Prairie State College
Prairie State College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
Prairie State College Featured Rankings
About Prairie State College
According to Wikipedia, Prairie State College is a public community college in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is the only college operated by Illinois Community College District 515. History Founded in 1957 as Bloom Township Junior College, Prairie State College's first classes were held in 1958 in the basement of the First Christian Church. Originally established to offer only transfer liberal arts courses and occupational-technical courses, The college was reorganized in 1967 as a Class I junior college. With the combining of four high school districts into an enlarged territory, Bloom Township Junior College was renamed Prairie State College. In 1989, the Beecher Community High School district was added to District 515 by the Illinois Community College Board. In 1968, PSC was housed in 10 interim buildings on its campus at Halsted Street and Vollmer Road. Construction of permanent facilities began in the fall of 1972 and was completed for the 1975–76 academic year. A vocational-technical addition to the main campus building, housing classrooms and laboratories, was dedicated in August 1979. A new Library, the Christopher Art Gallery, and the Community Instructional Center opened in 1996. In 1998, the Matteson Area Center opened as a convenient off-campus location to accommodate district residents. The Health/Tech Center, home to the Dental Hygiene, Surgical Technology, and Networking programs, opened in 2000. The Fitness Complex, a unique partnership among PSC, the Chicago Heights Park District and St. James Hospital and Health Centers, opened in 2001. In May 2002, ground was broken for the Adult Training and Outreach Center and Children's Learning Center. The Adult Training and Outreach Center is one of only such buildings in the country dedicated to adult education.
Prairie State College's Online Degrees
AAS in Associate Of Applied Science
Degree Concentrations
- Introduction To Business
- Business Mathematics
- Professionalism In The Workplace
- Human Relations
- Business Communications
- Financial Accounting
- Individual Income Tax
- Business Ethics
- Business Law And It’s Legal Environment
- Principles Of Management
- Human Resources Management
- Introduction To Business
- Business Mathematics
- Professionalism In The Workplace
- Human Relations
- Business Communications
- Financial Accounting
- Individual Income Tax
- Business Ethics
- Business Law And It’s Legal Environment
- Principles Of Management
- Human Resources Management
- Required Credits: 62-63
- Completion Time: 1-2 Years
- Format: Fully online
IT AAS in Information Technology
- Required Credits: 30
- Completion Time: 1-2 years
- Format: Fully online
Prairie State College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Retention Rate | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| 51% | 27% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does Prairie State College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $4,176 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do Prairie State College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former Prairie State College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $41,542 a year, and 87% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
Prairie State College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads |
|---|---|
| 6,382 | 6,382 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is Prairie State College?
Prairie State College is located at 202 South Halsted Street, Chicago Heights, IL 60411-8226.
How Safe is Prairie State College?
No violent or property offenses were reported on Prairie State College’s campus in 2024. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.
Relative to its enrollment, Prairie State College has a violent crime rate of less than 0.01% and a property crime rate of less than 0.01%. Chicago Heights has a violent crime rate of 1.23% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 2.74%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is Prairie State College Known For?
Prairie State College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
Prairie State College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much Prairie State College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
Prairie State College ranks #1401 in the U.S. and #3538 worldwide for influence in Nursing.
nursing DegreesPrairie State College ranks #1470 in the U.S. and #5032 worldwide for influence in Medical.
medicine DegreesPrairie State College ranks #1655 in the U.S. and #6716 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesPrairie State College ranks #2429 in the U.S. and #8678 worldwide for influence in Business.
business DegreesPrairie State College ranks #2531 in the U.S. and #9970 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesPrairie State College ranks #2780 in the U.S. and #5833 worldwide for influence in Criminal Justice.
criminal-justice Degrees