Northeastern’s analytics bootcamp expands, grows enrollment

Graphic by Greg Grinnell/Northeastern University

Level, Northeastern’s bootcamp designed to equip professionals with in-demand data analytics skills, is expanding in both reach and scope this summer and fall, as the program’s enrollment also continues to grow.

Level launched last year as a two-month intensive program that combines in-classroom instruction and experiential learning, the latter of which involves pairing students with Northeastern’s employer partners to work on real-world analytics projects.

It is the first bootcamp-style university program of its kind in the nation and represents Northeastern’s continued focus on developing more flexible and accessible models of education that meet the needs of learners and industry.

More than 100 students have participated in Level, including 60 who began the program last week across Northeastern’s regional campus network—which includes the university’s flagship Boston campus and graduate campuses in Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Students can begin the program at multiple points throughout the year.

About 20 percent of Level participants are alumni, and taking advantage of Northeastern’s Double Husky Scholarship to help finance their graduate education.

To complement Level’s traditional intensive eight-week model, Northeastern this summer began offering a 20-week version of the program in a hybrid education format. This longer version opened in Boston and will soon be available throughout the regional campus network.

In addition, as originally outlined in its conception, Level will launch two new tiers of coursework this fall: “Level Set,” an introductory program through which students build foundational analytics skills, and a version of the program specifically focused on marketing analytics through which students master and refine skills that will help them lead data-driven marketing teams.

Nick Ducoff, vice president for new ventures, said the program underscores Northeastern’s commitment to delivering flexible academic programs that meet learners’ needs, noting that participants’ feedback helped drive the program’s expanded offerings.

“We recognize that people are coming into the program with different levels of analytics experience,” he said. “Whatever level you come in at, we should have a program for you. That’s the goal.”