School Details
As a 4-year, private, not-for-profit school, National Louis University redefines excellence. The Chicago-based university provides an inclusive, contemporary community, whether on-campus or through its online programs.
Emphasizing a forward-looking philosophy and sustainable solutions, NLU breaks barriers to traditional thought and limiting factors to focus on such modern values as:
- Innovation
- Access
- Excellence
- Equity
In keeping with today’s demands on our time, NLU provides 100% online options to allow you to fit your education into your schedule, not the other way around. With most classes, you have the flexibility to set your own schedule through asynchronous coursework. For those who might need a bit of accountability to keep their studies on track, deadlines for assignment completion and regular log-ins are required.
You can select an online program to prepare for success in your chosen field. NLU offers many online programs, from bachelor’s to doctoral degrees, as well as certificates. Graduates appreciate the engagement and opportunities to interact with professors and classmates through virtual tools. Leave the struggle bus of a lackluster career or a curriculum schedule that causes stress and find your future with an online program from NLU.
Accreditation & Licensing
National Louis University is accredited by:
Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
All Programs
Business
The online Bachelor of Arts in Applied Communications prepares students for the field of communication through the development of negotiation, persuasion, critical-thinking, and decision-making skills. Students learn effective communication skills, techniques for success in a global environment characterized by intercultural and multigenerational understanding and diversity, and strategies and skills for constructing and delivering effective messages across multiple forms of media and communications channels. Courses also teach students to adapt quickly in a constantly changing society and to identify and execute legal, ethical, and professional communications.
The online Bachelor of Science in Management prepares students for the next step in their careers, giving them a foundation in business principles, as well as an understanding of management, leadership, marketing, strategy and organizational dynamics. Courses incorporate business case studies and projects to hone analytical thinking skills and prepare students to work in complex organizations, teaching sound management methods and evidence-based theories to manage people, organizations, and information.
Students learn:
- Management and leadership theories
- How to identify and analyze financial, economic, and operational data
- Critical thinking
- Responsible business practices, ethical conduct, and social responsibility
- Communication skills
The online MBA degree program from National Louis University uses a unique methodology and process to cultivate students’ leadership abilities, combining traditional strategies and techniques related to individual strengths. Students gain a heightened understanding of how to enhance their own leadership effectiveness through self-assessment, simulation, and reflection. Courses reinforce such skills as:
- Diverse environment management
- Problem solving/analysis
- Strategic integration
- Effective communication
- Teamwork
- Ethical responsibility
Focusing on authentic leadership and leading from a place of passion, integrity, and relationship development, coursework prepares students to lead in the real world. Students also gain a solid foundation of business knowledge, learning about organizational issues, finance, economics, human resources, and marketing.
The online MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from National Louis University helps students gain the skills needed to start projects and ventures of their own and to work as inside entrepreneurs within larger organizations. Courses focus on authentic leadership, teaching students to become professionals who will achieve results, drive significant and positive organizational impacts, and to lead with passion and integrity. This program combines the strength of the MBA curriculum with the skills to become practical innovators through developing new ideas, bringing these ideas to life, and dealing with the challenges entrepreneurs face. In addition, you will gain a solid foundation of business knowledge, enabling them to analyze organizational issues and apply finance, economics, strategy, organizational and human resources, and marketing to determine appropriate actions in business.
Additional benefits to this program include:
- Networking
- Increasing real-world business acumen
- Dynamic environment management
- Problem-solving skills
- Strategic integration
The online MBA with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from National Louis University incorporates hands-on experiences throughout the coursework along with applied projects to help students realize their individual strengths and maximize leadership potential. The Nonprofit Management program combines the strength of the MBA program curriculum with the deeper study of management issues and operations unique to nonprofits. This includes topics such as nonprofit governance, fundraising and strategic philanthropy, and program evaluation.
Courses concentrate on developing skills and experiences enabling students to:
- Effectively manage programs of mission-driven nonprofits
- Program evaluation
- Build relationships with diverse stakeholders and shareholders
- Contribute to fundraising campaigns
- Sustain and expand strong nonprofits
You will also enhance your leadership effectiveness through self-assessment, simulation, and reflection.
The online Master of Science in Human Resource Management and Development prepares students already in the field to advance to a management position in HR, prepares those in other fields for a new direction in this area, and provides a current knowledge base for those needing to stay up-to-date in the regulatory and legal framework for HR. Courses cover the concepts, theories and practices of human resource management and development and the technical skills for planning and forecasting, talent acquisition and retention, employee relations and the law, performance management, organizational effectiveness and development, and diversity and inclusion. Students learn how to integrate HR knowledge and skills to impact organizational missions and effectiveness as well as critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
Criminal Justice, Safety & Law
You can gain insights into the interconnected systems within criminal justice with the Bachelor of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice from National Louis University. The online criminal justice degree considers multiple perspectives when exploring the factors that lead to crime such as:
- Social
- Political
- Cultural
- Economic
Through the online criminal justice bachelor’s degree program, you focus on social justice and learning ethical decision-making. Your online studies also introduce criminal behavior, impacts on victims, and the media’s influence related to fighting crime.
