North Park University’s history and heritage reach back to a Minneapolis church basement in 1891, where classes in language and business gave Swedish immigrants the skills needed to prosper in America. With an offer of land in Chicago, the school moved to the North Park neighborhood which was then just beyond the city limits. Old Main, the first building on campus, was completed in 1894. At various points in its history, North Park was an academy, a junior college, and a four-year liberal arts college. In 1997, North Park University was established alongside a theological seminary.
Today, North Park University is Chicago’s city-centered Christian university and serves undergraduate from around the world. Within a diverse, close-knit community, North Park University offers a values-based education to students through more than 40 undergraduate majors.
Through time, North Park University has grown from a humble, immigrant institution to a cosmopolitan University. Through great change and transformation, a single mission has persisted: a community where “great intellects are warmed by great hearts, and great hearts are enlightened by great intellects”.
Located in Chicago, North Park University draws on the extraordinary educational assets of a world-class city. Students benefit from a multicultural campus that will prepare them for an increasingly diverse and urban culture—plus endless opportunities for internships and career training.
