University of Illinois

One of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the country is the University of Illinois. It has three campuses; the largest is in Urbana-Champaign, the second is in Chicago, and the smallest of the three is in Springfield.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is also the oldest among the three campuses, having been established in 1867. It was then known as the Illinois Industrial University. In 1885, it was renamed University of Illinois and, upon the consolidation of the Medical Center and Circle Campus in Chicago to form the University of Illinois at Chicago, the main campus was again renamed as University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The university is one of the most selective state schools in the country and is hailed as a Public Ivy, which means that it offers high quality education comparable with those of the designated Ivy League schools.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has 16 colleges and is highly recognized in various fields of study including computer science, law, engineering, chemistry, finance, business administration. One of its Physics professors, John Bardeen, is noted for being the only researcher so far to win the Nobel Prize twice. This Illinois university currently has more than 42,000 students and almost 2,000 on its staff.