List of colleges and universities in Chicago

Chicago holds a unique place in the history of American education. The concept of junior colleges, like the City Colleges of Chicago, was pioneered in the city by William Rainey Harper and J. Stanley Brown at Joliet Junior College. The metropolitan area is home to large world-renowned research institutions: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago.

A person walking on the campus of the University of Chicago.

• Rush Medical College, now part of Rush University, was the first institution of higher learning chartered in Illinois and one of the first medical schools to open west of the Alleghenies.

• The Illinois Institute of Technology is a private doctoral-granting technological university, where world-famous modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was on the faculty for many years. IIT shares its main campus with the VanderCook College of Music, the only independent college in the country focusing exclusively on the training of music educators, and Shimer College, a private liberal arts college which follows the Great Books program.

• Illinois College of Optometry, the oldest optometry school in the United States.

• Loyola University Chicago is the largest Jesuit university in the world.

• DePaul University, in Lincoln Park, in addition to its extensive academic programs, is known for its Blue Demons.

• Saint Xavier University on Chicago's south side is the oldest university in Illinois, founded in 1846.

• Lake Forest College is a national liberal arts college.

• North Park University is located in Chicago's North Park and has been listed on US News' college review as one of the best universities in the Midwest.

• Founded in 1867, Northeastern Illinois University is one of the oldest and most diverse universities in the Midwest.

• National-Louis University, founded by a reform-minded woman named Elizabeth Harrison, also traces its history to the 19th century.

• Chicago State University began as a teachers' college.

• Founded on the principles of social justice, Roosevelt University was named in honor of president Franklin D. Roosevelt, two weeks after his death. It houses the Theatre and Music Conservatories under the Chicago College of Performing Arts.

• Fine and performing arts programs in Chicago may be pursued at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The American Academy of Art and Columbia College Chicago.

• East-West University is located downtown with several of the other schools.

• The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, became affiliated with Le Cordon Bleu of Paris in June 2000.

Theological Universities

• There are several theological seminaries in Chicago, including the worlds largest, the Catholic Theological Union.

• Specialized schools include Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.

Other private universities also offer theology as a major, even if it is not the main fare of the school.