questions that I had never thought about before. I saw the importance of collaborative interdisciplinary work. It taught me how to explain myself.”

Through LEADERs, she gained leadership and management tools and an understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. Upon completion, she was placed in a custom LEADERs fellowship with global healthcare company Merck, where she developed knowledge graphs to shed light on the relationship between genetics and adverse drug reactions. From her LEADERs mentor in the PhD Network and her mentor at Merck, she walked away with clarity about where she and her research fit into the world.

“At Merck, we collaborated a lot and that’s helped me to decide what I want to do in the future,” says Özek. She says finding her way came down to thinking like an engineer, using trial and error to gain from each experience along the way.

“I tried out different companies. I interviewed with them. I tried to learn their culture—how they care about collaboration and their academic work,” she says. “Ultimately, LEADERs helped me decide which industry I wanted to be in and what kind of work I wanted to do.”

In May, Özek graduated as one of a select group of engineering graduate students inducted into the newly established Lux. Veritas. Virtus. society , honoring graduate students who exemplify the university’s ideals and values. She accepted a position with a startup company whose “innovative use of artificial intelligence to address healthcare challenges aligns perfectly with my career goal of leveraging AI knowledge to improve people’s health.”

Upon completion of the “Leading Self and Others” course, LEADERs program staff and partner companies select fellows who align with specific industry needs. PhDs are supported through the fellowship application process and placed in a specialized role to solve a problem in industry. They go on to earn a LEADERs’ Experiential PhD leadership certificate, with guidance from an industry mentor and faculty advisor. The program is run by the PhD Network, which helps prepare students to enter the workforce as impactful researchers.

By Anna Fiorentino, PhD Education

Related Departments:Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

Northeastern University and Marymount Manhattan College merger FAQ

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Last updated: May 29, 2024

We will continue to update this FAQ with resources and information as they become available.

Why is Marymount Manhattan College pursuing a merger with Northeastern University?

MMC’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to pursue this opportunity after completing a thoughtful, deliberative, and thorough process to explore ways to preserve MMC’s mission as an institution of higher learning for the long term.

Institutions across the country are confronting significant challenges regarding enrollment and finances. This is particularly true for small, private liberal arts colleges, including MMC. Recognizing these mounting challenges, MMC’s Board of Trustees proactively sought out a plan to ensure the continuation of the core elements of MMC for generations to come. 

When will the merger be completed? 

The merger has been approved by the governing boards of both institutions. Its completion is subject to state and federal regulatory approvals. The timeline for these approvals is not yet certain, but the merger is expected to occur in stages over the coming months. Under the terms of the agreement, upon completion of the merger, Northeastern will assume all of MMC’s assets and liabilities.  

What will happen to the Marymount Manhattan College name and campus?

Once the merger is complete, the new entity will be called  Northeastern University – New York City . Northeastern values MMC’s legacy and intends to preserve and enhance MMC’s East 71 st  Street campus for generations to come. Certain named spaces, including the Judith Mara Carson Center for Visual Arts and the Theresa Lang Theatre, will be retained as part of Northeastern University – New York City.

How will the merger affect MMC’s current degree programs?

Northeastern and MMC will work together to map existing degree programs into Northeastern’s curriculum. Enrolled and admitted students at the time of the merger will continue to make academic progress in their chosen field(s) of study. In the event that program offerings are changed, students will receive individualized guidance and support to ensure a pathway toward degree completion.

Will Northeastern University – New York City offer expanded undergraduate or graduate degree programs in the future?

Northeastern is committed to expanding opportunities for undergraduate and graduate education and lifelong learning, and will continue to evaluate offerings across its global system, including the New York City campus. Over time, enrollments could span a range of academic disciplines, including those that align with the unparalleled economic ecosystem that is New York City. 

How will the merger affect tuition and financial aid for currently-enrolled MMC students?

Consistent with the agreement, students enrolled at MMC at the time of the merger will not incur additional tuition or fees apart from customary annual increases. All existing financial aid awards will be honored.

How will the merger affect the employment of MMC faculty and staff? 

All full-time MMC faculty members at the time of the merger will become Northeastern faculty and receive one-year contracts, with the option to be considered for available tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure-track positions. All staff employed by MMC upon the effective date of the merger will become employees of Northeastern University. Staff positions will be evaluated based on the demand to support the mission and operations of Northeastern University – New York City, which are expected to grow over time. 

How will Northeastern University – New York City preserve MMC’s unique legacy?

As part of the merger, Northeastern will establish a center that reflects the strengths and traditions of MMC. Northeastern will also retain MMC’s Bedford Hill and Taconic College prison education programs.

Why is Northeastern continuing to grow its global network of campuses?

