Colleges and universities in Chicago

This guide is for people sorting out higher education in and around Chicago: parents weighing campuses, adults thinking about going back, new arrivals who want a class or two, and anyone trying to understand why a UIC degree and a City Colleges credit cost such different amounts. It covers the big research universities, the Catholic and arts-focused private schools, the seven City Colleges, a handful of suburban options, and the continuing education programs that take working adults.

Each entry says where the school is, how to get there by CTA or Metra, and what a year costs where the school publishes a current number. Tuition figures change every year and most students pay less than the sticker price after aid, so treat the numbers here as a starting point and check the school’s own page before you commit.

Research universities

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago sits in Hyde Park, about seven miles south of the Loop. The university was founded in 1890 and lists 18,058 students on its facts and figures page, 7,540 of them undergraduates. The big news for families is money. Starting in Autumn Quarter 2027, students from families earning up to $250,000 will get free tuition, and families earning $125,000 or less will have tuition, housing, meals and fees covered, according to the university’s affordability page. Both thresholds assume typical assets.

Getting there: the Metra Electric line runs from Millennium Station downtown to the 55th-56th-57th Street stop, which is the easiest ride for visitors. The Green Line’s Garfield stop is farther west, and many students use the university’s shuttle buses instead of walking from it. Street parking around the quads is tight during the school year, especially on weekdays.

Northwestern University

Northwestern’s main campus is on the lakefront in Evanston, just north of the city line, with a second campus in Streeterville that holds the law and medical schools. The university was established in 1851 and reports more than 9,000 undergraduates and more than 14,000 graduate students on its facts page. Admission is hard: the same page lists a 7.1% acceptance rate.

The Purple Line stops at Davis, Foster and Noyes in Evanston, and the Metra Union Pacific North line stops at Davis Street. The Evanston campus is walkable from both. The Streeterville campus is a short walk east of the Red Line’s Chicago stop.

University of Illinois Chicago

UIC is the city’s largest university, with about 34,000 students on its homepage count, and the university says 40% of its newest freshman class are first-generation students. The campus spreads across the Near West Side, from the Circle Interchange west through the Illinois Medical District. For Illinois families, the draw is the Aspire Grant: new undergraduate Illinois residents from households with incomes of $75,000 or less pay $0 in tuition and fees in Fall 2026, per UIC’s tuition and aid page.

The Blue Line’s UIC-Halsted stop drops you at the east side of campus, and the Pink Line’s Polk stop serves the medical side. Parking is mostly in paid campus structures; street spots on Taylor Street go fast at lunch.

Illinois Institute of Technology

Illinois Tech is on the South Side in Bronzeville, known for engineering, architecture and design. The Green Line runs on raised tracks right through the main campus. For new undergraduates in 2026-27, tuition is $53,198, with $1,850 in fees and an estimated $18,548 for housing and food, according to the school’s cost page. The school says more than 98% of students receive some aid. Take the Green Line to 35th-Bronzeville-IIT or the Red Line to Sox-35th, which is a short walk east. On White Sox game days, expect crowds and traffic around 35th Street.

Liberal arts and Catholic universities

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola is a private Jesuit university founded in 1870. Its main Lake Shore Campus is at 1032 W. Sheridan Road in Rogers Park, right on the lake, and the Water Tower Campus is just off Michigan Avenue near Streeterville. Loyola lists 12,538 students on its at-a-glance page. Full-time undergraduate tuition for 2026-27 is $28,465 per semester for most schools, or $56,930 a year, per the bursar’s page. The Red Line has its own Loyola stop at the edge of campus, which makes this one of the easiest schools in the city to reach without a car.

DePaul University

DePaul was founded in 1898 and describes itself as rooted in Vincentian Catholic values on its history page. The Lincoln Park Campus is a few blocks from the Fullerton stop, which serves the Red, Brown and Purple lines. The Loop Campus is in office buildings along Jackson Boulevard, reachable from nearly every L line. DePaul does not post a single tuition number on its main aid page, saying tuition varies by program and pointing families to a net price calculator. The university says it awards $300 million in scholarships each year. Lincoln Park street parking is mostly permit-zoned near campus, so plan on transit.

Columbia College Chicago and Roosevelt University

Columbia College Chicago is a private nonprofit college in the South Loop focused on creative careers, with programs in film, music, visual arts and fashion. Its buildings line Michigan and Wabash avenues, and the Red Line’s Harrison stop and the Loop L stops at Harold Washington Library are both close. Tuition is split by when students first enrolled; check the tuition page for the right table.

