University of Illinois at Chicago
Encyclopedia
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago
, Illinois
, United States
. Its campus is in the Near West Side
community area, near the Chicago Loop
. As the second campus established under the University of Illinois system
, it is also the largest university in the Chicago area with approximately 27,000 students enrolled in 15 colleges. UIC operates the nation's largest medical school, with research expenditures exceeding $340 million and consistently in the top 50 U.S. institutions for research expenditures.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings placed UIC at 162nd in the world and placed UIC at 49th in the U.S. In the 2012 U.S. News & World Report's ranking of colleges and universities, the University of Illinois at Chicago ranked as the 150th best national university
, 79th best public university
, and tied for the 11th most ethnically diverse university in the United States. UIC operates the state’s major public medical center, and serves as the principal educator for Illinois’ physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
UIC competes in NCAA Division I Horizon League
as the UIC Flames
in sports. The UIC Pavilion
is home to all UIC basketball games. It also serves as a venue for concerts.
The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 in Champaign-Urbana, as the state's land-grant university. In exchange for agreeing to the Champaign-Urbana location, Chicago-area legislators were promised that a "polytechnical" branch would open in Chicago. The Chicago-based health colleges affiliated with the University in 1896–97, becoming fully incorporated into the University of Illinois in 1913, as the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. Medical education and research dramatically expanded in the succeeding decades, leading to the development of several other health science colleges, which were brought together as the Chicago Professional Colleges of the University of Illinois. In 1935, the first act of newly-elected state representative Richard J. Daley
was to introduce a resolution calling for the establishment of a Chicago campus of the University of Illinois.
, the University of Illinois increased its presence in Chicago by creating a temporary, two-year branch campus, the Chicago Undergraduate Division. Known as 'Harvard on the Rocks' and housed on Navy Pier
, the campus accommodated primarily student veterans on the G.I. Bill. The campus was not a junior college, but rather had a curriculum based on Urbana's courses, and students who successfully completed the first two years' requirements could go on to Urbana and finish their degree.
Classes at the Navy Pier
Campus began in October 1946, and approximately 4,000 students enrolled each semester. As Chicago had no comprehensive public university at that time, most students were first generation college students from working families, who commuted from home. Demand for a public university education in Chicago remained high, even after the first wave of veterans passed, so the University made plans to create a permanent degree-granting campus in the Chicago area.
In 1951, Daley succeeded in getting the state senate to pass a bill calling for a Chicago campus. Daley became mayor of Chicago in 1955 and pressed the University of Illinois to accept a Chicago campus. After a long and controversial site decision process, in 1961, Mayor Daley offered the Harrison and Halsted
Streets site for the new campus. In that same year, what would later become the health science colleges became the University of Illinois at the Medical Center (UIMC). In a report on
August 28, 2008 by newsman Derrick Blakely, CBS TV reported that in 1963, the decision to build the University of Illinois decimated Taylor Street's little Italy. Florence Scala, Chicago’s legendary Taylor Street activist and long time Hull House cohort, blamed the board of directors of Hull House for betraying the thriving, vibrant, tight knit neighborhood.[8] They encouraged Daley to go ahead and destroy the neighborhood. Her challenge as to why the Hull House neighborhood and not the vacated and easily accessible Dearborn Station, resulted in the bombing of her home. In addition on November 10, 2003 WTTW Irv Kupcinet related a story about Mayor Richard J. Daley asking him what he thought was his most crowning achievement. Daley answered "Putting the school in the Italian neighborhood." Meaning the old Taylor Street neighborhood being condemned to make way for the Chicago Circle Campus.
The new Chicago campus was named the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC) and opened in February 1965. (The Circle part of the name referred to the nearby Circle Interchange
.) UICC was designed by Walter Netsch
of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
, a Chicago-based architectural firm responsible for most of today's tallest skyscrapers. Unlike the Navy Pier campus, Circle was a degree-granting institution. Many of the newly-recruited faculty came because it was connected to a strong research university and they pushed for rapid development into a research-oriented school emphasizing graduate instruction. Within five years of the campus' opening, virtually every department offered graduate degrees.
In 2000, UIC began developing the South Campus. The expansion of UIC south of Roosevelt Road increased on-campus living space and research facilities.
, 77 master degrees
, and 60 doctoral degrees
through its 14 colleges, in addition to the university's specialized Honors College (for undergraduates) and the omnibus Graduate College (for graduate students):
UIC offers eleven inter-college programs, some of which are organized as centers: Cancer Center, Center for Structural Biology, Neuroscience program, Council for Teacher Education, Graduate Education in Medical Sciences, Guaranteed Professional Programs Admissions program, Moving Image Arts program, National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Office of International Affairs, Study Abroad Office, and the Office of Special Scholarship Programs.
The university is run by the chancellor who is supported by seven vice chancellors, one CEO for administrative functions, and fifteen college deans. There is a library
dean and three regional deans for colleges of medicine.
Campus. It was part of the University of Illinois system
's James Scholars Honors Program created at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
In 1962, with the expansion of the Chicago Undergraduate Division, the honors program was extended and consolidated with the University of Illinois College of Medicine
. It was also renamed the "Honors College".
The Honors College is like a small liberal arts college nestled within a large research university, allowing the University of Illinois at Chicago to offer the best of both worlds to honors students and faculty. The Honors College is a home for students seeking extra intellectual challenges as well as campus and community engagement. It is also a home for faculty members seeking collaboration with some of the most motivated students on campus.
