Public universities differ from private colleges in a number of ways. Public universities are state-funded. This means that the school cannot discriminate when selecting students, whereas a private institution may admit only men or only women; religious colleges may admit only those of a particular faith. Students who attend a state-funded university open themselves to a more diverse learning atmosphere. In addition, because of their state funding, public universities typically have lower tuition costs, though this is not always true. Public universities also tend to offer a more competitive learning environment than their private counterparts, largely because of the more diverse student body.
Chicago State University (CSU) originated as a teacher training school. Located in a railroad car, the teaching school opened its doors on Sept. 2, 1867. Today, CSU is a fully accredited public university on South King Street, 12 miles from the Chicago Loop. The 2009 enrollment at CSU was listed at nearly 7,200. CSU is made up of five schools of study: Health Sciences, Arts and Science, Business, Education and Pharmacy. A total of 61 degrees are available from CSU -- 36 undergraduate and 25 graduate degrees. Online degrees are also available. Baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field make up the athletic options for men; female athletes have the option of all of those sports plus volleyball. CSU also has a TV station and a radio station for students interested in telecommunications.
Northeastern Illinois University is on North St. Louis Avenue, 10 miles from downtown. Northeastern Illinois offers more than 70 undergraduate degrees in the arts, science, education and business, and a student body of 12,000, as of 2010. Northeastern Illinois also has non-traditional degree programs made up of the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (BAIS) Program and the University Without Walls Program (UWW). Though the BAIS program is credit-based, the UWW program is competency-based. Transfer credits are accepted for these programs.
The University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) is on South Morgan Street in the heart of Chicago. The 25,000-student campus is extremely diverse, with more than 65 percent of its students speaking English as a second language. The 15 colleges on the UIC campus offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in areas of study ranging from architecture to medicine. UIC has the largest medical school in the country; one in six Illinois doctors studied there, as of 2010. Athletics also play a large role in campus life. Men's sports include baseball, basketball and soccer, and women's sports include basketball, softball and volleyball.