Education
Prepare for a career working with children and their families with this online early childhood education degree. Instead of working in the classroom, you will take on education-adjacent roles, such as family specialists, child family life educators, home visitors, or in social service roles related to serving children and families.
The curriculum offers a solid foundation in education preparation. Customize your online early childhood education degree by choosing an area of concentration from:
- Infant and Toddler Studies
- Early Care and Education Administration
- Teaching Methods
Regardless of the path you choose to take, you will complete courses in such topics as management and leadership, working with children and families under stress, special education, and English as an additional language in educational settings.
Choose either a synchronous or asynchronous learning format. The asynchronous option allows you to study whenever it is convenient, setting your schedule and pace. The synchronous format is a “virtual classroom,” which allows you to interact with peers and instructors from wherever you choose to study.
Prepare for a career working with children from birth through grade 2 with this online early childhood education degree. Typically graduates, who will have earned a Professional Educator License (PEL) endorsed for early childhood and self-contained general education (birth to 2nd grade), will pursue careers in classroom settings. Gain a strong foundation of teaching skills, including presentation and lesson-planning skills, and gain an understanding of children’s learning differences and how best to reach them. Topics covered include:
- Assessment techniques
- Culturally relevant pedagogy
- Methods of teaching
- Equity-informed practice
- Best practices in curriculum
Choose either a synchronous or asynchronous learning format. The asynchronous option allows you to study whenever it is convenient, setting your schedule and pace. The synchronous format is a “virtual classroom,” which allows you to interact with peers and instructors from wherever you choose to study.
Do you want to work as a leader in infant and toddler care and education but do not want to be a licensed teacher? If so, this online early childhood education degree will interest you.
This curriculum covers such topics as:
- Trauma-informed practice
- ECE mental health
- Infant/toddler early brain development
- Responsive caregiving
This online early childhood education degree leads to the ECE and Infant/Toddler Gateways Credentials.
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with this instructional design degree online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Prepare for a leadership position with this online educational leadership degree. With this program, you will optimize your ability to serve in leadership roles. Learn to apply the fundamentals of leading and learning to your area of interest. Develop theoretical and real-world knowledge to become a leader who institutes change within organizations whose missions include teaching and learning, training, curriculum and learning design, and other learning functions. The curriculum in these online higher education degrees includes four main themes:
- Leadership theory and practice
- Curriculum design and data fluency
- Diversity, equity, inclusion
- Resource use in education
Enroll in online higher education degrees and advance professional opportunities. This program is for educators and administrators who need more leadership knowledge and skills at the highest academic level. This practice-based, practitioner-oriented program focuses on social justice and equity, applied research, and data-driven decision-making to advance institutional goals. The program emphasizes mission-driven leadership, research-informed practice and decision-making, and student-centered outcomes. Graduates are leaders who maintain excellence, inspire innovation, and effect meaningful change.
This online higher education degree features coursework that integrates work for the doctoral capstone project beginning in the first year of study.
Enroll in online higher education degrees and advance professional opportunities. Gain the skills and knowledge needed to make a difference in higher education. Improve effectiveness in college-level teaching, academic leadership roles, and program improvement.
The program is designed for faculty in career and technical institutes, undergraduate programs, teachers in PreK-12 schools, and technical trainers or consultants with Master’s degrees. Courses cover:
- Adult learning theory
- Instructional design
- Educational leadership
- Pedagogical and Andragogical practice
Learn to design effective, stimulating online and blended courses and to apply knowledge and curriculum theory at the postsecondary level.
Become an agent of change in the education field with this online degree curriculum and instruction. You will learn to make a difference in curricula policies that will positively affect change for equity. This concentration covers three main topics:
- Curriculum is concerned with understanding curricula as an active force of human educational experience.
- Policy is the analysis of both the process of policymaking and the contents of policy.
- Advocacy is a disposition for building a bridge between the two fields.
In this concentration, the three topics are cross-disciplinary and are important to educational research and the philosophy of education.
Make an impact on an important population of students, those with disabilities, with this online special education degree. Learn to affect institutional and social change in understanding, representing, and designing for and with people with disabilities. This unique, social-model program provides the knowledge and skills needed to understand and dismantle oppressive systems and create more inclusive and generative educational and social systems. Graduates are prepared for positions in PK-12, higher education, community, and/or policy positions.
