Northern Illinois University or NIU was chartered in 1895, Northern Illinois University first opened its doors as the Northern Illinois State Normal School in 1899 as a teachers’ school. We have since grown into a world-class, research-focused public institution that attracts students from across Illinois, the country and the world.
Northern Illinois University students raise Funds to support war effort in 1917, Northern students set a $1,500 goal for the Student Friendship Fund to aid the forty-seven Northern boys headed off war. They surpassed their goal by raising $1,863.25. Students and faculty also regularly raised money for the Red Cross. In fact, they were so dedicated to help fund the war effort that students decided to forego publishing a 1918 Norther, the official yearbook, and instead used the money to purchase an ambulance for use in France to aid the troops.
NIU celebrates diversity in all its forms including gender, race, ethnicity, ability, spirituality, sexuality, age and all individual identities. We believe that engaging across differences enriches our students’ learning and personal growth while at NIU. With 42 schools and departments within seven colleges — Business, Education, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Health and Human Sciences, Law, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Visual and Performing Arts which provide you with amazing learning opportunities. Whether you know what direction you are headed, or you need some time to decide. The number of student enrollments was over 16,000.
The university’s vision is to be an engine for innovation to advance social mobility; promote personal, professional and intellectual growth; and transform the world through research, artistry, teaching and outreach. The mission of NIU is to empower students through educational excellence and experiential learning as we pursue knowledge, share our research and artistry, and engage communities for the benefit of the region, state, nation and world.
NIU students are involved and engaged on campus. Students who participate on campus — in addition to going to class—get higher grades, graduate in four years, feel at home away from home, feel satisfied with their social life and are more appealing to employers after college. For instance — Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Asian American Resource Center, Career Services, Center for Black Studies, CHANCE Program, Community Service, Disability Resource Center, Fraternity and Sorority Life, First and Second-Year Experience, Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, etc.
Location
DeKalb, Illinois (USA)
Whether you’re looking to earn your four-year degree, pursue additional or advanced degrees, change careers or earn credentials, NIU has a convenient location to make it possible for you to build your future while balancing your current lifestyle. With centers throughout northern Illinois, the Chicago area and online, Huskies can call many places their home.
At NIU, you’ll be just down the road from the largest Midwestern city in the U.S. Northern Illinois describes not only an outstanding university, but an energetic region — literally at the center of everything. Our proximity to Chicago and its suburbs translates into endless opportunities for you. Partnerships with national laboratories like Argonne and Fermilab offer Huskies real-life training, networking and even internships in such fields as engineering, computing, data visualization and physical sciences.
School & Faculty
- Accountancy
- Allied Health and Communicative Disorders
- Anthropology
- Art and Design
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Communication
- Computer Science
- Counseling and Higher Education
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Economics
- Educational Technology, Research and Assessment
- Electrical Engineering
- English
- Environmental Studies
- Family and Consumer Sciences
- Finance
- Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences
- Geology and Environmental Geosciences
- Health Studies
- History
- Interdisciplinary Health Professions
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Kinesiology and Physical Education
- Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations
- Management
- Marketing
- Mathematical Sciences
- Mechanical Engineering
- Military Science
- Music
- Nonprofit and NGO Studies
- Nursing
- Operations Management and Information Systems
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public and Global Affairs
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Special and Early Education
- Statistics and Actuarial Science
- Technology
- Theatre and Dance
- World Languages and Cultures
