The College of Professional Studies and Advancement (CPSA) is the newer of National Louis University's four colleges. Since 1886, NLU has been helping students of all ages and backgrounds achieve their personal and professional goals. We offer a progressive and professional education for busy working adults that builds careers and strengthens communities.
CPSA History
In 2014, National Louis University merged the College of Management and Business (CMB) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) to form the College of Professional Studies and Advancement. CPSA is comprised of three schools: School of Health and Human Services, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and School of Business and Management.
NLU chose to merge the colleges into one new entity that better represents the programs and areas of focus from CMB and CAS. The merger also positions NLU to ensure that we are providing a holistic, contemporary, leading-edge academic and professional experience for our students. This merged college truly reflects our commitment to serving adult and non-traditional students, aligns the portfolio in a strategic way that makes sense to the marketplace, and creates opportunities for students. CPSA will have an intensified focus on alignment with the professions for which we prepare graduates.
- Learn more about Dean Ignacio Lopez Ed.D
NLU Fast Facts
- Founded in 1886.
- Total enrollment: 7,344
- Graduate: 4,764 (65%)
- Undergraduate: 2,580 (35%)
- African-American/Hispanic/Asian-Pacific Islander/Native American: 51%
- Average age: 30 (undergraduate), 37 (graduate)
- Seven locations: Illinois: Downtown Chicago, Elgin, Goose Island, Lisle, North Shore, Wheeling; Florida: Tampa.
- Washington Monthly’s 2018 College Guide placed National Louis 52nd out of 316 National Universities for our contribution to the public good in three categories: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).
- NLU ranked as a good Return on Investment when the Brookings Institution named NLU a top “value-added” university with mid-career graduate earnings averaging $71,300 a year.
- Our M.A. in Psychology is the second largest non-clinical master’s program in psychology in Illinois.
- NLU’s Ph.D. in Community Psychology was lauded with the 2017 Excellence in Education Award by the Society for Community Research and Action, the American Psychological Association’s division governing community psychology. The highest honor a community psychology doctoral program can receive.
Join the CPSA community by applying today.