Enroll in online literacy programs and advance professional opportunities. Prepare to make changes toward equity in the field of literacy in a program that blends equity-focused, theoretical, and practical courses. As you explore broad issues in literacy education, you will become a literacy leader and specialized professional who will engage with current literacy topics through critical, racial, and social justice frameworks. The curriculum provides in-depth knowledge on:
- Language development
- Early ready acquisition
- Writing
- Reading comprehension
- Leading professional learning experiences
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with literacy degrees online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Advance your education and career with this online degree curriculum and instruction. Add an endorsement to your license by choosing a concentration in an area of content interest and/or expertise. Amplify the power and versatility of your job qualifications in high-demand specializations. There are a wide variety of concentrations available, including:
- Technology Specialist
- English as a Second Language
- ESL/Bilingual Education
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Mathematics Education
There is also a Personalized concentration that provides students with the opportunity to create a customized program to meet your personal and professional interests and goals.
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with literacy degrees online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Prepare for a leadership role in such settings as PK-12 schools and education-focused organizations. Build on your knowledge and experience, building leadership and management skills that position you for career advancement.
The curriculum provides an understanding of complex issues that shape education and lead to high levels of achievement. Learn to guide instruction that serves diverse populations, design improvement plans aligned to system-level objectives and strategies, evaluate financial operations and drive data-informed decision-making.
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with literacy degrees online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Explore how learning happens and learn to create engaging and empowering learning environments with this online education degree. The curriculum links theory, research, and best practice in an interdisciplinary field. Examine the cultural and social-emotional dynamics of learning environments and explore the structures and processes involved in acquiring knowledge.
There are a wide variety of concentrations available, including:
- Technology Specialist
- English as a Second Language
- ESL/Bilingual Education
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Mathematics Education
There is also a Personalized concentration that provides students with the opportunity to create a customized program to meet their personal and professional interests and goals.
This exciting online education degree is taught using an asynchronous format. Study when and where it is convenient and at your own pace.
Enroll in online literacy programs and advance professional opportunities. Help students build a strong foundation to build the rest of their educations on as you become a leader in literacy development, assessment, and instruction to improve PK-12 student achievement. This program provides an in-depth understanding of the research, theory, and practice related to reading and writing processes and expertise in literacy assessment and instruction. Graduates are reading teachers and reading specialists for school-wide and district-wide literacy leadership roles that will:
- Advance equitable learning outcomes
- Strengthen curriculum
- Shape policy
- Improve instructional practice
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with literacy degrees online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Prepare to make a difference in your school as a mentor and coach with this online educational leadership degree. Learn to support teacher development, school improvement, and student achievement, taking on a more significant school-level leadership role. The curriculum teaches you the best practices for mentoring and coaching PK-12 teachers and helps either define or strengthen your leadership style.
This exciting online education degree is taught using an asynchronous format. Study when and where it is convenient and at your own pace.
Enroll in this instructional design degree online and advance your professional opportunities. Prepare to take your place in the future of education. After the pandemic began, online education became the new “normal,” and even now that students are back in the classroom, e-learning remains a popular option.
Learn to navigate the challenges of teaching and learning in hybrid and online classrooms in grades PK-12, including new instructional formats. The curriculum provides a practice-based experience in designing and delivering online learning that is responsive to student context, diversity, and learning needs.
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with this instructional design degree online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Amplify the power and versatility of your job qualifications in high-demand specializations with this online degree curriculum and instruction. Add an endorsement to your license by choosing a concentration in an area of content interest and/or expertise. There are a wide variety of concentrations available, including:
- Technology Specialist
- English as a Second Language
- ESL/Bilingual Education
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Mathematics Education
There is also a Personalized concentration that provides students with the opportunity to create a customized program to meet their personal and professional interests and goals.
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with literacy degrees online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Make a difference in one of the most important periods of a child’s education, building a foundation for all future learning with this online early childhood education degree. Learn to support, lead, and inspire other early childhood professionals to create programs that enhance early development and learning. Students will learn to develop staff strategies, evaluate childcare administration, and understand the impacts on families and communities. Graduates of this standards-based, inquiry-focused, online early childhood education degree are ready to take on positions leading and improving early childhood programs and organizations.
Choose either a synchronous or asynchronous learning format. The asynchronous option allows you to study whenever it is convenient, setting your schedule and pace. The synchronous format is a “virtual classroom,” which allows you to interact with peers and instructors from wherever you choose to study.
Enroll in online teaching degrees and advance professional opportunities. Explore how learning happens and learn to create engaging and empowering learning environments with this program. The curriculum links theory, research, and best practice in an interdisciplinary field. Examine the cultural and social-emotional dynamics of learning environments and explore the structures and processes involved in acquiring knowledge.
