University of Illinois Chicago
IN-23: Serving Underrepresented Groups

UIC is one of the most diverse research-intensive universities in the U.S. Based upon its full time undergraduate enrollment it is designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). In 2015, the US Department of Education (letter attached) recognized that UIC is eligible to apply for federal opportunities set aside for Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). UIC is eligible to apply for any new opportunities set aside for federal MSI, AANAPISI, and HSI institutions under Titles III and V of the Higher Education act of 1965, as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.

UIC’s undergraduate population is currently 26.4% Hispanic, 23.1% Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander, 7.9% Black, 35.8% White, 9.3% International, and 4.3% other/unknown.

UIC has been recognized nationally for its ongoing leadership in matters of diversity. In 2014, it received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. UIC was named one of the nation’s best 25 campuses for LGBT students by Campus Pride and the Huffington Post.

U.S. News & World Report’s “Americas Best Colleges” recently ranked UIC within the top 12 of 262 Carnegie classified national institutions for campus ethnic diversity. Of these institutions, only Stanford, Rutgers, and UCLA exceeded UIC’s overall research expenditures, per 2014 NSF ranking data. UIC has become the major center for Latino education in the Midwest, granting the largest number of baccalaureate degrees and enrolling the largest numbers of Latino graduate and professional students compared to the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a consortium of Big Ten universities plus the University of Chicago.