University of Illinois at Chicago vs University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

The University of Illinois Chicago is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana.

Overview Comparison
University of IllinoisUniversity of Illinois
Collegedunia Score5.4 Out of 106 Out of 10
ranking (overall)# 201 Times Higher Education 2026
# 334 QS World University 2026
# 201 Times Higher Education 2025
# 41 Times Higher Education 2026
# 70 QS World University 2026
# 22 Center for World University Rankings 2025
Subject Strength# 201 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2025
# 119 for Medicine by QS World University 2025
# 169 for Law by US News 2025
# 8 for Engineering by US News 2025
# 21 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2025
# 201 for Medicine by QS World University 2025
ProgramsUG Programs -89
PG Programs -57
Doctorate Programs -1
UG Programs -162
PG Programs -104
Doctorate Programs -4
Acceptance Rate78.5 %43.7 %
Exam ScoreGMAT-600
GRE-299
IELTS-6.5
PTE-54
SAT-1080
TOEFL-80
IELTS-6.5
SAT-1340
TOEFL-79
Cost to StudyAverage Tuition Fees   44758
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  24738
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 29000 Per Year
Average Tuition Fees   43996
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  27323.63
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 14522 Per Year
placement (average package)

Graduate Employability: 161-170 (2020).
54.8% graduates were employed: Employed (2019 class). 
Top paying degrees: MS- $88,0000.
MBA: $80,000. BSc.: $70,000


89% of graduates were employed or were working within 6 months of graduation. 5,700+ companies visited for campus recruitment. 

Average Salaries of The Degree :

  • PhD : $140,000 
  • Masters in Finance : $137,000 
  • Doctorate : $127,000 
  • MBA  : $94,000 
  • Bachelor (Other)  : $85,000 
  • Bachelor of Science : $81,000

application requirements

Applicants must have scores requirements: 66-91 (based on program). You are also required to fulfill country-specific requirements.

4 years of English and 3 to 3.5 years of Maths at high school level is required for UG admission; 300 to 400 words answer to Essay questions given by university; minimum 55% in bachelors for graduate admission

CollegeDunia Reviews7.5/10 Read 8 reviews7.9/10 Read 19 reviews
General Facts Comparison
General FactsUniversity of IllinoisUniversity of Illinois
Type of UniversityUniversity
University
Established1867
1867
Student:Faculty Ratio11:1
21:1
Male:Female49% Male, 50% Female55% Male, 45% Female
Location Facts

Located among culturally rich neighborhoods of Pilsen, Chinatown, Southloop, Little Italy, West loop, Greektown, is a 15-minute walk from downtown Chicago. It is highly accessible through public transport stops. 


UIUC is located a few hours from Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis in east-central Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana.


Library

Total ebooks: 504,341. Databases: 634. Journals:60,000 are all housed together in 5 university libraries.  The library also has a special and university archives collectiom.


UIUC Library is one of the largest public university collections with over 24 million resources. Consists of 14 million volumes in 37 unit libraries. 53,000,000 people visit the online catalog every year.


Campus Life

Chicago’s only public university offers a pop-up pantry, wellness center, a gallery, theatre, student-run radio show, NCAA competing sports teams to indulge in. IT hosts free back to school concert, free comedy show during spring, The university has over 300 student organizations offering a number of opportunities to chose from. 


Campus facilities include multipurpose State Farm Center (16,500 seats); Memorial Stadium (70,000 seats), site of Big Ten Conference football games; the Activities & Recreation Center (ARC), Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Krannert Art Museum & Kinkead Pavilion, Spurlock Museum, 4 theatres, 24 residence halls, etc.


Hostel#Housing and Food Expenses - $14400
#Housing and Food Expenses - $14600
#Food & Housing - $14522
Famous Alumni

Carol Moseley Braun (Former US Senator), Bernard Shaw (American Journalist), Bobby Rush (US representative), Justin Hartley (actor), Joanne McCarthy (baseball player), Adrian Smith (architect), Azhar Usman (Comedian), James Thompson (former governor Illinois). 


One of the largest alumni networks in the USA with 470,000+ alumni. 30 Nobel laureates, 2 Turing Award winners, 1 Fields medalist, 29 Pulitzer Prizes.

John Bardeen (Nobel laureate);

Jawed Karim and Steve Chen (Co-founders of YouTube);

Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric);

Sushanth (Indian actor)


City Life

Chicago is the 3rd most populous city, 3rd largest gross metropolitan product and 2nd largest central business district in USA. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Home to several Fortune 500 companies (such as Boeing, McDonald's, Walgreens, Kraft Heinz, etc.). Famous landmarks include Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, etc. The unemployment rate as high as 17.5% (April’ 2020).


Illinois is located at the industrial belt and fertile agriculture land of USA; its economy is supported by manufacturing, agriculture, mining, transportation, and tourism sector; unemployment rate was 4.2% in March 2020; major attractions are Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, and Field Museum of National History


Weather