There are a wide variety of concentrations available, including:
- Technology Specialist
- English as a Second Language
- ESL/Bilingual Education
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Mathematics Education
There is also a Personalized concentration that provides students with the opportunity to create a customized program to meet their personal and professional interests and goals.
These exciting online teaching degrees are taught using an asynchronous format. Study when and where it is convenient and at your own pace.
Enroll in online literacy programs and advance professional opportunities. Help students build a strong foundation to build the rest of their educations upon as you become a leader in literacy development, assessment, and instruction to improve PK-12 student achievement. This program provides an in-depth understanding of the research, theory, and practice related to reading and writing processes and expertise in literacy assessment and instruction. Graduates are reading teachers and reading specialists for school-wide and district-wide literacy leadership roles that will:
- Advance equitable learning outcomes
- Strengthen curriculum
- Shape policy
- Improve instructional practice
Enjoy the benefits of both a traditional classroom and online learning with literacy degrees online. This virtual classroom allows you to interact with students and faculty while attending classes on a fixed schedule. However, you can study wherever it is convenient.
Advance your leadership skills and prepare to make a difference in your school with this online educational leadership degree. Learn to promote and advance social justice and educational equity. Courses teach students to analyze data and leverage research to drive classroom and school decision-making. Graduates can mentor and coach fellow teachers, lead school improvement efforts, and collaborate across their schools to improve teaching and learning.
Choose either a synchronous or asynchronous learning format. The asynchronous option allows you to study whenever it is convenient, setting your schedule and pace. The synchronous format is a “virtual classroom,” which allows you to interact with peers and instructors from wherever you choose to study.
Healthcare
Set yourself apart from others in the field with this bachelors in healthcare administration online degree. Gain an in-depth understanding of the complex healthcare regulatory environment and study the most current best practices in healthcare administration. Courses, taught by professors with real-world experience in healthcare, feature both classwork and hands-on learning. Students also benefit from being mentored by students in the MBA program who are currently employed in healthcare. Learn management skills and prepare for a leadership role while preparing for a leadership role in a healthcare organization, or use this online healthcare administration degree as a stepping stone to an advanced degree, such as an MBA or a Master’s in Health Administration.
Customize the degree to fit your interests and career goals by choosing an area of concentration from such options as:
- Aging Studies
- Entrepreneurship
- International Management
- Health Services Administration
- Public Policy
Become an integral part of healthcare with this online health science degree. Designed in collaboration with the nation’s leading healthcare systems and hospitals, this curriculum develops clinical and administrative skills and essential medical and scientific knowledge. Coursework is a balance of online, remote, and in-person learning activities using innovative software. Complete an externship, which includes a stipend given to participants during this opportunity, to hone your clinical and administrative skills.
Courses examine such topics as:
- Medical Law and Ethics
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Communication and Teamwork
- Administrative Duties
- Clinical Skills
As you move through the program with a cohort of students, you will benefit from an expert faculty and a professional coach dedicated to your personal and professional success.
Advance in your career, moving from a clinical or administrative role to a management position with this online masters in healthcare administration degree. In addition to learning how to manage projects, solve problems, and empower employees, this program can also prepare you to teach in your field. Courses, taught by faculty with real-world experience in healthcare, explore developing trends in health services while providing a comprehensive planning, organizational, and regulation-responsive toolkit.
Your course of study is designed to be immediately applied in your career. This practical, applications-oriented curriculum uses challenges and opportunities from your work environment as case studies in class.
Customize your degree by choosing one of these concentrations:
- Fundamentals of Design Thinking
- Long-Term Care Administration
- Public Health Administration
Psychology & Human Services
An online Human Services bachelor’s degree from National Louis University gives students a strong core of internship experiences. Students will be prepared for employment and advancement in organizations that provide support to individuals, families, and communities in need.
Case and project based applications reinforce analytical and critical thinking skills. Graduates will be able to apply Human Services knowledge, theory, and skills in a professional environment. An optional concentration in Entrepreneurship is available to interested students.
Positions available to graduates include:
- Social services assistant
- Case management aide
- Residential counselor
- Community support worker
- Childcare worker
- Life skills counselor
- Gerontology aide
The online master’s in Industrial Organizational Psychology from National Louis University combines coursework from the institution’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences as well as the School of Business and Management. I/O Psychology applies psychological principles to help solve workplace issues. Students will learn to maximize employee productivity and satisfaction.
Courses focus on optimizing team effectiveness, theories of leadership, how to conduct a job analysis, and the role of work motivation and job attitudes in predicting work behavior. Key human resources management processes will be explored, including recruitment, selection, retention, performance appraisal, and training and development.
An I/O Psychology degree can benefit professionals in a wide variety of fields including:
- Business
- Industry
- Nonprofit
- Academic
- Community organizations
- Health organizations