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The main NIU campus is located in DeKalb, Illinois, 60 miles west of Chicago. NIU enrolls more than 19,000 students, including a graduate body of about 5,000, and instruction is offered in DeKalb and three other sites – Hoffman Estates, Rockford and Naperville, to serve metropolitan Chicago students. NIU is nestled in a vibrant economic region that offers exceptional research opportunities for scholars in local government, and works closely with the University’s Center for Governmental Studies. The department is a founding unit within a School of Public and Global Affairs, along with the departments of Political Science and Economics, and the Center for NGO Leadership & Development (NGOLD); there is great opportunity for interdisciplinary work with school colleagues.

The NASPAA accredited MPA program ranks 6th nationally in local government management and ranks 14th in budgeting and finance. The department fields about 50 full time graduate internships in local government and non-profit organizations throughout metropolitan Chicago, and a rapidly growing number of part-time midcareer students. Typically 95% of MPA students are professionally employed within six months of graduation, and one-third of all Illinois city managers are NIU MPA graduates. The MPA program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013-14 and boasts a network of over 1,200 alumni.