DePaul University

College Highlight

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Few universities have come so far, so fast. DePaul gets the nod over Loyola as the top Roman Catholic university in Chicago. Its Lincoln Park setting is like a Midwestern version of New York's Greenwich Village or Upper West Side. About one-third of all undergraduate students are Catholic. Especially strong in business, film, and the performing arts.


There is no disputing that DePaul is the largest Roman Catholic university in the nation. DePaul inaugurated its first lay president in 2017, and students claim the university's diversity and politically liberal leanings set it apart from rival institutions. Based in the heart of the city, DePaul is a feeder to Chicago's business community. A spate of campus construction has transformed it from the "little school under the tracks" to Chicago's version of NYU.

DePaul, which was founded by Vincentian fathers in 1898 and is named after the 17th-century French priest Vincent de Paul, has two residential campuses. The Lincoln Park campus, with its state-of-the-art library and student center, is home to the colleges of liberal arts and sciences, education, and science and health; the theatre and music schools; and residence halls and recreational facilities. Lincoln Park itself is a fashionable Chicago neighborhood with century-old brownstone homes, theaters, cafes, parks, and shops. The Loop (or "vertical") campus is 20 minutes away by elevated train in downtown Chicago and houses the colleges of business, communication, computing and digital media, and law, as well as the School for New Learning. The DePaul Center, a $70 million teaching, learning, and research complex, is the cornerstone of this campus.

All freshmen take a course called Discover Chicago or its alternative, Explore Chicago. "This class is one of the best things about DePaul. It's really fun and valuable," says a senior. Other common core courses include composition and quantitative reasoning for freshmen, a sophomore seminar on multiculturalism in the United States, and a junior-year program in experiential learning that requires an internship, research, study abroad, or service-learning experience. In their senior year, students create a final project.
 
DePaul's name is closely associated with Midwestern business and law, and undergraduates can find internships with local legal and commercial institutions. The School of Accountancy and MIS is reported to be the most challenging department in the Driehaus College of Business. Combined, six-year bachelor's/law degree options are available in several fields, ranging from geography and Islamic world studies to art, media, and design. 
 DePaul is a member of the Big East Conference, and the Blue Demons compete in Division I in 15 sports. Men's basketball is the headline story, beginning with the Midnight Madness of each fall's first practice in October. The game against Notre Dame always draws a capacity crowd, though Loyola is DePaul's oldest rival. Men's track and field and women's basketball, tennis, soccer, and softball have won Big East championships recently. Intramurals and club sports are big draws, and the Campus Recreation department offers a 123,000-square-foot fitness and recreation facility, which includes a four-court gymnasium, a pool, a 200-meter track, and more than 100 pieces of cardio and selectorized equipment.

DePaul's student body has become more diverse while increasing in size, an admirable achievement. The administration credits the school's "increased academic reputation" for growth, but students say DePaul's popularity is due as much to the special bonds they feel with fellow Blue Demons. "DePaul University provides students a unique atmosphere in which to learn and grow," says a sophomore. "The campus and its students are friendly, open, and always inviting."