American Islamic College was incorporated in September 1981 as a private, not-for-profit, four-year institution of higher education meant to offer especially strong programs in Islamic Studies and the Arabic Language. In November 1982, AIC received authority from the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) to operate as a postsecondary institution. The search for suitable premises led to the purchase of its present property in March 1983.

Beginning in 2009, American Islamic College embarked upon a new phase of significant reorganization and the installation of a reformed governance structure and a new administration. In 2010, the campus buildings and grounds underwent extensive renovation and remodeling. It was then that AIC reemerged as a revitalized resource of the Muslim community, hosting two consecutive international conferences on Islam in America, organizing public lectures and offering a variety of non-credit and non-degree classes in subjects such as Islamic History, Islamic Art, and Arabic. In the fall of 2013, after being granted IBHE operating authority once again, the College reopened its doors to undergraduate students and—for the first time—graduate students.

We have undergraduate and graduate students now filling the renovated classrooms and dormitory, and the College is more alive now than ever before. AIC’s history is thus still in the making, and we welcome you to be part of it.