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DePaul University
USINFO | 2014-01-02 13:47
DePaul University is a private institution that was founded in 1898. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 16,498, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 36 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. DePaul University's ranking in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 121. Its tuition and fees are $33,990 (2013-14).
DePaul University has six campuses in and around Chicago, though its two main locations, the Loop and Lincoln Park campuses, are located downtown. Individual academic colleges, such as the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Driehaus College of Business, are located exclusively on one campus. DePaul is also home to the School for New Learning, which caters to adult students.
University-wide, there are more than 300 student organizations to check out, and students are allowed to form their own clubs, too. More than 5 percent of students join fraternities and sororities. The school’s sports teams, the Blue Demons, compete in the NCAA Division I Big East Conference. The university operates on quarters, not semesters, and each year, students gather for events such as FEST, an outdoor concert and festival in the spring, and Homecoming.
University housing is offered to all DePaul students, though freshmen and sophomores are only permitted to live in dormitories. Juniors and seniors have a selection of university-owned lofts, townhouses and apartments. There is also a multi-college community residence hall for students of any age, known as University Center, where students from DePaul University live alongside peers from Roosevelt University, Robert Morris University and Columbia College.
Notable alumni of DePaul University include actor John C. Reilly, star of films including "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and "Step Brothers," and Samuel Magad, former concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
School mission and unique qualities (as provided by the school):
DePaul University is the nation's largest Catholic university, with about 25,000 students and about 300 programs of study.
Its partnerships throughout Chicago enable DePaul to provide students with an engaging, multicultural and experience-based education, preparing them to succeed in the global community. Classes are small and taught by knowledgeable faculty members who take full advantage of the city's corporate, cultural and community resources. DePaul is nationally recognized for the strength of its service-learning curriculum and for the academic rigor and prominence of its programs. More than 98 percent of classes are taught by faculty members, not teaching assistants, while 88 percent of classes have 40 or fewer students. All full-time faculty members teach, and those who teach graduate students also teach undergraduates. Many faculty members are nationally recognized in their field, yet they are accessible and approachable, taking an active interest in their students aspirations. Theory and experience are blended throughout the curriculum.
Undergraduates apply classroom concepts through service-learning courses, research projects, internships, cooperative education and work-study programs. The Steans Center, one of a handful of endowed service-learning programs in the nation, coordinates courses that teach students while simultaneously helping more than 400 organizations throughout the metropolitan area.
DePaul's service-learning program is consistently ranked among the top 25 nationally. The service-learning program is a key element of DePaul's mission, which is to provide a high quality, values-based education to a wide range of students, with particular attention to first-generation students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The student body is diverse; 36 percent of all undergraduates are of color; about 31 percent of freshmen are first-generation students from families where neither parent holds a college degree.
DePaul maintains high standards for admission; 23 percent of incoming freshmen graduated in the top 10 percent of their class. About 36 percent of all freshmen are from outside Illinois. International students represent about 5 percent of the student body and come from about 70 nations. This wide range of backgrounds and perspectives enables students to learn from each other through DePaul's discussion- and project-oriented approach. DePaul works to prepare its students to be ethically and socially engaged leaders in their chosen fields. DePaul is one of 62 universities nationwide, and the only one in Illinois, to qualify for the Community Engagement citation given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
It ranks 46th on Sierra magazine's list of the 100 greenest colleges. Its faculty and staff forge global and local educational partnerships impacting key ethical and social justice issues. In 2012, DePaul established the Alliance for Health Sciences with Rosalind Franklin University of Science and Medicine and is creating 3+ programs leading to graduate degrees in medicine, pharmacology and more. The alliance also provides internships, student research opportunities and academic enrichment to support DePaul's rapid program and enrollment growth in health sciences. DePaul meshes seamlessly with Chicago's commercial and artistic communities, offering students unparalleled access to internships and learning opportunities with many of the nation's top corporations and organizations as well as a rich array of cultural events and institutions. An example is DePaul's recent partnership with Cinespace Chicago to provide students with film and television production experience in the midst of the city's premier movie studio. Students tap such connections for internships, mentors, class projects, professional contacts and more. Of DePaul's 155,000 living alumni, more than 97,000 reside in the metropolitan area, providing students with a network locally and around the world.
General Information
School type private, coed college
Year founded 1898
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Academic calendar quarter
Setting urban
2012 Endowment $349,235,000
Applying
When applying to DePaul University, it's important to note the application deadline is February 1, and the early action deadline is November 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due February 1. The application fee at DePaul University is $40. It is selective, with an acceptance rate of 62.3 percent.
| Selectivity | selective |
| Fall 2012 acceptance rate | 62.3% |
| Application deadline | February 1 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | Febru |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at DePaul University is 16:1, and the school has 40.7 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at DePaul University include: Business/Commerce, General; Speech Communication and Rhetoric; Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies; Social Sciences, General; and Psychology, General. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 85.8 percent.
Class sizes
| Student-faculty ratio | 16:1 |
| 4-year graduation rate | 51% |
Five most popular majors for 2012 graduates
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Student Life
DePaul University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 16,498, with a gender distribution of 46.3 percent male students and 53.7 percent female students. At this school, 17 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 83 percent of students live off campus. DePaul University is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
| Total enrollment | 24,966 |
Student gender distribution
Undergraduate men who are members of a fraternity
Undergraduate women who are members of a sorority
| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA I |
Campus Info & Services
DePaul University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. DePaul University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at DePaul University, 2 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at DePaul University
| Students who have cars on campus | 2% |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
Paying for School
At DePaul University, 69.6 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $12,663.
| Tuition and fees | $33,990 (2013-14) |
| Room and board | $12,103 (2013-14) |
