The University of Illinois at Chicago Campus Life: Photos, Videos, Facilities

The University of Illinois at Chicago was founded as a USA-based private research university in Chicago, Illinois, in 1982. With nearly 34,000 students, UIC is one of the nation’s diverse campuses and is Chicago’s largest university. Each year, students from various national, racial, and ethnic backgrounds partake in the University of Illinois Chicago admissions.

The campus is situated near the west side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The east campus belongs mostly to undergraduate classes, student housing, recreation facilities, and the credit union arena. On the other side, the west campus includes health science colleges, medical centers, recreation facilities, and more. The south campus has student housing, retail shops, athletic fields, forums, and conference and event centers.

University of Illinois at Chicago Campus Overview

At the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, students can explore a wide opportunities, including organizations, sports, recreation facilities, fitness centers, wellness programs, and more. A few of the facilities and services offered by the university at the campus are given below:

• Organizations: With over 460 organizations, UIC offers a wide range of opportunities for students to develop community. The organization helps students through forums for academic discourse, personal growth and development, leadership qualities, community engagement, and intercultural understanding.
• Housing: UIC has ten residence halls on the east, south, and west campuses for its students. The East campus comprises traditional halls with double rooms and a common bathroom. West campus is composed of single student residences and Polk Street residences.
• Student recreation facilities: The UIC offers a three-story climbing wall, multipurpose courts for games, a pool, a sports and fitness center fitness floor, an Olympic pool, a steam room, racquetball courts, and much more. The campus recreation hosts various wellness and well-being programs for its students throughout the year.
• Campus renovations: The university has begun renovating existing facilities. The renovations include adding solar and geothermal power to the three original pillbox buildings (Grant Hall, Lincoln Hall, and Douglas Hall) to save energy. Other renovations include repairing and giving a new touch to the roofs and terraces of the Behavioral Science Building, Education and Performing Arts, and Social Work Building.

University of Illinois at Chicago Athletics

University of Illinois at Chicago athletic teams are collectively known as Flames (a reference to the 1871 Great Chicago Fire). UIC is one of the members of NCAA Division I, and it is known for these 18 intercollegiate varsity sports teams, and the mascot, Sparky.

UIC was primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in the 2022-2023 year and competed in the D-I Horizon League till 2021.

University of Illinois at Chicago Top Courses

When it comes to UIC courses, the university provides 94 undergraduate degrees and 84 minors to choose from. Whereas, for graduates, there are 102 master’s and 63 doctoral degree programs across various fields. UIC acceptance rate stands at 77.35%, while the average freshman retention rate is 80%. Some of the top courses, along with the percentage of degrees awarded for each program, are given below: 

University of Illinois at Chicago Housing

The University of Illinois offers various housing options, including an academic and residential complex, common north, common west, common south, courtyard, and more. Each housing has a diverse room style depending on the number of members. Students can check the housing options for single and double students, along with the University of Illinois Chicago cost for on-campus housing (2025-26):

1 USD = INR 85.51 

Also check University of Illinois Chicago Fees.