Roosevelt University’s Chicago campus is at 430 S. Michigan Ave., in the Auditorium Building across from Grant Park, and the university also runs a campus in Schaumburg, according to its financial aid page.

Public options on the North and South sides

Northeastern Illinois University is on 67 acres at 5500 N. St. Louis Ave. in North Park on the Northwest Side. The school lists 5,756 students and has been a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution since 1997, per its about page. NEIU also runs El Centro in Avondale and the Jacob H. Carruthers Center in Bronzeville. Chicago State University, on the Far South Side, charges $364 per credit hour for U.S.-resident undergraduates in Fall 2026, plus $121 per credit hour in mandatory fees, per its bursar’s page. The Metra Electric has a stop named for the university at 95th Street.

City Colleges of Chicago

The City Colleges are the city’s community college system: seven colleges spread across the city. They are Harold Washington in the Loop, Harry S Truman in Uptown, Kennedy-King in Englewood, Malcolm X on the Near West Side, Olive-Harvey on the Far South Side, Richard J. Daley on the Southwest Side and Wilbur Wright on the Northwest Side. They grant associate degrees and certificates, and a lot of students start here and transfer to a four-year school.

The price is the reason to look. In-district tuition for standard credit courses is $163 per credit hour starting June 29, 2026, up from $157 the year before, per the City Colleges tuition page. Some health programs cost more: nursing courses are $248 per credit hour and radiography $203. To qualify for the in-district rate you need to have lived in Chicago for at least 30 days before classes start, or work more than 35 hours a week in the city with proof of employment.

Harold Washington College, at Lake and State, is the most central; it sits by the Lake and State/Lake stops and is walkable from Metra’s Ogilvie and Union stations. Most of the other campuses have free or cheap surface lots, which the downtown campus does not.

Suburban colleges

The suburbs add strong community colleges and several small private colleges. Community college tuition depends on where you live, so check which district your address falls in before you register.

Community colleges

College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn is one of the largest community colleges in the state, with more than 26,000 students on a 254-acre campus, per its facts page. In-district tuition is $160 per credit hour starting Fall 2026, which includes $19 in fees, and district residents 65 and older pay $80, per the tuition page. The Metra Union Pacific West line stops in Glen Ellyn, but the campus is a bus or car ride from the station.

Oakton College has campuses in Des Plaines and Skokie plus an Evanston center, and serves District 535, which includes Evanston, Skokie and Glenview. District residents pay $136.25 per semester hour in 2026-27, and residents over 60 pay half that, per Oakton’s tuition page. Harper College in Palatine serves the northwest suburbs; its tuition tables are on its own site.

Private colleges

Dominican University is a Catholic university in River Forest, just west of Oak Park. Full-time undergraduate tuition for 2026-27 is $20,479 per semester, about $40,958 a year, according to its student accounts page. The Metra Union Pacific West line stops in River Forest. North Central College in Naperville is another option on the Metra BNSF line. Its costs could not be confirmed for this guide, so check them directly with the school.

Continuing education and certificates

Adults who want a class without a full degree have good options in the city. The University of Chicago’s Graham School, at 5801 S. Ellis Ave. in Hyde Park, runs open-enrollment noncredit courses, the Basic Program (a four-year certificate built around reading the Great Books) and a Master of Liberal Arts, per its site. Most courses are open to anyone.

Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies, based at 339 E. Chicago Ave. in Streeterville, has part-time and online bachelor’s majors, master’s programs, post-baccalaureate programs and several levels of certificates for working adults, per its site.

The cheapest route is usually the City Colleges’ continuing education catalog. Noncredit classes cover business, information technology, languages, manufacturing and trades, fitness, swimming and arts, and there is a track for learners 55 and older. Classes are paid, not free, and the catalog says there are no refunds once a class begins. Suburban residents should check their own community college: both College of DuPage and Oakton cut tuition for older district residents.

Good to know

Checked September 28, 2026. UChicago’s expanded free-tuition policy begins in Autumn Quarter 2027, not this school year. The City Colleges’ new $163 rate took effect June 29, 2026, so older printed materials may show $157. UIC’s Aspire terms quoted here are for Fall 2026 entrants. Winter matters for commuting: the lakefront campuses at Loyola and Northwestern get the worst of the wind, and Metra Electric and the Green Line both run less often on weekends and holidays. Campus tours and open houses fill up in October and November, so book early.

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