The Honors College offers scholarships and tuition waivers for incoming freshmen, transfer students, and continuing students. Other awards support undergraduate research, study abroad, and civic engagement.
One of the most important benefit of membership in the Honors College is dedicated mentoring by the UIC faculty members. At the end of the first year, each student is assigned an Honors College Fellow-a faculty mentor who is a leader in the student's field.
Students admitted to the Honors College must complete an additional application for specific admittance to the college, in addition to the degree-granting college. In order to be admitted and remain into the Honor's College, a student must provide evidence of scholastic merit, maintain a GPA of 3.4 or above and participate in an Honors College activity each semester, separate from their regular classes.
The Honors College offices and student lounge are located on campus at Burnham Hall. Additionally, students admitted to the Honors College are eligible to live on designated floors of UIC's residence halls. They have their own study hall, computer lab and a personalized professional advisors. The current dean of the Honors College is Dr. Bette L. Bottoms.
The student body at UIC consists of more than 27,000 total students, of which nearly 17,000 are undergraduate students. Demographic statistics for undergraduates as of 2009 were:
While not tracked in the sources above, informal surveys suggest that between 5% and 10% of the UIC student population identifies themselves as being of middle eastern descent.
The chancellor operates six diversity-related committees on Asian Americans, Blacks
, Latino
s, LGBT
issues, Persons with disabilities
, and Women. UIC has been publicly recognized as diverse. US News & World Report repeatedly ranks UIC in the top 10 most diverse universities in the nation. In 2006, UIC was ranked by Advocate
College Guide as one of the nation's top 100 LGBT friendly campuses.
. Under the prior Carnegie classification system
, UIC was one of 88 "Research I" universities. In 2005, National Science Foundation
statistics on research funding ranked UIC 48th out of more than 650 universities receiving federal research money. UIC's level of research funding surpassed one Big Ten
university and the University of Chicago
.
2007 rankings from the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai placed UIC in 59th–76th place (tied) among universities in North America and in 102nd–150th place (tied) worldwide.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings
placed UIC at 162nd in the world and 49th in the U.S.
Many programs ranked in the top 50 overall graduate program rankings by US News & World Report:, including: Criminology (19), Education (50), English (41), Fine Arts (37), History (36), Mathematics (36), Nursing (7), Occupational Therapy (4), Pharmacy (9), Physical Therapy (15), Public Affairs (41), Public Health (13), Social Work (22), and Sociology (41). The June 2007 issue of the Communications of Association for Computing Machinery published a ranking of graduate computer science programs based on recent scholarly publications. That list ranked UIC 34th, tied with Caltech, among the top 50 U.S. graduate programs.
The Princeton Review
and Entrepreneur magazine
's survey of more than 700 American schools ranked UIC’s entrepreneurship program 9th (undergraduate) and 12th (graduate). In 2008 US News & World Report ranked UIC's undergraduate business program 58th and the undergraduate engineering program 57th in the United States. US News & World Report also ranked UIC's part-time MBA 24th out of over 300 programs nationally and the graduate finance program 19th; undergraduate program rankings were accounting (28th) and finance (17th in 2010). In 2010 Princeton Review ranked UIC in the top 50 undergraduate game design programs of 700 universities in the US and Canada. Criteria included the quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities and infrastructure. The Princeton Review also looked at data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.
UIC is composed of three campuses supporting more than 25,000 students and 2,300 faculty members and staff. These campuses cover 311 acres (125.9 ha) in the Little Italy and the University Village section of Chicago.
The East Campus was designed in the brutalist style by Walter Netsch
. The plan included second-story walkways that connected all of the buildings. These were taken down in phases during the early 1990s to make the campus more welcoming. Considerable effort has been expended to modify the original Netsch campus plan to create the feel of a traditional college campus. The area in front of the main administration building, University Hall, has been the site of several renovations in the last decade. The UIC Pavilion
was added in about 1982.
The East Campus is located on the Near West Side
, just south of Greektown
and a 15-minute walk from downtown Chicago
. The juxtaposition of campus and commercial density was a direct result of large-scale urban renewal led by Mayor Richard J. Daley
. The proximity to downtown and public transit tends to attract students who want to experience life in a large city
but have a typical college campus . Between East and West Campuses is Little Italy
.
The West Campus is much older and includes some buildings built in the collegiate gothic style. The colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Applied Health Sciences and Public Health, as well as the Library of the Health Sciences are all located on the West Campus. The West Campus is in the heart of the Illinois Medical District
where the University of Illinois Medical Center
is located.
South Campus is in the University Village
neighborhood, formerly the Maxwell Street
area. There are no strictly educational buildings here; South Campus is composed of residence halls, athletic facilities, and a large presentation space (the Forum). Since the East Campus was opened in 1965 several large-scale developments creating thousands of new residences have been built in the Taylor Street area. Development of The South Campus in the early 2000s included a rapid increase in new housing units.
The Chicago Transit Authority
's Blue Line
, part of the Chicago 'L'
, runs through the median of the Eisenhower Expressway along the north side of the campus. Three Blue Line stations are close to the university: UIC-Halsted
, Racine
, and Illinois Medical District
. The Pink Line
serves UIC's west campus on Polk Street
and runs directly to Ogilvie Transportation Center
.
On the East Campus, Commons West and Commons South are traditional halls with double rooms opening into a common hallway; each floor shares a common bathroom. Courtyard and Commons North are cluster-style buildings with rooms grouped to share a small private bathroom. These four buildings are connected to the Student Center East which houses a cafeteria, the campus bookstore, a convenience store, bowling/billiards, a barber shop, and the Inner Circle (an assortment of fast food restaurants).
