Elmhurst College

A leading four-year college in the heart of the Chicago metropolitan area, Elmhurst College blends liberal learning and professional preparation to help students reach their potential, in college and the world beyond.

Elmhurst College is one of the top 10 colleges in the Midwest, according to U.S. News & World Report. It also ranks among the Best Values in the region, as well as one of the Midwest’s Best Colleges for Veterans. Approximately 3,200 full- and part-time students are enrolled in the College’s 25 undergraduate academic departments and more than 15 graduate degree programs; the student-to-faculty ratio at Elmhurst is just 13 to 1.

More than 80 percent of Elmhurst undergraduates gain on-the-job experience through internships or service work, and 93 percent of Elmhurst graduates find full-time employment or enter graduate school within a year of graduation.

Elmhurst College’s idyllic arboretum campus is just a half-hour train ride from one of the world’s most vibrant cities, giving students unlimited access to world-class cultural and professional opportunities.

Beyond the classroom, our students get plenty of opportunities to put their passions and talents into action—in more than 100 campus activities, including 20 athletic teams. Our teams participate in NCAA Division III and have won conference championships in five sports over the last decade.

Cultural events
Elmhurst College offers a wealth of exceptional cultural opportunities that are open to the public and draw audiences from across the Chicago area.

Music
Each February, the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival brings together the best college jazz bands in the country, as well as some of the greatest names in professional jazz today, to perform for each other and for rapt audiences. The annual June Jazz event on the College Mall marks an early celebration of summer with an evening concert under the stars.

Elmhurst College also has numerous performing ensembles, several of which tour regularly and have gained national and international renown. The ensembles, which include the Elmhurst College Jazz Band, the Concert Choir, the Wind Ensemble, the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Late Night Blues vocal jazz group, perform concerts on campus throughout the year. 

Lectures
Elmhurst College’s highly regarded public lecture series explore some of the most current and compelling topics of the day. Leaders, scholars and public intellectuals have led thought-provoking discussions on themes of social justice, science and society, religion, civic engagement and more. Recent speakers include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward, author and historian Erik Larson, Bill Nye “the Science Guy” and New York Times columnist Gail Collins.

The College’s annual Governmental Forum brings together the state’s foremost governmental and civic leaders, business experts and policy analysts to discuss important issues facing Illinois and the nation. In previous years, the Governmental Forum has welcomed former Illinois governors James Thompson and Jim Edgar, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael J. Madigan and U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, among many others.

Art
Elmhurst College hosts about a dozen art shows each academic year in two campus venues. Exhibitions feature well-known guest artists, as well as juried student exhibitions and shows for alumni and graduating seniors. In addition, the College’s A.C. Buehler Library permanently houses the College’s unparalleled collection of Chicago Imagist and Abstractionist Art, which explores the vibrant, often outrageous, yet precisely crafted works of Chicago artists between 1950 and the present.

Theatre
From wacky improv to serious drama, Elmhurst College theatre has engaged audiences with thought-provoking productions since the 1920s. Each year, Elmhurst theatre faculty and students collaborate on a full season of musicals, plays, student-directing projects and children's theatre. Mill performances ask probing questions, offer new ways to see the world, and showcase a variety of genres and playwrights. All productions take place in the College’s intimate Mill Theatre, a converted sawmill that has housed Elmhurst’s theatre program since 1969.

For more information about Elmhurst College, visit www.elmhurst.edu