also ranked NIU as 57th best in the country for Public Affairs programs, and within that field, NIU was ranked 4th for Local Government Management and 11th for Public Finance & Budgeting. Forbes magazine placed NIU as number 386 on its list of 600 universities in 2021.
=== Research ===
NIU is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university is also a member of the Universities Research Association that manages several federal physics laboratories including Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. The university is expanding its program in accelerator technology.
Established in 1963, Northern Illinois University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) is currently one of seven federally recognized National Resource Centers (NRC) for Southeast Asian foreign language and area studies. NIU has been awarded the Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships since 1974 and Undergraduate NRC grants since 1997. NIU's CSEAS operates within the …