West Campus housing is composed of the Single Student Residence (SSR, apartments for graduate students), Polk Street Residence (cluster style rooms), and Student Residence Hall (a traditional dormitory).
South Campus is home to Marie Robinson Hall and Thomas Beckham Hall, both apartment style buildings. In the fall of 2007, James Stukel Towers opened containing suite style rooms with a bathroom and living room.
In keeping with UIC culture, students often referred to residence halls by abbreviations instead of their full names (e.g. "TBH" instead of "Thomas Beckham Hall").
The main purpose of the SSR is to house graduate students, undergraduate students of the ages 24 and older, and professional students. The third and fourth floors house undergraduate students of the ages of 21 through 23. The nursing house is located on the 16th floor. The fifth floor of the SSR has a pilot program for students with families. The program can house up to 15 families.
Residents of the family program are zoned to Chicago Public Schools
. Families living in the SSR are assigned to Washington Irving Elementary School and Crane High School
.
The UIC Student Recreation Facility (SRF) is a recreational complex for UIC students. Opened in spring 2006, the SRF features a three-story climbing wall; multipurpose courts for games such as basketball, indoor soccer, tennis and many others; and a pool with adjoining lazy river. A few NBA players practiced and worked out at the facility in the summer of 2007 including Andre Iguodala, Antoine Walker, and Eddy Curry.
Other amenities include:. exercise room with equipment
(IMD). While IMD's billing itself "the nation's largest urban medical district" may be up for debate, the district is a major economic force contributing $3.3 billion to the local economy and supporting 50,000 jobs.
With the major $550 million South Campus expansion complete, the university is focusing its attention on renovating existing facilities on campus. The focus on renovations is in part due to a constrained state budget: state funds for new buildings are scarce. Since renovation is less costly, this approach is being used to update facilities.
These renovations began on a cluster of three original "pillbox" buildings: First Grant Hall, then Lincoln Hall and most recently Douglas Hall. These renovations are 'green' as the renovated buildings use solar and geothermal power. Fifty wells were dug 500 feet into the ground east of University Hall. These provide an energy savings of 20–25%. Lincoln Hall has been US LEED
Gold certified; Douglas Hall is also expected to apply for LEED Gold certification. Grant Hall did not apply for LEED certification even though it was the prototype for many of the features found on Lincoln and Douglas Halls.
The new fascia are all glass and the buildings contain facilities for faculty and students. There are plans to expand the renovation project to every lecture hall cluster if the pilot program is successful.
Other campus renovations include the roof of the Behavioral Sciences Building and the terrace of the Education, Performing Arts, and Social Work building.
Current sustainability initiatives include lighting upgrades, building envelope improvements, metering upgrades, and landscape waste composting. Recent work on Grant, Lincoln, and Douglas Halls included upgrading them to use geothermal heat pumps, which efficiently heat and cool the building. The university has approved a Climate Action Plan.
UIC's team name is the Flames, a reference to the Great Chicago Fire which started a few blocks east of campus. The mascot is Sparky D. Dragon.
UIC has generally focused on basketball , soccer and baseball have also had successes.
In September 2006, the men's soccer team earned its highest ranking in school history when the SoccerTimes.com College Coaches Poll pegged the Flames at #6 in the country. In November 2006, UIC defeated Western Illinois 3–0 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling in the second round to Notre Dame 1–0. UIC finished the 2006 season as the nation's best defensive squad after allowing a mere eight goals in over 1993 minutes of play during 21 matches for a goals-against average (GAA) of 0.36. The GAA was tops in the nation in 2006 and it also ranked fifth all-time in NCAA history. UIC posted 13 shutouts and never allowed more than a single goal in a match. UIC also allowed just two goals after intermission the entire season. Along with the GAA mark, UIC posted the nation's best save percentage with a 0.908 rate.
In 2007, UIC soccer's successful season culminated in an Elite-Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament by way of wins over #12 St. Louis, Northwestern, and #8 Creighton. In a bid for a Final-Four appearance, UIC fell to Massachusetts 2–1. At season's end, UIC had a record of 13–6–6 and was named a top 10 team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)
.
UIC's baseball team has recorded 30 or more victories in 9 straight seasons, won the last 7 Horizon League Championships, and advanced to an NCAA regional in four of the past six years (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). UIC baseball has recorded regional wins against #1 Long Beach State in 2007 and #2 Dallas Baptist University in 2008.
ride away.
UIC organizations include:
UIC's monthly/weekly events:
UIC's once-a-semester/year events:
Film and television series have used UIC for filming locations:
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its campus is in the Near West Side
Near West Side, Chicago
The Near West Side, one of the 77 defined community areas of Chicago, is located , adjacent to the downtown central business district . The rich history of the Near West Side of Chicago has its genesis in the Hull House phenomenon...
community area, near the Chicago Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
. As the second campus established under the University of Illinois system
University of Illinois system
The University of Illinois is a system of public universities in Illinois consisting of three campuses: Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield. Across its three campuses, the University of Illinois enrolls about 70,000 students. It had an operating budget of $4.17 billion in 2007.-System:The...
, it is also the largest university in the Chicago area with approximately 27,000 students enrolled in 15 colleges. UIC operates the nation's largest medical school, with research expenditures exceeding $340 million and consistently in the top 50 U.S. institutions for research expenditures.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings placed UIC at 162nd in the world and placed UIC at 49th in the U.S. In the 2012 U.S. News & World Report's ranking of colleges and universities, the University of Illinois at Chicago ranked as the 150th best national university
National university
A national university is generally a university created or run by a government, but which at the same time operates autonomously without direct oversight or control by the state. Some national universities are closely associated with national cultural or political aspirations...
