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Summary
DePaul University is a private institution that was founded in 1898. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 16,052, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 36 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. DePaul University's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 132. Its tuition and fees are $30,618 (2011-12).
DePaul University has six campuses in and around Chicago, though its two main locations, the Loop and Lincoln Park campuses, are located downtown. Individual academic colleges, such as the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the College of Commerce, are located exclusively on one campus. DePaul is also home to the School for New Learning, which caters to adult students. University-wide, there are more than 300 student organizations to check out, and students are allowed to form their own clubs, too. More than 5 percent of students join fraternities and sororities. The school’s sports teams, the Blue Demons, compete in the NCAA Division I Big East Conference. The university operates on quarters, not semesters, and each year, students gather for events such as FEST, an outdoor concert and festival in the spring, and Homecoming.
University housing is offered to all DePaul students, though freshmen and sophomores are only permitted to live in dormitories. Juniors and seniors have a selection of university-owned lofts, townhouses, and apartments. There is also a multi-college community residence hall for students of any age, known as University Center, where students from DePaul University live alongside peers from Roosevelt University, Robert Morris University, and Columbia College. Notable alumni of DePaul University include actor John C. Reilly, star of films including Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Step Brothers, and Samuel Magad, former concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
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DePaul University is nationally recognized for its innovative, academically rigorous programs that combine applied learning with current theories to prepare students for their careers and their lives. Its pragmatic approach, which complements its partnerships with hundreds of Chicago organizations, draws accolades from guidebooks and employers. The only one of the nation's ten largest private universities to make teaching its primary focus, DePaul provides a highly interactive learning environment through expert instruction and small class sizes. More than 98 percent of classes are taught by faculty members, not teaching assistants, while 86 percent of classes have 40 or fewer students. All full-time faculty members teach and those who teach graduate students also teach undergraduates. Many of the faculty members are nationally recognized in their field, yet they are accessible and approachable, taking an active interest in their student's aspirations. Theory and experience are blended throughout the curriculum. Undergraduates master the application of classroom concepts through service-learning courses, research projects, internships, cooperative education and work-study programs. The Steans Center, one of a handful of endowed service-learning programs in the nation, coordinates courses that teach students while simultaneously helping more than 250 organizations throughout the metropolitan area. DePaul's service-learning program is consistently ranked among the top 25 nationally. The service learning program is a key element of DePaul's mission, which is to provide a high quality, values-based education to a wide range of students, with particular attention to first-generation students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The student body is diverse; about one third of all undergraduates are of color, including 36 percent of new freshmen, and about 35 percent are first-generation students from families where neither parent holds a college degree. DePaul maintains high standards for admission; 22 percent of incoming freshmen graduated in the top 10 percent of their class. About 30 percent of all freshmen are from outside Illinois. International students represent about 3 percent of the student body and come from more than 100 nations. This wide range of backgrounds and perspectives enables students to learn from each other through DePaul's discussion- and project-oriented approach. As the nation's largest Catholic university, DePaul works to prepare its students to be ethically and socially engaged leaders in their chosen fields. DePaul is one of 62 universities nationwide, and the only one in Illinois, to qualify for the new Community Engagement citation given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Its faculty and staff forge global and local educational partnerships impacting key ethical and social justice issues. It meshes seamlessly with Chicago's commercial and artistic communities, offering its students unparalleled access to internships and learning opportunities with many of the nation's top corporations and organizations as well as a rich array of cultural events and institutions. About one-third of DePaul's full-time faculty members have consulted with corporations, agencies or organizations and more than half were involved in community service in the past year, staying current with industry practices. Students tap these connections for internships, mentors, class projects, professional contacts and more. Of DePaul's 140,000 living alumni, more than 90,000 reside in the metropolitan area, providing students with a network locally and around the world. |
General Information
| School type | private, coed college |
| Year founded | 1898 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Academic calendar | quarter |
| Setting | urban |
| 2010 Endowment | $284,017,000 |
Applying
When applying to DePaul University, it's important to note the application deadline is February 1, and the early action deadline is November 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due February 1. The application fee at DePaul University is $40. It is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 68.8 percent and an early acceptance rate of 85.2 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | more selective |
| Fall 2010 acceptance rate | 69% |
| Application deadline | February 1 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | February 1 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at DePaul University is 17:1, and the school has 38.5 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at DePaul University include: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs; Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities; Social Sciences; and Psychology. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 86.0 percent.
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| Student-faculty ratio | 17:1 | ||||||||||
| 4-year graduation rate | 48% - Medium | ||||||||||
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Student Life
DePaul University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 16,052, with a gender distribution of 45.1 percent male students and 54.9 percent female students. 16.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 84.0 percent of students live off campus. DePaul University is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
See what students are saying about life at DePaul University.
| Total enrollment | 25,145 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA I |
Campus Info & Services
DePaul University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. DePaul University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at DePaul University, 2 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at DePaul University.
| Students who have cars on campus | 2% - Low |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At DePaul University, 67.4 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $14,448.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| Tuition and fees | $30,618 (2011-12) |
| Room and board | $11,335 (2011-12) - High |
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* Overview details based on 2010 data