The development of the global university system has strengthened Northeastern in myriad ways, including our financial health, demand for our educational offerings, faculty recruitment, philanthropic opportunities, and brand visibility. Most importantly, our multi-campus network has expanded the impact of our teaching and research. The addition of a New York City campus will further amplify all of these benefits, while also providing powerful differentiation at a time when higher education is undergoing profound changes.

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Roux PhD Student Aims to Make Maine the Next Biotechnology Hub

Most kids dream of being an astronaut or a racecar driver. Griffin T. Scott was a little different.

“Even when I was little, I was always drawn to the ‘mad scientists’ on TV, like Dexter’s Lab or Dr. Who,” he says, laughing.

It makes sense that, today, Griffin is pursuing a career in the sciences, working on a project that seems straight out of science fiction, asking the question, “if salamanders can regrow lost limbs, eyes, even parts of the heart, why can’t we?”

Griffin, who recently earned a master’s in bioinformatics at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute, is not afraid to make bold claims about the possibilities of biotechnology. “I’ve always thought, medicine is about helping people live longer, healthier lives. Yet, when it comes to aging, the degenerative disease we all get, we’re just supposed to experience it naturally rather than pushing back.”

In speaking with Griffin, it’s clear his passions are deep and many. His academic journey began as an undergraduate student at McGill University in Montreal where he double majored in history and biology. He enjoyed the convergence of the two topics, particularly thinking about the impact of scientific development on human society. Griffin witnessed this firsthand during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the virus altered global structures while also driving advancements in biotechnology.

“I’ve always had a lot of different interests, so I thought, if I can create ways to help people live longer, healthier lives, I can spend the first part of my lifespan giving myself more time to explore all the other things I’m passionate about,” he said.

Griffin Scott, who graduated with his master's degree in bioinformatics last December, has enrolled as one of the Roux Institute's first PhD students, with a focus in computational medicine.

After graduating from McGill, Griffin returned to his hometown of Bath, Maine, not planning to stay long. He was eager to pursue a graduate degree in biotechnology and assumed that would mean relocating to Boston or a similar tech hub. But while working in Portland, he heard about the Roux Institute’s bioinformatics program and decided to at least get a certificate, thinking some computational skills would help him in applying to other graduate programs down the road.

Two years later, Griffin had not only matriculated into a full master’s degree in bioinformatics, but he is also one of the first students to enroll in the Roux Institute’s new interdisciplinary PhD program, specializing in computational medicine. Griffin says it was the experiential learning during his master’s program and his deep involvement in founding and growing student entrepreneurship programs at the Roux Institute that convinced him that Maine was a place where he could thrive as a young scientist.

“The experiential component is something I found extremely valuable,” Griffin recalled. For his co-op, Griffin worked with Roux researcher Dr. Christine Lary, analyzing large datasets in a pharmaco-genomic epidemiological study. “Even just understanding how those terms fit together was an education in biostatistics,” Griffin laughs.

[At the Roux Institute], I have access to expert mentorship from biostatistics, data visualization, machine learning, and systems biology. At a larger campus, those disciplines might be split up between separate buildings and less likely to collaborate.” ”

Griffin Scott

Master's of Bioinformatics Graduate

Northeastern University

Griffin presented his work investigating the interaction between genetic variants and beta blocker treatment and their association with bone density in postmenopausal women at the CHARGE conference in Boston in May 2023.

Griffin’s work with Dr. Lary led him to his next project with his current PhD advisor, Dr. Kiran Vanaja. The two worked for five months building a project to model how axolotls, a type of salamander, regenerate their limbs and other complex tissues after injury. By modeling gene expression in immune cells over the course of regeneration, Griffin hopes to unlock secrets that could advance our understanding of wound healing, immune signaling, and why some animals regenerate and how in the future we could do the same.

“I was attracted to this program because of the multi-disciplinary approach,” Griffin said about his decision to stay at the Roux Institute to pursue his PhD. “As a relatively small institution, I have access to expert mentorship from biostatistics, data visualization, machine learning, and systems biology. At a larger campus, those disciplines might be split up between separate buildings and less likely to collaborate.”

“One thing I really appreciate about this place is that you can just go up to an established researcher or faculty member and talk to them. People here have time to grab a coffee or answer a question, and that’s really special,” he reflected.

As Griffin delves into the computational modeling of immune cells during wound healing, he’s investing heavily into his other main passion at the Roux: entrepreneurship. He, with fellow Roux master’s student Mike Warren, is the co-founder of the Roux Entrepreneurship Club, a student interest group that connects students interested in venture creation to opportunities for funding, mentorship, and education in Maine.

Griffin, of course, is most interested in biotechnology venture creation, and sees Maine as a state that is primed to become a hub for life sciences innovation.