, 79th best public university
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
, and tied for the 11th most ethnically diverse university in the United States. UIC operates the state’s major public medical center, and serves as the principal educator for Illinois’ physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
UIC competes in NCAA Division I Horizon League
Horizon League
The Horizon League is a ten school, NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in five of the Midwestern United States....
as the UIC Flames
UIC Flames
The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Chicago. They are called the Flames as a reference to the Great Chicago Fire, and their team colors are navy blue and fire engine red. Approximately 300 student athletes compete in 18 varsity sports...
in sports. The UIC Pavilion
UIC Pavilion
The UIC Pavilion is a 6,958-seat multi-purpose arena, located at 525 S. Racine Street on the West Side in Chicago, Illinois, USA, which opened in 1982. It is home to the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames basketball team and the former home of the Chicago Sky WNBA team...
is home to all UIC basketball games. It also serves as a venue for concerts.
Beginnings
The University of Illinois at Chicago traces its origins to several private health colleges founded during the late nineteenth century, including the Chicago College of Pharmacy, which opened in 1859, the College of Physicians and Surgeons (1882), and the Columbian College of Dentistry (1891).The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 in Champaign-Urbana, as the state's land-grant university. In exchange for agreeing to the Champaign-Urbana location, Chicago-area legislators were promised that a "polytechnical" branch would open in Chicago. The Chicago-based health colleges affiliated with the University in 1896–97, becoming fully incorporated into the University of Illinois in 1913, as the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. Medical education and research dramatically expanded in the succeeding decades, leading to the development of several other health science colleges, which were brought together as the Chicago Professional Colleges of the University of Illinois. In 1935, the first act of newly-elected state representative Richard J. Daley
Richard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
was to introduce a resolution calling for the establishment of a Chicago campus of the University of Illinois.
Expansion after World War II
In 1945, as the war ended, Daley (then a state senator) introduced four bills calling for a university in Chicago. Following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the University of Illinois increased its presence in Chicago by creating a temporary, two-year branch campus, the Chicago Undergraduate Division. Known as 'Harvard on the Rocks' and housed on Navy Pier
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...
, the campus accommodated primarily student veterans on the G.I. Bill. The campus was not a junior college, but rather had a curriculum based on Urbana's courses, and students who successfully completed the first two years' requirements could go on to Urbana and finish their degree.
Classes at the Navy Pier
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...
Campus began in October 1946, and approximately 4,000 students enrolled each semester. As Chicago had no comprehensive public university at that time, most students were first generation college students from working families, who commuted from home. Demand for a public university education in Chicago remained high, even after the first wave of veterans passed, so the University made plans to create a permanent degree-granting campus in the Chicago area.
In 1951, Daley succeeded in getting the state senate to pass a bill calling for a Chicago campus. Daley became mayor of Chicago in 1955 and pressed the University of Illinois to accept a Chicago campus. After a long and controversial site decision process, in 1961, Mayor Daley offered the Harrison and Halsted
Halsted Street
Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the American city of Chicago, Illinois.-Location:In Chicago's grid system, Halsted street marks 800 West, one mile west of State Street, from Grace Street in Lakeview south to the city limits at the Little Calumet River in West Pullman...
Streets site for the new campus. In that same year, what would later become the health science colleges became the University of Illinois at the Medical Center (UIMC). In a report on
August 28, 2008 by newsman Derrick Blakely, CBS TV reported that in 1963, the decision to build the University of Illinois decimated Taylor Street's little Italy. Florence Scala, Chicago’s legendary Taylor Street activist and long time Hull House cohort, blamed the board of directors of Hull House for betraying the thriving, vibrant, tight knit neighborhood.[8] They encouraged Daley to go ahead and destroy the neighborhood. Her challenge as to why the Hull House neighborhood and not the vacated and easily accessible Dearborn Station, resulted in the bombing of her home. In addition on November 10, 2003 WTTW Irv Kupcinet related a story about Mayor Richard J. Daley asking him what he thought was his most crowning achievement. Daley answered "Putting the school in the Italian neighborhood." Meaning the old Taylor Street neighborhood being condemned to make way for the Chicago Circle Campus.
The new Chicago campus was named the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC) and opened in February 1965. (The Circle part of the name referred to the nearby Circle Interchange
Circle Interchange
The Circle Interchange is an expressway interchange near downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the junction between the Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways...
.) UICC was designed by Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes...
of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
, a Chicago-based architectural firm responsible for most of today's tallest skyscrapers. Unlike the Navy Pier campus, Circle was a degree-granting institution. Many of the newly-recruited faculty came because it was connected to a strong research university and they pushed for rapid development into a research-oriented school emphasizing graduate instruction. Within five years of the campus' opening, virtually every department offered graduate degrees.
Consolidation
In 1979, University of Illinois system president Stanley Ikenberry announced a plan to consolidate the two campuses to form the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The merger took three years of work by Ikenberry; but, in September 1982 it was completed. In 1987, the post-merger UIC advanced to Carnegie Research 1 institution status.In 2000, UIC began developing the South Campus. The expansion of UIC south of Roosevelt Road increased on-campus living space and research facilities.
