Founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church, the North Park University commonly called NPU, is Chicago’s city-centered private, non-profit Christian university that is located at West Foster Avenue Chicago, Illinois in the United States.
In as much the university is much rooted in the Christian faith, it has the mandate of providing quality education and a rigorous and interdisciplinary liberal arts and sciences education in a world-class city and in a diverse faith community to everybody through quality community engagement and value-based teachings, thus, it enrolls 3,200 students from around the world and various religions and it is reported to have an average of 2.8% Muslims and 41.5% nonreligious students in its student body.
Within this unique community, it offers a value-based education to students. North Park University offers programs through more than 40 undergraduate majors, as well as graduate and continuing education in business, nonprofit management, nursing, education, music, and theology. The university incorporates a seminary and it is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and as well as many other accreditation bodies for individual programs as well, in areas of nursing, music, education, health sciences.
Ranking
- Ranked 61th in the list of regional universities Midwest in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.
- Ranked 23th in the list of Best Undergraduate Teaching by U.S News and World Report.
- Ranked 401th-500th by Times Higher Education in the list of U.S. rankings 2023.
- Ranked 743th out of 1,692 in the list of Best Liberal Colleges in the United States by Niche.
- Ranked 11th out of 24 in the list of Best School for Nursing in Illinois.
North Park University Campus
The school operates with a 30-acre main campus and three other satellite campuses namely; University Center of Lake County – Waukegan, University Center of Lake County -Grayslake and the Forest View Educational Center.
The main campus has 30 academic, residential, administrative and athletic buildings. The main campus incorporates a state-of-the-art recreation center, an expansive library of a quarter million books, and a new center for science and community life.
There is a small student-faculty ratio of 12:1 with an encouraging average class size of 17. Moreover, the student body is very diverse with no particular race being up to 50% of the student body, as well as a diverse religious background with a student body religious statistic showing:
- Evangelical covenant church: 7.3%
- Other protestant denominations: 24.8%
- Catholic: 19.6%
- Orthodox: 3.2%
- Muslim: 2.8%
- Jewish: 0.8%
- Other or no faith traditions reported: 41.5%
There are 28 students’ associations open to all students, overseen by the Student Government Association of NPU and these student associations are academic and education clubs, club sports, cultural clubs, social clubs, and the Media and Periodical Publications association. On-campus, NPU has 294 dorm rooms for student housing. There are also 162 Chicago-styled apartments available on on-campus housing. Community members served by student volunteers annually are up to 13,970. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 63 students participated in the Catalyst Semester program
Residence Facilities at North Park University
Campus housings in NPU are made up of residence halls, apartments, and houses. There are three main residence halls such as Anderson hall, Burgh hall and Ohlson house as well as other related housing such as the Park North apartment and Sawyer Court apartment. After two years in the residence halls, it is observed that many students tend to live in one of the 90-plus university-owned apartments and houses in the school's neighborhood.
More so, all freshman students with zero to 29 credits, sophomore students with 30 to 59 credits, and third-year or junior students with 60 to 89 credits are required to live in campus housings, with few exceptions.
Residence halls like the Anderson Hall have features such as two beds (XL Twin size), two desks with chairs and two closets with dressers, a hanging rod, and overhead storage.
Some of the general features of residence halls include:
- They are mainly for first and second-year students
- Most of them offer single, double or triple rooms with options for co-ed living on some floors.
- Resident Assistants are living on each floor
- Front desk staffed 24 hours a day seven days a week
- General bike storage room for students
- Vending machines
- Strategically located community kitchen
- Laundry on each floor
- Common lounge or rooms with a big-screen TV, cable, and DVD player
- Study rooms are fashioned with shared computers, printers, and study tables
There are campus amenities such as a full-service dining hall, a grab-and-go shop in Viking Café, and Einstein Bros Bagels in the Bickner Bistro, campus wireless network, satellite TV, computer lounge and the North Park’s IT department that is available to help students out on any technical issue.
There are common areas available in almost every residence halls and apartments. Prices for on-campus residence include:
| Housing | Cost |
|---|---|
| Residence hall double or triple occupancy | 5,010 USD per annum |
| Residence hall regular single occupancy | 7,510 USD per annum |
| Residence hall small single occupancy (limited) | 6,260 USD per annum |
| Apartments and bungalows, including Park North | 5,670 USD per annum |
| Sawyer Court condos | 6,030 USD per annum |
A Housing deposit of 250 USD is to be paid for immediately after admission has been offered and the tuition deposit has been paid. There are off-campus housings available around North Park University in Chicago for exempted and qualified students outside the school. Houses and apartments for rents are valued at about 900 USD to 4,000 USD per annum.
Programs offered at North Park University
There are program types such as certificate, concentration, concentration/degree, major/degree, a minor and pre-professional program in degrees of study such as bachelor's degree completion, doctoral, graduate and graduate/undergraduate offered at NPU.
More than 40 undergraduate majors and programs including pre-professional options like law, medicine, and art therapy are offered at North Park University.
