About AHS

How do you define health?

If you eat well, exercise regularly and maintain a recommended weight, are you healthy? If your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar are within normal limits, are you healthy?

Now, what if you tear a ligament? Develop arthritis? Begin to lose your hearing? What if you develop adult-onset asthma? Get a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis? Suffer a paralyzing injury? Are you still healthy?

We’re here to demonstrate that there’s no reason you can’t be.

At the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, we define health as more than the absence of illness, disease or disability. We believe people can enjoy health participation in life, whatever their circumstances. And we’re working every day to prove just that.

AHS is multidisciplinary community of health science educators, researchers, scholars and advocates who contribute to the health and well-being of people, particularly those living in urban environments.

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AHS is the

4th

largest college at UIC with

2,053

students

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120 Full-time faculty (FTE)

We have

1,115

undergraduate students and

938

graduate and professional students

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View the 2023 AHS Annual Report

Mission

The College of Applied Health Sciences is a socially conscious, research-intensive academic community whose mission is to broaden understanding of applied health sciences and disability. We strive to identify and meet the health needs of our society and pursue our mission by:

Educating health professionals and scholars who excel in a complex, multicultural world;
Discovering and translating new knowledge that transforms health care practice, social systems and related technologies for the benefit of individuals, families and communities;
Collaborating with our urban community partners in mutually beneficial ways;
Providing health services of the highest quality with emphasis on eliminating health disparities affecting individuals and communities; and
Advocating for public policies, perceptions, and practices that lead to the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in society.

A young women wearing a grey jacket stands in front of a group of people

Celebrating diversity

We are committed to social justice, equity and anti-racism

Our initiatives

Over 13,000 alumni—including UIC Alumni Association’s 2023 Humanitarian Award recipient, Marie Jarrell ’87 BS PT

Our alumni

Over 4,300

clients and patients served via our community and clinical services during FY23

Our services

17M total sponsored program expenditures in FY23 Our research

$1,411,790

total donations in FY22

Guiding values

In addition to UIC’s core values of excellence, opportunity, discovery, resilience, transformation, service, courage and honesty, we are guided by our unique core values of passion, curiosity, innovation, flexibility, commitment, inclusion and diversity.

Passion about our research, teaching and helping those we serve
Curiosity about ideas that may lead to new discoveries
Innovation in turning discoveries into practical applications
Flexibility in how we achieve our aspirations
Commitment to serving our students and communities
Inclusion through accessible programs and environments
Diversity in reaching out to individuals from diverse backgrounds

Leadership

The College of Applied Health Sciences is governed in its internal administration by its faculty. The faculty establishes the goals and academic policies of the college. The college Executive Committee and other councils and committees act on behalf of the faculty.

The dean is the highest ranking administrative officer in the college and the department heads are responsible for the resources allocated or assigned to their administrative department.