The most prestigious of three institutions under the University of Illinois system, UIUC is rated #13 among US public universities by U.S. News & World Report

Founded in 1867, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is an American public research varsity consistently ranked among the world’s Top 100 by reputed international rating agencies. The London-based Times Higher Education ranks UIUC #50 in its World University Rankings 2019, and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) #71 in its 2019 global league table.

The largest and most prestigious of three institutions under the University of Illinois system — the other two are Chicago and Springfield — UIUC is also rated #13 among US public universities by U.S. News & World Report in its America’s Best Colleges Rankings 2019. Moreover its study programmes in library and information science and condensed matter physics are ranked #1 in the US.

Sited in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana (total pop. 207,000) in the state of Illinois, UIUC is one of 37 public land-grant institutions established by President Abraham Lincoln under the Morrill Act, 1862. Founded as the Illinois Industrial University, it was renamed UIUC in 1885. Highly reputed for academic and research excellence, the university has produced 24 Nobel laureates and 26 Pulitzer Prize winners over the past 150 years. Currently, UIUC’s 16 colleges offer over 250 study programmes to 33,000 undergraduate and 15,500 postgraduate students mentored by 3,000 highly-qualified faculty.

Urbana-Champaign. Located 284 km north of St. Louis and 222 km south of Chicago, Urbana-Champaign are twin cities, ranked #4 in the US for college students by CityLab, for its “big city amenities and small-town affordability, accessibility, safety and friendliness”.

Served by an enviable public transport system, students have easy and rapid access to the major metros of Chicago and Indianapolis. But with its 80 public parks and three large forest reserves, the twin cities offer an array of outdoor activity options such as hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, boating, camping and cross-country skiing. It also offers a lively nightlife with a wide variety of restaurants serving a range of cuisines, recreational opportunities, unique museums and great theatre and music festivals.

The coldest month is January (0°C) and the hottest, July (24°C).

Campus facilities. Set on a sprawling 6,370-acre campus, UIUC offers world-class academic and research facilities, superbly equipped laboratories and classrooms with 24×7 wireless Internet access. It’s also one of the most disabled-friendly campuses worldwide, providing students with disabilities access to all university services and facilities including a wheelchair-accessible bus system.

The university’s library system houses 13 million volumes in its 37 unit libraries and is famed for its rare engineering and agriculture manuscripts which attract over a million visitors every week. The university’s Krannert Center for the Performing Arts hosts four theatres with a seating capacity of 4,000. Its two museums — the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion — contain 10,000 works of art and the Spurlock Museum houses 54,000 artefacts. The UIUC campus also contains a research park which hosts innovation centres for over 90 start-up companies and multinational corporations, including Abbott, AbbVie, Caterpillar, Capital One, Dow, State Farm, and Yahoo, among others.

In keeping with the tradition of America’s higher education institutions, sports facilities are excellent. They include a 15,000-seat multipurpose State Farm Center (an indoor arena which hosts the men’s and women’s basketball teams), Memorial Sports Stadium (60,670 seats), Atkins Tennis Center, multi-purpose Huff Hall (4,152 seats), Illinois Field (1,500 seats for baseball), Eichelberger Field (1,500 seats for softball), Illinois Track and Soccer Stadium, and the Demirjian Golf Practice facility. The Activities and Recreation Center features indoor tracks, leisure pool, climbing wall, basketball and racquetball courts, indoor and outdoor 50 metre swimming pools.

In addition, UIUC offers 1,000-plus registered student organisations which host social and cultural activities throughout the year.

Admission. Minimum eligibility for admission into UIUC’s undergraduate study programmes are successful completion of class XII/Plus Two, high SAT or ACT test scores, and proof of English language proficiency (IELTS or TOEFL). Admission applications are required to be submitted online (www.illinois.edu) together with transcripts of secondary school certificates, an essay, proof of participation in extra-curricular activities, honours and awards, and a non-refundable application fee of $75. Deadline: January 5 for the fall (autumn) term.

Minimum eligibility criterion for admission into postgraduate programmes is a bachelor’s degree of a recognised university. The application form has to be submitted ten months prior to the commencement of the intended semester of entry, with a non-refundable fee of $90, attested degree certificates, three letters of reference and TOEFL iBT score (102+) or IELTS score (7.0+).

For further details contact Admissions Office, 901 West Illinois Street, Urbana, IL 61801; Ph: 217-333-0302; Fax: 217-244-4614; email: admissions@illinois.edu; website: https://illinois.edu/

Accommodation. UIUC’s 24 residence halls house 8,550 undergraduate students in double, triple or quad rooms and 15 private certified housing units. Moreover, 61 Greek fraternity houses accommodate another 6,000 students. Facilities include loftable furniture, study lounges, kitchen, music practice rooms, vending machines, laundry room, 24-hour front desk services, library, computer lab, music room etc.

Degree programmes. The university’s 16 colleges offer more than 150 undergraduate and 100 postgrad programmes of study.

SCHOLASTIC OPTIONS AT UIUC

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign’s 16 colleges offer a wide range of study programmes. They include:
College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environment Science. Agricultural and biological engineering, food and nutrition, crop sciences, animal sciences etc

College of Applied Health Sciences. Kinesiology, recreation, sports and tourism, speech and hearing science, interdisciplinary health sciences etc

Gies College of Business. Management, accountancy, marketing, finance, supply chain management etc

College of Engineering. Aerospace, computer, bioengineering, nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering etc

College of Fine and Applied Arts. Architecture, arts, dance, music, theatre, urban and regional planning, etc

College of Liberal Arts and Science. Actuarial science, anthropology, communication, creative writing, linguistics, geology, religion, geophysics, teacher education etc

School of Labour and Employment Relations. Human resources, industrial relations

School of Information Sciences. Library and information science, information management, bioinformatics etc

College of Media, College of Law, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, School of Social Work, College of Education,

College of Veterinary Medicine and Graduate College also offer a range of study programmes.

Tuition fees (per year): $31,988-36,992

On-campus room and board: $11,306 NB: $=Rs.70

Sruthy Susan Ullas