Location

• DeKalb is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and 45 minutes southeast of Rockford
• main campus in DeKalb (population 40,000) spans 755 acres
• NIU also operates outreach centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford and Oregon, Ill.

Programs of Study

• seven degree-granting colleges
• 63 undergraduate majors
• 79 graduate programs, including 11 Ph.D. programs, doctoral degrees in education and the Juris Doctorate

Students

• Total enrollment: 25,254 (Fall 2007)
  • 22,768 on-campus students
    • 18,495 undergraduates
    • 3,948 graduate students
    • 325 law students
  • 2,486 students attend classes at NIU's off-campus locations
• Average undergraduate student age: 22
• Average graduate student age: 33
• 16 percent of NIU's undergraduates are non-traditional students over the age of 23
• 91 percent from Illinois
• 48 percent men, 52 percent women
• 27 percent ethnic minorities
• Close to 1,000 international students representing about 100 countries

Transfer Students

• Each fall approximately 2,000 students transfer to NIU and of this number, about 75 percent are Illinois public community college transfer students
• Approximately 1,000 transfer students enter NIU for the spring and summer terms
• NIU yields the highest number of transfer students out of all the Illinois state universities

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Faculty

• 1,279
• Student to Faculty Ratio: 17 to 1

Class Size

• average class size is 28 students
• In the fall 2007 semester, the average class size for introductory 100-level courses was 31 students

Academic Departments

• 40

Libraries

• Founders Memorial Library and its seven branch libraries contain more than 2 million books and 6,000 electronic journals.

Oldest Building

• Altgeld Hall, opened in 1899 and rededicated in 2004.

Newest Building

• The Yordon Center opened in 2007.

Athletics

• NCAA Division I school (Division 1-A in football) 
• NIU Huskies compete in the Mid-American Conference
• colors are cardinal and black

Honors Program

• Students in the University Honors Program take their education a step further by designing individualized programs of study, learning from NIU's top teaching faculty and exploring their interests in-depth.

Study Abroad

NIU is nationally known for its extensive study abroad experiences.

• Students can earn academic credit that applies to their degree program while studying abroad for a semester, academic year or during summer and winter breaks.

Research Opportunities

Undergraduates at NIU enjoy remarkable opportunities for research.

• The USOAR program allows students to construct their own projects in research or artistry and travel to any corner of the world to bring their ideas to life.
• The URAP program enables selected undergraduates to develop research skills by offering them monetary and scholarly support and significant apprenticeships with senior faculty.

Child Care

Part-time as well as full-time child care is available to NIU students, faculty and staff.

• NIU Campus Child Care offers quality care to children ages 2 months to 5 years (along with a summertime school-age program for children ages 6 to 8).
• The program is licensed through the State of Illinois.
• The program is housed in a facility designed specifically for young children.

Off-Campus Programs

NIU offers dozens of undergraduate- and graduate-level courses at its three regional centers, through partnerships with Elgin, Rock Valley and Waubonsee community colleges and through the Internet.

• Courses from six of the university’s seven colleges range from accountancy to women’s studies.
• Degree-completion programs also are available in seven high-demand areas.
• Affordable classes are offered evenings and weekends, mostly part-time, providing flexible options for hard-working adults, regardless of where they earned previous college credits.

Accreditation

• The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association.
• The university is also fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education to offer teacher education programs and offers several teacher certification programs which are approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.
• NIU is included in the Research Universities (high research activity) category of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is a member of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.
• The university and its colleges have institutional membership or other affiliations in or with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Council on Education, Association of State Colleges and Universities, Council of Graduate Schools and Universities Research Association.