Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation of international stature. Its distinguished faculty, outstanding resources, breadth of academic programs and research disciplines, and talented and diverse student body constitute an educational community ideally suited for teaching and research. Located in east central Illinois in the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign (population 110,000), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the state's flagship public university.

The University has a fundamental commitment to undergraduate education. More than 26,000 undergraduate students are enrolled in nine undergraduate divisions, which together offer some 4,000 courses in more than 150 fields of study.

The divisions are: the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; College of Applied Life Studies; College of Communications; College of Commerce and Business Administration; College of Education; College of Engineering; College of Fine and Applied Arts; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Aviation.

Undergraduate admission is highly selective. In a recent freshman class, the average student was in the top 10 percent of his or her high school graduating class and scored in the top 10 percent of those taking the national college entrance examination.

Approximately 9,000 graduate and professional students are enrolled in more than 100 disciplines. Many of these programs rank in the top 10 in the country, making Illinois among the nation's top 20 universities that grant doctoral degrees, according to the National Research Council.