Students

The Experiential Network (XN) helps Northeastern University students gain experience  in their respective fields by completing hands-on projects in selected courses.  Students apply what they’ve learned in class in a real-world context, gain valuable experiences, and build their professional networks.

Students can only complete XN projects inside of selected courses. Courses are selected by departments and faculty. Please see below for information about extra-curricular opportunities. 

Curricular opportunities:

  • Most students encounter XN projects inside the courses they’re already taking.
  • Faculty members and sponsors determine the timeline for projects, deliverables and whether projects will be completed individually, in groups or as a whole class. 
  • Students and sponsors meet regularly to assess progress and receive feedback. 
  • Projects are typically research based and conclude with an actionable deliverable that provides insight and recommendations to inform business decisions. 
  • Each college/department determines courses that consistently integrate XN projects. Faculty will share information XN projects in their syllabus and/or at the start of the course. As departments and faculty innovate and develop/revise course offerings, more opportunities to participate in XN projects in academic courses may become available. 
  • You can also reach out to your advisor and/or review courses listings for the XN attribute to determine if a course will integrate an XN project. 
  • In selected courses, faculty may give students the opportunity to bring their own project. This is only possible with faculty discretion.

Extracurricular (zero-credit) project opportunities:

  • The majority of XN projects are completed within existing electives and capstone courses. Occasionally, XN offers additional projects in an extracurricular format like a non-credit course. Students can find these courses offered through the course catalog listed with an ending course number of -5964 (graduate) or -2964 (undergraduate). Students and advisors can look in for courses with these numbers in each college. These opportunities are offered when the university has extra projects as well as faculty to facilitate the non-credit courses. Students should discuss these opportunities with their advisors and should also include their advisor in inquiries to the XN team about these courses. 
  • Graduate students in CPS have the option every term of enrolling in INT5964. This is a zero-credit, zero-tuition, virtual course. Students review and select projects in a variety of fields, or to bring their own industry-embedded project from a network contact. INT6200 is a prerequisite. Students should discuss the right time to enroll in INT5964 with their advisor.
    • International students are encouraged to register! Students in F-1 or J-1 status must maintain all related eligibility requirements, including continuous eight-credit minimum, full-time enrollment (of which a minimum of four must be taken in the classroom) during the entire academic term.