RESOURCES

During your time in this fellowship, you will be rotating at one non-UI Hospital (UIH) location—the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (JBVA). Rotations at the JBVA will be done concurrently with UIH rotations, and weekly clinics will be held at both locations. 

You will also be working with the Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME | 312-996-2933) for various administrative purposes. The Program Coordinator will help facilitate communication between you and the GME.

myUIC

UIC Directory

New Innovations

Endocrine Society

University Overview
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is the largest university in the Chicagoland area and the only public university in the city. It is part of the University of Illinois system (including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/UIUC and the University of Illinois at Springfield/UIS). UIC operates the largest medical school in the United States and consistently ranks in the top 50 national institutions for research expenditures. It was also ranked as the 18th best in the world among universities less than 50 years old in 2015.

UIC prides itself on promoting and cultivating a diverse demographic of students and staff, with a particular emphasis on underserved youth in Chicago and the Chicagoland area. There are strong initiatives for engagement between the university members and their surrounding communities, especially in the fields of Urban Policy & Planning, Public Health, and Social Work. These ideologies expand to the demographic of patients served at the UI Hospital, who interact with UIC medical students, residents, fellows, physicians, and faculty on a daily basis.

Navigating the Campus
Interactive Campus Map

Parking
Parking queries should be directed to:

West Customer Service Office (MC 579)
Student Center West (SCW)
828 South Wolcott Ave., Room B5A
Chicago, IL 60612
Phone: (312) 413-5850
Fax: (312) 413-5812

Parking Website

Office hours are:
Monday – Friday: 8AM – 5PM
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Food
The following food options are available on the first floor of Student Center West (SCW)—the building located directly across the street on Wolcott:

Café Descartes (located right inside the Wolcott Street entrance)
Monday – Friday: 7AM – 3PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

Marketplace (a cafeteria-style collection of different restaurants and cuisines)
Monday – Friday: 11AM – 2PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

Freshii (located through a separate entrance from the Marketplace)
Monday – Friday: 8AM – 3PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

Subway (located around the corner from Café Descartes)
Monday – Friday: 7AM – 8PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

Union Station (convenience store located inside the Medical Bookstore)
Monday – Friday: 8:30-AM – 5PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

A small food stop (On the Mall) is located next to the Polk Pink Line train station, with the following food options available:

Frank & Fries
Monday – Friday: 10:30AM – 5PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

Sbarro
Monday – Friday: 9AM – 5PM
Saturdays & Sundays: Closed

Dunkin Donuts (located inside the Polk Pink Line station)

UI Hospital Cafeteria

Several food options (ranging from fast food to formal dining) along Taylor Street between Ashland Avenue and Halsted Street.

City Overview
Chicago is the third largest city in the United States and carries with it a rich history, vibrant social and cultural institutions, and a massive variety of people and experiences. Nicknamed “The Windy City” (for political—rather than meteorological—reasons), Chicago is also known as a city of neighborhoods with each community offering something uniquely their own to residents and visitors alike. During your time in this fellowship program, we encourage you to make the most of your opportunities and explore the little cities that make up our big one (Neighborhoods & Communities).

Weather
Weather in Chicago can be a difficult adjustment for anyone unfamiliar with the Midwestern climate—summers are hot and extremely humid (the city was, after all, built on a swamp) and winters can be bitterly cold and stormy. Both spring and fall sometimes bring heavy thunderstorms and occasional tornado warnings for the greater Chicagoland area, but in between all of that we usually get a few weeks of gorgeous weather in to tide us over. The joke (that isn’t really a joke) about Chicago weather goes: Chicago has two seasons—winter and construction. But with a good clothing layering system and a little (or a lot of) patience, you’ll be fine. And be sure to take advantage of the seasonal activities that make up for (some) of the weather extremes!

Transportation
Transit in the Chicagoland area can be divided into three general groups:

City of Chicago –>
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates subway (“L”) trains and buses throughout almost every part of the city up to the city limits. Most bus lines operate between 5AM-6AM and 12AM-1AM, with comparable hours for the Green, Pink, Brown, Orange, Purple, and Yellow train lines. The Red and Blue lines run 24 hours a day.

Ventra is the company which currently administers CTA fare cards and passes.

Chicagoland Suburbs –>
Pace buses run throughout suburban Chicagoland, with somewhat less frequency and shorter hours than the CTA.

Metra train lines serve major stops between multiple downtown stations and the far suburbs. Most trains run once an hour between 5AM and 12AM, with higher frequency during rush hours.

Beyond Chicagoland –>
Amtrak trains run out of Union Station in downtown Chicago and connect to other major cities across the United States.

Chicago has two international airports—O’Hare on the far northwest side of the city (at the end of the Blue line) and Midway on the southwest side (at the end of the Orange line).

The closest CTA train stops for our building are the Polk Pink Line stop and the Illinois Medical District Blue Line stop. The closest bus stops are Polk & Wood on the Harrison #7, Ashland & Polk on the Ashland #9, Ashland & Taylor on the Ashland Express X9, Roosevelt & Wood on the Roosevelt #12, Damen & Polk on the Damen #50, and Polk & Wolcott on the Streeterville/Taylor #157.

The app Transit Tracks offers reasonably accurate running times for both CTA buses and trains.

More transportation information can be found on the UIC website

Parking
New residents and visitors should be aware that Chicago street parking regulations can be strictly and swiftly enforced; parking tickets are not an uncommon experience even for long-time Chicagoans. Rules on pay meters and posted signs should be carefully followed. Drivers should also be aware that sometimes there are regulations which are not posted but still apply, especially during special events (e.g. sports games, festivals, etc.) and inclement weather (i.e. snow). This is particularly true for mainly residential streets/areas.

If you have any question about parking in the City of Chicago, we encourage you to reach out to the Department of Transportation.

For this—and any other Chicago queries—you can call the City of Chicago’s information hotline: 311 (within Chicago) or 312-744-5000 (outside of Chicago).