Illinois State University

Illinois State University is a public university in Normal, Illinois, founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, the first public university in the state. It opened as a teacher-training school and later became a comprehensive university while keeping educator preparation as a core mission. The main campus covers about 1,100 acres in the Bloomington-Normal twin cities of central Illinois.

Academic work is organized through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Business, Applied Science and Technology, Fine Arts, and the Mennonite College of Nursing. Graduate study is strongest in education, communication sciences and disorders, nursing, theatre, and the applied sciences. Clinical sites in local schools and hospitals, campus laboratories, and Milner Library support professional master's degrees and a smaller set of doctorates.

Enrollment is about 20,000 students, including roughly 2,500 graduate students. Most undergraduates are Illinois residents, and international students form a small share of the student body. Instructional faculty number about 1,200. Alumni are concentrated in teaching and school leadership; actor John Malkovich and other Illinois State theatre graduates who later formed Steppenwolf Theatre Company are among the best-known.

Graduate study follows a semester calendar and is dominated by master's degrees with thesis, project, or clinical-hour requirements, plus doctorates in selected education and psychology fields. Graduate assistantships are the usual form of support. Normal is a midsize college town paired with Bloomington; Chicago is about two hours north by car or train.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Illinois State University lists 1 master's program, in education.