Academics
One in ten Chicagoans with a college degree is a UIC alumnus. Approximately one in eight Illinois doctors is a graduate of the UIC College of Medicine (the nation’s largest medical school). One in three Illinois pharmacists is a graduate of the College of Pharmacy. Half of all the dentists in Illinois are graduates of UIC’s College of Dentistry.Organization
The University of Illinois at Chicago offers 74 bachelor degreesBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, 77 master degrees
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
, and 60 doctoral degrees
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
through its 14 colleges, in addition to the university's specialized Honors College (for undergraduates) and the omnibus Graduate College (for graduate students):
- Applied Health SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of Applied Health SciencesThe College of Applied Health Sciences is a school at the University of Illinois at Chicago offering both undergraduate and graduate programs of study.-Academics:The College of Applied Health Sciences is home to UIC's:* * * * *...
- Architecture and the ArtsUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of Architecture and the ArtsThe College of Architecture and the Arts is a school at the University of Illinois at Chicago offering both undergraduate and graduate programs of study....
- Business AdministrationUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of Business AdministrationThe UIC College of Business Administration is the business school at the University of Illinois at Chicago.The college is divided amongst four subject-area departments:* Accounting* Finance* Information and Decision Sciences...
- Dentistry
- EducationUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of EducationThe College of Education is a school at the University of Illinois at Chicago offering both undergraduate and graduate programs of study. The college offers a number of degrees:* B.A. in elementary education;* M.Ed...
- EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of EngineeringThe College of Engineering is an academic department at the University of Illinois at Chicago offering both undergraduate and graduate programs of study.-History:...
- Liberal Arts and SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of Liberal Arts and SciencesThe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a school at the University of Illinois at Chicago offering both undergraduate and graduate programs of study.-About:...
- College of MedicineUniversity of Illinois College of MedicineThe University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana–Champaign....
- Nursing
- PharmacyUIC College of PharmacyThe UIC College of Pharmacy is a public pharmacy school located in Chicago, Illinois. It offers a four-year professional degree program that leads to the PharmD, the highest level of professional education in pharmacy, which is approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as the...
- Public Health
- Jane Addams College of Social WorkJane Addams College of Social WorkThe Jane Addams College of Social Work is a division of the University of Illinois at Chicago and is located at 1040 West Harrison Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607-7134.-Mission statement:...
- Urban Planning and Public AffairsUniversity of Illinois at Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public AffairsThe College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs is a school at the University of Illinois at Chicago offering both undergraduate and graduate programs of study. The College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs is a nationally recognized innovator in education, research and engagement in support of...
UIC offers eleven inter-college programs, some of which are organized as centers: Cancer Center, Center for Structural Biology, Neuroscience program, Council for Teacher Education, Graduate Education in Medical Sciences, Guaranteed Professional Programs Admissions program, Moving Image Arts program, National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Office of International Affairs, Study Abroad Office, and the Office of Special Scholarship Programs.
The university is run by the chancellor who is supported by seven vice chancellors, one CEO for administrative functions, and fifteen college deans. There is a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
dean and three regional deans for colleges of medicine.
Honors College
UIC's Honors College, started in 1982, was located on the Navy PierNavy Pier
Navy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...
Campus. It was part of the University of Illinois system
University of Illinois system
The University of Illinois is a system of public universities in Illinois consisting of three campuses: Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield. Across its three campuses, the University of Illinois enrolls about 70,000 students. It had an operating budget of $4.17 billion in 2007.-System:The...
's James Scholars Honors Program created at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
In 1962, with the expansion of the Chicago Undergraduate Division, the honors program was extended and consolidated with the University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana–Champaign....
. It was also renamed the "Honors College".
The Honors College is like a small liberal arts college nestled within a large research university, allowing the University of Illinois at Chicago to offer the best of both worlds to honors students and faculty. The Honors College is a home for students seeking extra intellectual challenges as well as campus and community engagement. It is also a home for faculty members seeking collaboration with some of the most motivated students on campus.
The Honors College offers scholarships and tuition waivers for incoming freshmen, transfer students, and continuing students. Other awards support undergraduate research, study abroad, and civic engagement.
One of the most important benefit of membership in the Honors College is dedicated mentoring by the UIC faculty members. At the end of the first year, each student is assigned an Honors College Fellow-a faculty mentor who is a leader in the student's field.
Students admitted to the Honors College must complete an additional application for specific admittance to the college, in addition to the degree-granting college. In order to be admitted and remain into the Honor's College, a student must provide evidence of scholastic merit, maintain a GPA of 3.4 or above and participate in an Honors College activity each semester, separate from their regular classes.
The Honors College offices and student lounge are located on campus at Burnham Hall. Additionally, students admitted to the Honors College are eligible to live on designated floors of UIC's residence halls. They have their own study hall, computer lab and a personalized professional advisors. The current dean of the Honors College is Dr. Bette L. Bottoms.
Demographics
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 7,102 | 44.3% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 3,584 | 22.3% |
| Hispanic (of any race) | 2,961 | 18.5% |
| Black (non-Hispanic) | 1,358 | 8.5% |
| Native American/Alaska Native | 31 | 0.02% |
| Nonresident Alien | 230 | 1.4% |
| Unknown | 778 | 4.8% |
While not tracked in the sources above, informal surveys suggest that between 5% and 10% of the UIC student population identifies themselves as being of middle eastern descent.
The chancellor operates six diversity-related committees on Asian Americans, Blacks
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
, Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s, LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
issues, Persons with disabilities
Physical disability
A physical disability is any impairment which limits the physical function of one or more limbs or fine or gross motor ability. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders and epilepsy....
