Chicago State University

Chicago State University (CSU) is a public, comprehensive university that provides access to higher education for students of diverse backgrounds and educational needs. The university fosters the intellectual development and success of its student population through a rigorous, positive, and transformative educational experience. CSU is committed to teaching, research, service and community development including social justice, leadership and entrepreneurship.Chicago State University will be recognized for innovations in teaching and research, and in promoting ethical leadership, entrepreneurship, and social and environmental justice. We will embrace, engage, educate, and empower our students and community to transform lives locally and globally.

Chicago State University was founded as a teacher training school in Blue Island, Illinois on September 2, 1867. Today, the University is a fully accredited public, urban institution located on 161-picturesque acres in a residential community on Chicago's South side. CSU is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor of Illinois. The University's five colleges—Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Pharmacy—offer 36 undergraduate and 25 graduate and professional degree-granting programs. CSU also offers an interdisciplinary Honors College for students in all areas of study and has a Division of Continuing Education and Nontraditional Degree Programs that offers extension courses, distance learning and not-for-credit programs to the entire Chicago community.

There is a basic distinction between a degree-seeking and a non-degree seeking student. Please review each type of applicant distinctions below and follow the steps for the application that is most applicable to you.
As you get started with an application, please note a Social Security Number (SSN) is not required for admission.However, by providing it you will help us to match your application materials. The Social Security Number is required if you are applying for federal financial aid (FAFSA). The University is committed to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of student records and will not disclose your SSN without your consent for any purpose except as allowed by law.

With 29 degree and 17 post-baccalaureate certificate programs, Graduate and Professional Studies meets the needs of graduate and professional education at Chicago State University by building upon the strengths, experiences, and successes of the academic departments and their operations, functions and services with a full continuum of support services for prospective and continuing graduate students.

The School of Graduate and Professional Studies provides centralized administrative oversight and support to the colleges and departments administering programs and services to graduate and professional students. We support the University's mission with regard to the provision of a high quality teaching, learning, and research environment for graduate and professional students and graduate faculty.

Research conducted at Chicago State University can be deemed safe and ethical. To maintain this high standard, CSU has established appropriate regulatory committees: Institutional Review Board for research involving human subjects (IRB); Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for research involving live vertebrate and recombinant DNA (IACUC), and a committee for research involving biohazards. In addition, undergraduate and graduate students who are trainees on NIH training grants complete a course and receive mentoring in Responsible Conduct of Research.

Within the framework of a general education curriculum, Chicago State University students will be exposed to people, ideas, and events that have had important influences on society and the environment. Students will learn to master the written and spoken word to enrich their own lives and to contribute effectively to society. Instruction within a general education curriculum will provide our students with an understanding of key sectors of contemporary life, and the confidence to critique these constructively. Students will gain insight into cultural diversity, learn to honor their own cultural heritage and those of others, and form responsible convictions about the world around them. Above all, Chicago State University's general education curriculum will instill in our students the idea that learning is a continuous and life-long process grounded in critical reflection and analysis of the world around us. As such, it is an essential foundation for living a fulfilled life in a democratic society.

As part of a multi-year review of the general education assessment outcomes, the university community approved the above six general education outcomes during the Spring 2012 semester with input from faculty, staff, and administration. With these six outcomes in place, the General Education Committee (GEC) and the General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC) conducted a comprehensive review of the General Education Curriculum in order to revise the lists of courses that meet each area of general education. The revised General Education Curriculum was approved for the Fall 2017 semester.

The Interim President is Cecil Lucy, who leads the administration of the university. The diverse areas that come under this structure require the dedication and support from a wide range of professional individuals to meet the needs of our unique students. The executive officers are members of the President's Executive Council (PEC), a twenty-member team that helps all operations of the university run smoothly.

Chicago State University is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees, six members appointed by the Governor, and a student elected by the general student body. The Board's primary objective is to commence service in the public interest to promote and foster the ability of the University to offer courses of instruction, conduct research and offer public services as are now provided and may be prescribed in the future by the Board and to promote and foster the general welfare of the university, students, faculty, and staff.

The academic areas come under the leadership of the Provost for Academic and Student Affairs, ably assisted by the individual deans, associate and assistant deans, and directors. The administrative structure areas come under the leadership of both an Executive Vice President for Administrative and External Affairs, and a Vice President of Planning, Research and Sponsored Programs, also assisted by various directors and associate, assistant directors.