As an engaged urban university, UIC has forged partnerships with the Chicago community in many significant ways. UIC partnerships include areas as varied as health, education, social services, business and community development.

Education is an important facet of UIC's partnership program. The Center for Literacy helps children excel in school by working with parents to improve their communications, parenting, and teaching skills. Eighty schools benefit from their partnership with Small Schools Workshop by receiving training, research, and technical assistance.

Health services are a natural area for partnerships for UIC. The UIC/Miles Square Family Health center offers an array of health services to the community. The School of Public Health engages in partnership with the community in areas such as nutrition, maternal and child health, substance abuse, geriatrics, and violence prevention. More concretely, the Community-Based Asthma Prevention Project assists parents of asthmatic children by providing intensive training concerning asthma risk factors and management.

Also, UIC has reached out to community groups, government, and business to form partnerships. A major component of the Great Cities Institute is the UIC Neighborhood Initiative. This initiative is a partnership between UIC and community organizations in the neighborhoods adjacent to the university to deal with housing, economic development, education, health, and leadership development. The City Design Center and the Institute for Entrepreneurial assists community organizations, nonprofit developers, and government leaders with a variety of issues.

UIC students also play an integral role in UIC's partnerships. The Honors College Homework Hotline provides tutoring for over 1,000 Chicago school children each month. Alternative Spring Break provides UIC students the opportunity to become actively involved in helping community groups such as Habitat for Humanity. UIC's internship program not only helps the students gain valuable experience, but also links UIC's academic programs with the community.