, and Women. UIC has been publicly recognized as diverse. US News & World Report repeatedly ranks UIC in the top 10 most diverse universities in the nation. In 2006, UIC was ranked by Advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
College Guide as one of the nation's top 100 LGBT friendly campuses.
Overall
UIC is one of 96 American universities receiving the highest research classification ("RU/VH") by the Carnegie FoundationCarnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
. Under the prior Carnegie classification system
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is a framework for classifying, or grouping, colleges and universities in the United States. The primary purpose of the framework is for educational research and analysis, where it is often important to identify groups of roughly...
, UIC was one of 88 "Research I" universities. In 2005, National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
statistics on research funding ranked UIC 48th out of more than 650 universities receiving federal research money. UIC's level of research funding surpassed one Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
university and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
2007 rankings from the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai placed UIC in 59th–76th place (tied) among universities in North America and in 102nd–150th place (tied) worldwide.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
placed UIC at 162nd in the world and 49th in the U.S.
Subject areas/Program-specific
In 2008 rankings by the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai, UIC tied for 51st–76th in the subject area of social sciences and 76th–107th in the subject areas of medicine and life/agricultural sciences.Many programs ranked in the top 50 overall graduate program rankings by US News & World Report:, including: Criminology (19), Education (50), English (41), Fine Arts (37), History (36), Mathematics (36), Nursing (7), Occupational Therapy (4), Pharmacy (9), Physical Therapy (15), Public Affairs (41), Public Health (13), Social Work (22), and Sociology (41). The June 2007 issue of the Communications of Association for Computing Machinery published a ranking of graduate computer science programs based on recent scholarly publications. That list ranked UIC 34th, tied with Caltech, among the top 50 U.S. graduate programs.
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
and Entrepreneur magazine
Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneur is a publication that carries news stories about entrepreneurialism, small business management, and business opportunities. It is published by Entrepreneur Media Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California....
's survey of more than 700 American schools ranked UIC’s entrepreneurship program 9th (undergraduate) and 12th (graduate). In 2008 US News & World Report ranked UIC's undergraduate business program 58th and the undergraduate engineering program 57th in the United States. US News & World Report also ranked UIC's part-time MBA 24th out of over 300 programs nationally and the graduate finance program 19th; undergraduate program rankings were accounting (28th) and finance (17th in 2010). In 2010 Princeton Review ranked UIC in the top 50 undergraduate game design programs of 700 universities in the US and Canada. Criteria included the quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities and infrastructure. The Princeton Review also looked at data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.
Campus
The East Campus was designed in the brutalist style by Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes...
. The plan included second-story walkways that connected all of the buildings. These were taken down in phases during the early 1990s to make the campus more welcoming. Considerable effort has been expended to modify the original Netsch campus plan to create the feel of a traditional college campus. The area in front of the main administration building, University Hall, has been the site of several renovations in the last decade. The UIC Pavilion
UIC Pavilion
The UIC Pavilion is a 6,958-seat multi-purpose arena, located at 525 S. Racine Street on the West Side in Chicago, Illinois, USA, which opened in 1982. It is home to the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames basketball team and the former home of the Chicago Sky WNBA team...
was added in about 1982.
The East Campus is located on the Near West Side
Near West Side, Chicago
The Near West Side, one of the 77 defined community areas of Chicago, is located , adjacent to the downtown central business district . The rich history of the Near West Side of Chicago has its genesis in the Hull House phenomenon...
, just south of Greektown
Greektown, Chicago
Greektown is a dining and nightlife district on the Near West Side of the American city of Chicago, Illinois. It is one of many neighborhoods that make up the Near West Side community area, and is popular with tourists and Chicago residents alike....
and a 15-minute walk from downtown Chicago
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
. The juxtaposition of campus and commercial density was a direct result of large-scale urban renewal led by Mayor Richard J. Daley
Richard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
. The proximity to downtown and public transit tends to attract students who want to experience life in a large city
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
but have a typical college campus . Between East and West Campuses is Little Italy
Little Italy, Chicago
Little Italy is a neighborhood on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Morgan Street on the east — bracketed by Harrison Street on the north and Roosevelt Road; i.e., 12th Street, on the south...
.
The West Campus is much older and includes some buildings built in the collegiate gothic style. The colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Applied Health Sciences and Public Health, as well as the Library of the Health Sciences are all located on the West Campus. The West Campus is in the heart of the Illinois Medical District
Illinois Medical District
The Illinois Medical District is a special-use zoning district on the Near West Side of Chicago. It was designated as such by an act of the Illinois General Assembly in 1941. The District is bounded on the north by Congress Parkway, on the east by Ashland Avenue, on the west by Oakley Boulevard...
where the University of Illinois Medical Center
University of Illinois Medical Center
The University of Illinois Medical Center is a member of the Illinois Medical District, one of the largest urban healthcare, educational, research, and technology districts in the USA...
is located.
South Campus is in the University Village
University Village, Chicago
University Village is a renamed urban area of west Chicago consisting of newly constructed residential and retail properties. The University Village/Little Italy community cherishes its rich past as one of the first neighborhoods of Chicago...
neighborhood, formerly the Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...
area. There are no strictly educational buildings here; South Campus is composed of residence halls, athletic facilities, and a large presentation space (the Forum). Since the East Campus was opened in 1965 several large-scale developments creating thousands of new residences have been built in the Taylor Street area. Development of The South Campus in the early 2000s included a rapid increase in new housing units.
The Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
's Blue Line
Blue Line (Chicago Transit Authority)
The Blue Line consists of a long trunk line in the Chicago Transit Authority's rapid transit system which extends through Chicago's Loop from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway, and across the West Side to its...
, part of the Chicago 'L'
Chicago 'L'
The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
, runs through the median of the Eisenhower Expressway along the north side of the campus. Three Blue Line stations are close to the university: UIC-Halsted
UIC-Halsted (CTA)
UIC–Halsted is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line.-History:UIC–Halsted opened in 1958 as one of the new stations on the Congress Line on the median of the Congress Street Super Highway which replaced the Garfield Park elevated line that used to run along...
, Racine
Racine (CTA)
Racine is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line. Prior to June 25, 2006, it was the last station before the split between the Forest Park and 54/Cermak branches of the Blue Line. Service to 54/Cermak is now served by the Pink Line...
, and Illinois Medical District
Illinois Medical District (CTA)
Illinois Medical District is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line's Forest Park branch. Prior to June 25, 2006, the station was known as Medical Center...
. The Pink Line
Pink Line (Chicago Transit Authority)
The Pink Line is a rapid transit line in Chicago, run by the Chicago Transit Authority as part of the Chicago 'L' system. It began operation for a 180-day trial period on June 25, 2006, running between 54th/Cermak Station in Cicero, Illinois and the Loop in downtown Chicago...
serves UIC's west campus on Polk Street
Polk (CTA)
Polk is an 'L' station on the Pink Line of the Chicago Transit Authority. It is adjacent to Rush University Medical Center.-History:Polk Station opened on April 28, 1896, as part of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad's Douglas Park branch. In 1983 the original station was demolished and...
and runs directly to Ogilvie Transportation Center
Ogilvie Transportation Center
The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center is a passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, serving the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District, which approach the terminal elevated above street level. It occupies the lower floors of the Citigroup Center...
.
Student housing
UIC offers 10 residence halls for its students. The East Campus contains four residence halls, the South Campus contains three, and the West Campus contains three. Until the South Campus expansion, UIC students were still predominantly commuters. However, the administration has worked to change the campus to one where most students are residential. Nearly 6,000 students live within one-and-a-half miles of campus. 3,800 students, including over half of all freshmen, live in UIC's 10 residence halls. There are also thousands of apartments within walking distance to classes.On the East Campus, Commons West and Commons South are traditional halls with double rooms opening into a common hallway; each floor shares a common bathroom. Courtyard and Commons North are cluster-style buildings with rooms grouped to share a small private bathroom. These four buildings are connected to the Student Center East which houses a cafeteria, the campus bookstore, a convenience store, bowling/billiards, a barber shop, and the Inner Circle (an assortment of fast food restaurants).
West Campus housing is composed of the Single Student Residence (SSR, apartments for graduate students), Polk Street Residence (cluster style rooms), and Student Residence Hall (a traditional dormitory).
South Campus is home to Marie Robinson Hall and Thomas Beckham Hall, both apartment style buildings. In the fall of 2007, James Stukel Towers opened containing suite style rooms with a bathroom and living room.
In keeping with UIC culture, students often referred to residence halls by abbreviations instead of their full names (e.g. "TBH" instead of "Thomas Beckham Hall").
The main purpose of the SSR is to house graduate students, undergraduate students of the ages 24 and older, and professional students. The third and fourth floors house undergraduate students of the ages of 21 through 23. The nursing house is located on the 16th floor. The fifth floor of the SSR has a pilot program for students with families. The program can house up to 15 families.
Residents of the family program are zoned to Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...
. Families living in the SSR are assigned to Washington Irving Elementary School and Crane High School
Crane High School (Illinois)
Richard T. Crane Technical Preparatory High School, commonly known as Crane Tech Prep or Crane Tech High School, is a public high school in Chicago, Illinois. It is located at 2245 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago's Near West Side community area....
.
Student recreation facility
Other amenities include:. exercise room with equipment
- 1/8 mile, 3-lane jogging track
- Three-lane lap and leisure pool including 50-person jacuzzi and a lazy river
- Racquetball and convertible squash courts
- Four court wood floor gymnasium. Multi Activity Court
- Group fitness suites, including Spin Suite, Mind/Body Suite, Large Multipurpose Suite and the MAC Suite
- Human performance lab. rock climbing wall
- Outdoor adventures office
- Juice and coffee bar
- Active and passive lounge areas
- Daily and annual use lockers
Medical center
UIC is a major part of the Illinois Medical DistrictIllinois Medical District
The Illinois Medical District is a special-use zoning district on the Near West Side of Chicago. It was designated as such by an act of the Illinois General Assembly in 1941. The District is bounded on the north by Congress Parkway, on the east by Ashland Avenue, on the west by Oakley Boulevard...
(IMD). While IMD's billing itself "the nation's largest urban medical district" may be up for debate, the district is a major economic force contributing $3.3 billion to the local economy and supporting 50,000 jobs.
Campus renovations
These renovations began on a cluster of three original "pillbox" buildings: First Grant Hall, then Lincoln Hall and most recently Douglas Hall. These renovations are 'green' as the renovated buildings use solar and geothermal power. Fifty wells were dug 500 feet into the ground east of University Hall. These provide an energy savings of 20–25%. Lincoln Hall has been US LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
Gold certified; Douglas Hall is also expected to apply for LEED Gold certification. Grant Hall did not apply for LEED certification even though it was the prototype for many of the features found on Lincoln and Douglas Halls.
The new fascia are all glass and the buildings contain facilities for faculty and students. There are plans to expand the renovation project to every lecture hall cluster if the pilot program is successful.
