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Life in Chicago

The home of the Italian beef, deep-dish pizza, and the Vienna Beef hot dog (hold the ketchup!) is also the city that gave us the skyscraper, open-heart surgery, and reverse-flowing river technology. There's no place else like Chicago, and we're proud to call the Windy City our home.

As a student in Chicago, you'll have access to a thriving metropolis with a rich cultural history. One of the largest cities in the world, Chicago is a fantastic place for entertainment and culture of all kinds, from sporting events to art museums and everything in between.

Thriving Tech Ecosystem

Chicago is a great global city (just ask Google, Grubhub, Boeing, Orbitz, or any of the thousands of other companies with headquarters here). What does that mean for Illinois Tech students? Access to jobs in a diverse range of industries including a fast-growing tech sector. Illinois Tech is a pipeline for talent in Chicago, a city where an Illinois Tech degree is recognized and rewarded.

Culture and Activities

Whether you're into art, sports, music, food, improv, shopping, outdoor spaces, museums, architecture, or all of the above and then some, Chicago is a go-anywhere, do-anything city that welcomes you to define your own experience. One thing is for certain: you will never be bored.

Community

"Midwestern nice" sums up the Chicago vibe. We're a big city where people look out for one another. And we're diverse—77 neighborhoods make up Chicago. Surrounding Mies Campus you'll find the funky Bridgeport neighborhood, historic Bronzeville, and the lively Chinatown. Chicago is a town with more languages than you can count—and a place where the smile unites us.

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Chicago Tech Connections

Illinois Tech is home to the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, which offers maker spaces, mentorship programs, events, and other programs that instill an entrepreneurial spirit in all Illinois Tech students and help students transform their ideas into viable businesses. The Kaplan Institute also connects students with the Chicago tech sector, including startup entrepreneurs and other leaders who provide students with mentorship.

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Divvy For Everyone

Explore the City by Bike

Chicago's Divvy bike-sharing program offers the city's residents an affordable, accessible, and fun transportation option. With Divvy for Everyone (D4E), qualifying students can take part with a $5 annual membership.

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Sweet Home Chicago

Reasons Why the Second City Is the Best City

#1

Best Big City

—Condé Nast Traveler (Readers' Choice Awards)

77

Neighborhoods

Top 10

Cities for Technology Careers

—CIO Magazine

“Coming from a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Chicago feels like a world of endless possibilities and opportunities. Through Illinois Tech I've gotten to visit some of the largest national laboratories, such as Argonne and Fermilab, and have reached out to other companies throughout the city.”

—Katja Berthold (Mechanical Engineering 4th Year), Honolulu

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“Living in Chicago has been a big part of the success in my learning….Being in Chicago made internship and professional opportunities more accessible. There was no need for me to relocate for a job over the summer. Having hundreds of positions just a short train ride from campus allowed me to remain part of the Illinois Tech community as I gained experience at a world-class company.”

—Miles Thompson, (BA ’20), Holland, Michigan

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“I have lived here my whole life, and of the many countries (and their big cities) I have visited, this city remains my favorite one. If you leave the campus and explore the whole city (not just downtown and the North Side), you get exposed to so many different people and cultures, all wrapped up with a unique Chicago flair that you just can’t get anywhere else.”

—Alexandra Montgomery (Psychology ’20), Chicago

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“I grew up in a small Milwaukee suburb, and at first I had some anxieties about living in such a big city. These anxieties immediately went away when I visited campus. It’s really the best of both worlds: you get the quiet, unhurried, secluded-feeling life on campus, but you’re not 15 minutes from downtown Chicago.”

—Alexandra (Lexi) Detweiler (Physics/Astrophysics, M.S. Health Physics ’21), Sussex, Wisconsin

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