The Early Outreach Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago was established in 1979 to serve as the pre-college program implementation unit for the University's Urban Health Program. The first Early Outreach Program, Saturday College, was implemented in January 1980. It has been the model from which all other programs have been developed. Early Outreach operates one of the most comprehensive Saturday College Programs in the country. Saturday College has been recognized as a successful or exemplary program by the U.S. Department of Education, the American Association for Higher Education, and the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 1998, it received President Clinton's High Hopes for College for America's Youth Award for the Hispanic Math/Science Education Initiative (HMSEI). In 1999, Early Outreach was listed as a model program on the United States Department of Education's website and the Director was invited to a Congressional Hearing to provide testimony on the need to continue funding programs like the Early Outreach Program.

The goal of Early Outreach is to identify talented minority and underrepresented students early in their academic careers and design, implement, and coordinate programs that groom students for college and professional careers. Each year, Early Outreach coordinates academic enrichment programs for approximately 800-1,300 students in grades three through twelve (depending on the funding). we currently have partnerships with eighteen elementary schools, four high schools, one community college, and the Golden Apple Foundation. We conduct in-house programs at five elementary schools, all students except those participants of HMSEI (including those from the five in-house programs) attend programs that convene on UIC's campus, either daily or weekly depending on the program. HMSEI conducts the vast majority of its activities at Malcolm X College. There are currently three occasions during the year when students and their parents from our various programs meet jointly.

Early Outreach coordinates fifteen school-year and six summer educational enrichment programs Saturday College Program, College Support Program, Parent Network, High School (Senior)/College Transition Program, Borg Warner Scholarship, Hispanic Math/Science Education Initiative, High School Fair, Science Connection (Sci-Con), UIC/CPS Prep Program, 4-H Club, Healy Life Skills Training Program, Educational Advisory Board, Educational Enrichment Program, Access Built through Leadership and Academics The ABLA Community Scholars Program, Mayor Daley's Summer Jobs, Summer Preceptorships, UIC/CPS Summer Prep Program, the Health Science Enrichment Program (HSEP).