History, Affiliations and Rankings
The University of Illinois Springfield is a public as well as a coed university in Springfield, Illinois, USA. Established in 1969, the university was initially a Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly. On July 1, 1995, it became a part of the University of Illinois system. The university is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, a part of the American Association of State Colleges and also of Universities and the American Council on Education. The University of Illinois Springfield ranks in #278 positions in the US News & World Report - UG Business.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
The campus of the University of Illinois Springfield is spread across 740 acres six miles southeast of Springfield adjacent to Lake Springfield and Lincoln Land Community College. The campus contains three identifiable areas: Legacy Campus, SSU Permanent Construction, and the University of Illinois era. Brookens Library on campus holds a collection of nearly 800,000 books.
Accomplishments and Alumni
The athletic team, Illinois–Springfield of the university are the Prairie Stars. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Initially, it used to compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) later in the year 2010 it became a full-fledged Division II member.
Popular names like Cheri Bustos - U.S. Representative, Illinois's 17th district (M.A. Public Affairs Reporting), Mike Cernovich - alt-right social media personality and host of The Alex Jones Show on InfoWars (2001 B.A. Philosophy), Ward Churchill - former University of Colorado professor, social critic, activist (1974 B.A. Communications, 1975 M.A. Communications), Vince Demuzio - Illinois State Senator, 1975-2004 (1981 B.A. in Education and Human Services; 1996 M.A. in Education and Public Policy), Karen A. Hasara - Former mayor of Springfield, Illinois, Illinois state senator, (1972 B.A. Psychology, 1992 M.A. Legal Studies) are the notable alumni of University of Illinois Springfield.
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
Currently, The University of Illinois Springfield has 4,146 students on its campus. Students from all over the world come to this campus to pursue a high-quality education and level up their skills. The university accepts freshmen, transfer, and graduate students. The University has connections with various local companies that provide placement facilities to its students. Many local big and small industries also participate in providing the students with industrial exposure and learning in the field. Such industrial visits help students to gain experience while studying which prepares them for the jobs they will be taking after getting their degrees.
