Loyola University Chicago (often referred to as Loyola or LUC) is a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Jesuits, today Loyola is one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States. Loyola's professional schools have educated generations of local business and civic leaders, and distinguished programs in medicine, nursing, and health sciences are anchored by the nationally recognized Loyola University Medical Center.
Comprising eleven colleges and schools, Loyola offers over 80 undergraduate and 140 graduate/professional programs and enrolls approximately 16,000 students. Loyola has six campuses across the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as a campus in Rome and guest programs in Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City. The flagship Lake Shore Campus is on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods of Chicago, eight miles north of the Loop.
Loyola's athletic teams, nicknamed the Ramblers, compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. Loyola won the 1963 NCAA men's basketball championship, and remains the only school from Illinois to do so. The Ramblers are also two-time (2014, 2015) NCAA champions in men's volleyball.
Among the more than 150,000 Loyola alumni, there are executives of major Chicago-based corporations such as McDonald's and Baxter International, as well as dozens of local and national political leaders including the current Illinois Attorney General and Speaker of the House. Loyola alumni have won Emmy, Grammy, Peabody, and Pulitzer awards, as well as Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships.
