Eastern Illinois University is a public institution that was founded in 1895. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,975, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 320 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Eastern Illinois University's ranking in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Universities (Midwest), 36. Its in-state tuition and fees are $11,144 (2013-14); out-of-state tuition and fees are $28,124 (2013-14).

Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is located in the city of Charleston, about 180 miles south of Chicago and about 140 miles northeast of St. Louis. Undergraduates can choose from many majors in the fields of arts and humanities, business and applied sciences, education and professional studies, and the sciences. The university also offers more than 25 master’s degree programs, including those in the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences and the Department of Communication Disorders & Sciences.