Eastern Illinois University

Eastern is on a 320-acre campus in the small town setting of Charleston, Illinois.

Eastern Student Activities

Eastern has many clubs, organizations, and activities for students to join – including band, chorus, theater groups, a campus newspaper, a radio station and more.

Interested in Greek life? Eastern has fraternities and sororities.

Eastern has several thriving Greek Organizations. In fact, more students participate in the Greek Organizations than any other on-campus activity.

Other popular student organizations at Eastern include Registered Student Organizations, Intramural Sports, University Board and Civic Engagement & Volunteerism.

Eastern students' favorite campus events are Homecoming, Celebration: A Festival of the Arts and Family Weekend.

Eastern Housing

This table offers information on housing at Eastern.

Eastern offers housing for students. Students are required to live on campus through freshman year. First year students are guaranteed on-campus housing.

Most Eastern students live off campus. In 2022, 28% of undergrads at Eastern lived in some kind of on-campus housing and 72% of students lived off-campus or commuted to Eastern. There are 4,365 spots available in on-campus housing for all 6,903 undergraduates. In the 2021-2022 school year, 1,917 students chose to live on-campus. On the weekends, about 58% students stay on-campus. First year students are allowed to park a car on campus.

Eastern offers coed housing.

Eastern Athletics

At Eastern there are a variety of athletic options for students interested in joining a sports program.

Intercollegiate sports are the highest tier of college sports and can be very competitive. Intercollegiate teams are regulated by the NCAA, funded by the university, and compete against teams from other universities. The division of a sports team depends on the size of the university, funding, and competition level. An intercollegiate school team will be Division I, II or III, with Division I being the highest level.

Club sports are not regulated by the NCAA and are a great option for students not interested in trying out for an intercollegiate team. Club sports are usually student run but can also be funded by the university.

Intramural sports are the most casual and informal. Intramural sports are often free and require very little time commitment.

Let's take a look at the athletic options available at Eastern:

Safety at Eastern

College is like a home away from home. Whether you're walking to class or coming back from late-night studying (or partying!), it's important to feel safe on campus.

Eastern Illinois University is patroled 24 hours a day by trained security. The Eastern campus has emergency telephones or alarms for students to use anytime of day or night. The school also has student security patrols. Campus housing is secure and dorms can only be accessed with secure key cards.

Additionally, Eastern has Alert EIU and warning sirens.

Plan a Visit to Eastern

Visiting colleges is one of the best ways to get a sense of the campus and student body. If you'd like to visit Eastern, take Interstate 57 to Charleston, IL. If you need to fly, book your flight to University of Illinois Willard airport.

While you're planning, check out other schools in Illinois you may want to visit too. Click the heart at the top of each school's page to save it to your college list.

Want to visit but can't make the trip? Explore Eastern's campus without leaving home by taking a virtual campus tour

Keep Reading About Eastern

Choose one of the options below to find out more about about Eastern:

Overview

Admissions

Academics

Tuition & Aid

Visit the College Confidential forums to join the conversation about Eastern.