North Central College At-A-Glance

When North Central College’s doors opened in 1861, they opened wider than at most institutions during that time. Women were admitted, as well as men, though it was unusual for women to attend college, much less for college to be coeducational. Our first president, A.A. Smith, talked about moral courage, and as an ardent abolitionist, he led by example.

Today, North Central College is a diverse community of learners who are curious, engaged and purpose driven. They want to build a better tomorrow, and they are eager to actively shape that future for themselves, their communities, and the world. At North Central, students gain knowledge, form relationships, and develop skills that make them stand out after graduation — and for a lifetime.

With a population of a nearly 150,000, Naperville, Ill. is ranked as the “Best City to Live in America” (Niche 2024) and is among the “Safest College Towns” (SafeWise 2019). Naperville anchors the Illinois Research and Development corridor along I-88, from Argonne National Laboratory on the east to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory on the west. The campus is just 28 miles from Chicago and a 30-minute ride on the Metra train from downtown Chicago and the economic, social and cultural opportunities available in the nation’s third-largest metropolitan area. A daily Amtrak train stops in Naperville. O’Hare International Airport is 27 miles from campus; Midway Airport 30 miles.

North Central College offers students unique opportunities to practice intellectual and personal leadership and create experiences that will help define their futures:

• North Central College Honors Program
• Shimer Great Books School
• Undergraduate student research
• Richter Grants
• Rall Symposium for Student Research
• Leadership, Ethics and Values program
• Education abroad
• Chicago term
• May term
• WONC-FM 89.1: Named the Best College Radio Station in its market and awarded the Abraham & Brost Award for Best Overall Radio Station in the nation in 2015.
• Coffee Lab » Enactus: Students work with coffee farmers abroad to form self-sustainable business practices through a direct trade relationship.
• Student publications: The Kindling, The Chronicle, 30 N, Viewfinder, NCCLinked.com
• Model United Nations: North Central College is consistently one of the top five delegations competing in the Model United Nations Midwestern Conference.
• Forensics: Nationally recognized program
• Mock Trial

North Central College has exchange partnerships with universities in Australia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan. Students may also select one of North Central College’s direct enrollment programs in Australia, Botswana, Chile, China, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Malta, New Zealand, Scotland or Spain. Students may participate in an education abroad program for a semester and/or an academic year. In addition, there are three semester group programs abroad in China/Japan, Costa Rica and England. Twenty-five of the education abroad programs allow students to conduct research, participate in an internship, volunteer or complete a practicum in their degree field.

The College also offers Cardinal Destination Courses Abroad (CDCA) which include a short-term international travel component in May Term in countries such as China, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Morocco and Spain.

North Central offers several ensembles for music students and students of all majors, including:

• Concert Choir
• Chamber Singers
• Women’s Chorale
• Cardinal Chorus
• Opera Workshop
• Naperville Chorus
• Concert Winds
• Symphony Band
• Percussion Ensemble
• Flute Choir
• Clarinet Choir
• Brass Quintet
• Woodwind Quintet
• Chamber String Ensemble
• Big Band
• Vocal Jazz Ensemble
• Jazz Combos
• Cardinal Athletic Band

Our state-of-the-art performance venues include:

• 617-seat Wentz Concert Hall
• 150-seat Madden Theatre
• 239-seat theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall
• 1,057-seat Pfeiffer Hall
• 150-seat Koten Chapel

Students may choose from more than 100 active clubs, special interest organizations, student government boards and preprofessional groups.

They may focus on:

• Academics
• Community service and social action
• Faith and spiritual life
• Honor societies
• Intercultural
• Leadership
• Media and publications
• Music, art and activities
• Sports and recreation

Newly renovated in 2022, Oesterle Library and Learning Commons offers students and faculty ready access to more than 40 million items from 85 college and university libraries in Illinois in addition to more than 250,000 items in our collections, and electronic access to a wide-ranging array of full-text documents.

From the first graduating class in 1866 to today, North Central College’s alumni have taken their commitment to reform and improve the world far beyond Naperville. Among the notable accomplishments of our alumni: discovering a synthetic form of the antibiotic chloromycetin, performing on Broadway, serving as the United States Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas, gaining recognition twice as the Illinois Teacher of the Year, earning the title of COO, CEO and CFO of major corporations, becoming one of the first minority owners of a professional sports team, and winning an Olympic Gold medal.

Ranked among the top “Grateful Grad Colleges” by Forbes, North Central College has more than 18,000 alumni living in and around the Chicagoland area, more than 35,000 worldwide and has an alumni donor participation rate of 18 percent—one of the highest in the region. 

At North Central College, sustainability is the collective effort of students, faculty, staff and visitors working toward the development of a socially just, environmentally responsible and economically functional campus community. Successful projects include solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, solar thermal panels, energy storage systems, geothermal heat pumps, the Community Garden, food scrap composting, the Cardinal Red Bike Program, electric vehicle charging stations, LED lighting, recycling initiatives and much more. North Central College is one of the first colleges to achieve Gold Status through the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact, which acknowledges North Central as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In January 2020, North Central was upgraded to a Level II-accredited arboretum for implementing professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. 

North Central College facilities are available to external groups, including state-of-the-art classrooms, corporate reception spaces, athletic facilities, performance and lecture venues, wedding ceremony spaces, and air-conditioned residence halls. A variety of summer camps are offered by the College, including athletic, educational and fine arts programs. North Central also offers a unique housing program for summer interns, featuring apartment-style suites.