The university imparts its education through its nine schools or faculties in NPU, namely; School of Business & Nonprofit Management, School of Education, Division of Health Sciences, Division of Humanities & Social Sciences, School of Music, Art & Theatre, School of Nursing, School of Professional Studies, Division of Sciences and the Theological Seminary.
NPU offers an MBA program under the School of Business and Nonprofit Management. At NPU, there are three doctoral programs, eight bachelor's degree completion programs, and four graduate/undergraduate programs
The school offers up to 59 graduate courses ranging from the bilingual endorsement, master of arts in theological studies, divinity, music, urban ministry to youth ministry certificate. It has up to 87 undergraduate programs ranging from accounting, athletic training, engineering, finance, music, Spanish to youth ministry.
The most popular majors in the school include nursing, business/economics, biology, and exercise science.
North Park University Application Process
International students who want to seek admissions at North Park University can follow the below-mentioned admission details:
Application portal: For international undergraduate and graduate applicants, the application is done through Online Application or by Common application.
Application Fee: There is no application fee for international undergraduate and graduate applicants.
Basic Admission Requirements:
- Official Transcripts
- Academic Recommendation
- Scores of Standardized Exams to study in the USA
- English Proficiency test scores
- Essay
- Copy of applicant’s passport identification page
- Valid bank statement showing a minimum of 6 months of deposits
- Financial affidavit of support
English Proficiency Requirements
International students need to submit proof of English Proficiency to be able to seek admissions at North Park University. The required minimum score for the tests are mentioned below:
| Level or Program | TOEFL(iBT) | IELTS |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor | 68 and above | 6.0 |
| Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Nonprofit Administration (MNA) and Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM) | 80 | 6.5 |
| General Master's programs | 90 | 6.5 |
| Doctoral programs | 100 | 7.0 |
Cost of Attendance
Below is the annual estimated cost of attendance for international students at North Park University.
| Expense | Amount (USD) per annum |
|---|---|
| Tuition | 31,430 USD |
| Room (shared) and board (15 meals per week) | 9,810 USD |
| Technology fee | 250 USD |
| Books | 1,000 USD |
| Personal expenses | 2,100 USD |
| CTA U-Pass | 300 USD |
| An international student services fee | 1,000 USD |
| International student health insurance fee | 1,300 USD |
| Total | 47,190 USD |
At NPU, the total cost of attendance varies between schools, and even among students at the same school. Therefore, the cost of attendance is determined by tuition and fees by school and program, housing cost, books and supplies, transportation, services fees, and other personal expenses.
For graduate and degree-completion program students, the cost of attendance also includes books and course materials, transportation, and housing.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
North Park University offers several scholarships for international students to afford their studies in the USA.
Some of the scholarship available to international undergraduate students are:
- Virginia E. Hahn Memorial Scholarship: Valued at 5,000 USD per year, this endowed scholarship is for first-year students who intend to teach history at the secondary or tertiary level.
- Art Scholarship: Valued at up to 1,000 USD annually, it is designated for visual artists and it is renewable for four years. It is available to art majors and non-majors.
- Music Scholarships: Talented music students can perform at the college level to earn a call up to audition for music scholarships. Amounts range from 1,500 USD up to 8,000 USD and renewable for up to four years.
Some of the scholarships available for international graduates are:
- Jimmie Alford Scholarship: With varying amounts, this is for graduate students pursuing a degree or certificate in nonprofit management and have demonstrated academic excellence.
- Presidential Scholarship: This scholarship provides a 30% tuition discount to students with a cumulative BSN grade point average of 3.50 or higher on a 4.00 scale, and/or a GMAT score of 660 or above or a GRE score of 316 or above.
- It is renewable throughout the student's graduate program as long as such a student maintains a GPA of 3.00 at North Park University.
- Mark Farano Memorial Scholarship: With varying amounts and no application required, this scholarship is awarded to an MBA student who demonstrates strong academic performance and leadership capability.
North Park University Alumni Network
Through the alumni relations office, the Career Development and Internships Office continues to provide resources to alumni at no cost through the lifetime of their careers. Alumni of NPU has unique access to the Brandel Library by being eligible for library cards allowing them to check out materials from the library.
North Park University organizes a program called the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD). This program creates opportunities for young alumni to stay connected with one another, provides access to services for professional advancement, and hosts social and networking events throughout each year.
Notable NPU alumni include:
- Timothy Johnson -American Physician
- Kathryn Edin -Sociologist and Professor
- Carl Hawkinson -Legislator
- James R. Thompson -Former Governor of Illinois
- Kevin Leman -American psychologist
Placements at North Park University
At NPU, the Career Development and Internships Office (CDIO) is an integral part of the North Park student experience that provides professional assessment, resume development, local and national internship opportunities, career counseling, and industry-specific job fairs.
The school ensures that senior staff members also provide coaching and career-mapping tools for graduate students and alumni as well.
The CDIO has also developed the Career Advantage program which provides more than 150 hours of professional development experiences for students. These experiences include opportunities to establish unique personal brands, gain valuable skills, and develop professional networks in their areas of study.
According to PayScale, the average salary for NPU graduates is 63,000 USD per annum.
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