Other campus renovations include the roof of the Behavioral Sciences Building and the terrace of the Education, Performing Arts, and Social Work building.
Sustainability
The university's Office of Sustainability was founded in January 2008.Current sustainability initiatives include lighting upgrades, building envelope improvements, metering upgrades, and landscape waste composting. Recent work on Grant, Lincoln, and Douglas Halls included upgrading them to use geothermal heat pumps, which efficiently heat and cool the building. The university has approved a Climate Action Plan.
Athletics
UIC has generally focused on basketball , soccer and baseball have also had successes.
In September 2006, the men's soccer team earned its highest ranking in school history when the SoccerTimes.com College Coaches Poll pegged the Flames at #6 in the country. In November 2006, UIC defeated Western Illinois 3–0 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling in the second round to Notre Dame 1–0. UIC finished the 2006 season as the nation's best defensive squad after allowing a mere eight goals in over 1993 minutes of play during 21 matches for a goals-against average (GAA) of 0.36. The GAA was tops in the nation in 2006 and it also ranked fifth all-time in NCAA history. UIC posted 13 shutouts and never allowed more than a single goal in a match. UIC also allowed just two goals after intermission the entire season. Along with the GAA mark, UIC posted the nation's best save percentage with a 0.908 rate.
In 2007, UIC soccer's successful season culminated in an Elite-Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament by way of wins over #12 St. Louis, Northwestern, and #8 Creighton. In a bid for a Final-Four appearance, UIC fell to Massachusetts 2–1. At season's end, UIC had a record of 13–6–6 and was named a top 10 team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)
NSCAA
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. The NSCAA has grown from a handful of college soccer coaches to more than 22,000 members, making it the largest coaching organization in the world. Its members coach at all levels of...
.
UIC's baseball team has recorded 30 or more victories in 9 straight seasons, won the last 7 Horizon League Championships, and advanced to an NCAA regional in four of the past six years (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). UIC baseball has recorded regional wins against #1 Long Beach State in 2007 and #2 Dallas Baptist University in 2008.
Student life
The university is located near the neighborhoods of Taylor Street, Greektown and Pilsen, with restaurants, and bars nearby. Downtown Chicago is a 10 minute walk or a short CTAChicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
ride away.
UIC organizations include:
- Greek Life,
- Intramural Sports,
- Cultural Groups,
- Student Government,
- Mock Trial,
- Model UN at UIC
- Religious Groups (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, et al.).
UIC's monthly/weekly events:
- Friday Night Live
UIC's once-a-semester/year events:
- Relay for Life,
- Recess (Mini Carnival),
- Organization Olympics,
- UIC Fashion Show,
- Black History Month,
- Taste of UIC,
- Cultural Fest.
Student media
- Chicago Flame - An independent weekly newspaper
- the Argus - An independent weekly newspaper and media site
- UIC Radio - An internet based radio station
- Red Shoes - A review literary magazine
- UIC Today - A former daily newspaper
- Housing Cable - TV closed-circuit cable station
In popular culture
- The 2006 movie Stranger than Fiction used classrooms and offices.
- SwimfanSwimfanSwimfan, also known as Fanatica, is a 2002 erotic thriller film directed by John Polson and written by Charles Bohl and Phillip Schneider. Considered a Fatal Attraction for a teenage audience, the film stars Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, and Shiri Appleby.-Plot:Ben Cronin is a a star swimmer...
was shot, partially, at the school's competition swimming pools - The movie Primal FearPrimal Fear (film)Primal Fear is a 1996 American crime drama thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit and starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. The film tells the story of a defense attorney, Martin Vail , who defends an altar boy, Aaron Stampler , charged with the murder of a Catholic archbishop. The movie is an...
featured UIC's baseball field, Les Miller Field. - The main character in My Big Fat Greek WeddingMy Big Fat Greek WeddingMy Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 2002 Canadian and American romantic comedy film written by and starring Nia Vardalos and directed by Joel Zwick. The film is centered on Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos , a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek upper middle class "White...
attends classes at UIC, and the film is set in Greektown, adjacent to East Campus. (However, the film was actually shot at Truman College in Chicago.) - In the horror film CandymanCandyman (film)Candyman is a 1992 horror film starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Xander Berkeley. It was directed by Bernard Rose and is based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker, though the film's scenario is switched from England to Chicago. The film was scored by Philip Glass. The film was...
, the main character is a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The opening credits include an aerial shot of the original Walter NetschWalter NetschWalter Netsch was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes...
-designed East Campus, before the late 1990s renovations. - The movie Mahogany was filmed, in part, on the east campus of UIC.
- Maxwell StreetMaxwell StreetMaxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...
, in what is now the South Campus, was a filming location for both The Blues BrothersThe Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
and Child's Play. - TV shows such as Early EditionEarly EditionEarly Edition is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this...
and ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
have used the UIC Medical Center for scenes. Ironically, although ER was set in Chicago and predominantly filmed at the Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
studios in Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, CaliforniaBurbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, the courtyard within the UIC College of Medicine doubled for the University of Michigan in the episode "One for the Road". - The UIC police station7th District Police StationThe 7th District Police Station, or Maxwell Street Station in Chicago, Illinois was built in 1888 in response to the need for increased police presence in "Bloody Maxwell", known colloquially as "the Wickedest Police District in the World." The neighborhood, a changing melting pot of Irish,...
[at the time, still a station of the Chicago Police rather than the university] was shown in the establishing shots for the award-winning TV show Hill Street Blues.