“Maine has a lot of great research institutions, but not a lot of biotechnology startups. That means there’s a huge amount of intellectual property in the state which could be translated into products.”

One of Griffin’s goals during his PhD program is to help build the Roux Institute into an engine which connects students and fundamental research to entrepreneurial opportunities. He would like to eventually pursue his own venture, but for now, as he embarks on his PhD, he is happy to build a community of like-minded peers at the Roux Institute.

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Admitted Students – Make Your Deposit Today!

Congratulations to all our Fall 2024 admitted students! We can’t wait to welcome you to NYC this fall. Be sure to make your deposit today to secure your spot.

MMC and Northeastern

The Board of Trustees of Marymount Manhattan College has unanimously voted to enter into an agreement that will bring MMC into Northeastern University’s global university system. 

The agreement aims to combine the distinctive attributes of the two educational institutions, creating Northeastern University – New York City. Over the coming months, details of the agreement will be carefully coordinated by leadership of both institutions. This website will serve as a central resource of information and be updated as key milestones are reached in the process. 

VIDEO: Announcement about MMC and Northeastern

Shared Vision

A student-centered approach to education.

• Once the merger is complete, MMC will become Northeastern University – New York City and become part of a global university system that currently includes 13 locations in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.
• Northeastern is the world leader in experiential learning and closely aligns with MMC’s student-centered approach to education – both geared toward preparing students to lead lives of fulfillment and accomplishment.
• Northeastern shares MMC’s commitment to advancing social justice, educating a diverse student body, and fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth.

Key Aspects of Agreement

• A robust and thriving campus on East 71st Street to ensure our mission and impact remain present throughout NYC.
• Steps to ensure the continuity of academic programs and campus experience.
• Students enrolled and in good standing at the time of the merger will be eligible for automatic enrollment at Northeastern and can continue working toward completion of their intended degree program, in accordance with transition plans developed by our community in collaboration with Northeastern.
• Access to Northeastern’s signature experiential learning programs for all MMC students.
• Students who receive automatic enrollment at Northeastern as a result of the merger will not experience an increase in net tuition or fees, apart from annual increases consistent with common practice.
• Creation of a center that will bear elements of the Marymount Manhattan name with a mission of empowering students and faculty to direct their creative skills and talents toward making the world a better place.

“The agreement provides an incredible opportunity for MMC students to benefit from the extensive resources and global learning network that defines Northeastern University, while preserving MMC’s mission and signature programs.” - Abby Fiorella ’83, chair of MMC Board of Trustees

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is mmc pursuing a merger with northeastern.

MMC’s Board unanimously voted to pursue this opportunity after completing a very thoughtful, deliberative, and thorough process to explore ways to preserve its mission as an institution of higher learning for the long term.

Institutions across the country are confronting significant challenges regarding enrollment and finances. This is particularly true for small, private liberal arts colleges, including MMC. Recognizing the mounting challenges the college is facing, MMC’s Board of Trustees proactively sought out a plan to ensure the continuation of the core elements of MMC for generations to come. Through this agreement, MMC aims to benefit from additional resources and complementary strengths of Northeastern.

Why Northeastern University?

When will the merger be completed , will marymount manhattan college retain its name.

Once the merger is completed, the new entity will be called Northeastern University – New York City.

Northeastern values MMC’s legacy and has expressed its intent to preserve and enhance the campus, including the establishment of a center that will bear elements of the Marymount Manhattan name.

Will MMC’s current campus location change?

Northeastern intends to preserve and enhance the East 71st Street campus for generations to come.

Named spaces—such as the Judith Mara Carson Center for Visual Arts and the Theresa Lang Theatre—will be preserved as part of Northeastern University – New York City.

Will any of MMC’s current degree programs be affected?

Will currently enrolled students be able to continue the programs they are enrolled in, will there be tuition increases for currently enrolled mmc students, will mmc faculty and staff automatically become northeastern employees, how will northeastern university – new york city preserve mmc’s unique legacy, what does this agreement mean for the mmc alumni community, can people continue to donate to legacy mmc, whom do i contact for questions  .

“MMC and Northeastern are natural partners. The institutions reflect each other in many ways, including how we foster meaningful engagements with our communities and create opportunities for our students to take advantage of the resources of world-class cities to find an edge in career and life.” - Peter Naccarato, Interim President of MMC

Have a question or comment?

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“Since the time of its founding by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, MMC has been a special place dedicated to developing students in their intellectual achievement, personal growth, and societal awareness to lead lives that improve the world around us. The Board was very thoughtful and deliberative in identifying a plan and a partner that preserve these founding pillars of MMC. We unanimously believe that Northeastern is the ideal partner to not just carry on but enhance that legacy into the future.” - Catherine Patten, RSHM, MMC Trustee

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