Oakton College offers programs on a flagship campus in Des Plaines, Illinois, and a second campus in Skokie. In addition, Oakton offers continuing education courses at off-campus locations throughout northern Cook County.
Oakton’s 147-acre main campus sits in a forest preserve near the Des Plaines River, and is home to two buildings:
The main building—a red-brick facility built in 1980—boasts 65 classrooms, including 19 computer classrooms, and 46 educational laboratories. In addition to faculty and administrative offices, the original building houses:
The Margaret Burke Lee Science and Health Careers Center (Lee Center) is a LEED Gold-certified 93,000-square-foot building. It is among the most efficient public buildings in the country that showcases the latest sustainable technologies. The Lee Center is home to the Division of Science and Health Careers suite and the anatomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, medical laboratory technology, physical therapy assistant, physiology, physics, and nursing programs (including a simulation hospital).
Oakton’s Ray Hartstein Campus, located near downtown Skokie, offers degree and certificate programs as well as noncredit courses.
The state-of-the-art building, dedicated in 1995, houses 31 classrooms and 12 laboratories. Other features include:
Oakton College’s new Health Careers Education Center is located on Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital’s campus and marks Oakton’s first physical presence in Evanston, the largest community in the college’s district.
Expected to open in 2025, the center will be in Evanston Hospital’s COS Building at 2500 Ridge Avenue. It will house classroom and lab instruction for three new healthcare-focused Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree programs, pending approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, including cardiac sonography, radiography, and surgical technology. The first student cohorts will begin the program in the summer of 2025, with the application process opening in the summer of 2024.
Continuing education courses are offered at the following high schools and at more than 240 other locations:
Oakton's main campus in Des Plaines is located on 147 acres of woodlands and prairie, bordered on the west by the Des Plaines River.
Oakton's campus in Skokie (Ray Hartstein Campus) is located in a residential area near downtown Skokie.
Campus Exterior
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Basement
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First Floor
(PDF) (218 KB) | JPG (316 KB)
Second Floor
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Third Floor
(PDF) (159 KB) | JPG (135 KB)
Campus Exterior
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First Floor
PDF ( 233 KB) | JPG ( 108 KB)
Second Floor
PDF ( 219 KB) | JPG (87 KB)
All Skokie Maps
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Address: 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016
The Des Plaines campus is located 1/4 mile west of I-294 and approximately 7 miles north of O'Hare Airport.
Via Tri-State Tollway (I-294)
From North: Exit at Golf Road. Turn left at the end of the exit ramp. Turn right at the traffic light (Golf Road). Turn right at the first traffic light (College Drive).
From South: Take the Dempster West exit. Turn right on Rand Road (Route 12) to River Road (Route 45). Take River Road north to Golf Road. Turn right on Golf to the first traffic light (College Drive) and turn left.
Via the Kennedy Expressway
Take the Kennedy Expressway to the Tri-State Tollway (I-294 to Milwaukee). Exit at Dempster West and follow the directions (from South) above.
Via Public Transportation
Pace Bus 208 - Monday - Saturday only
Address: 7701 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie, IL 60077
The Skokie campus is located approximately 1 1/2 miles east of the Edens Expressway (I-94) and 10 miles east of O'Hare Airport.
Via the Edens Expressway (I-94)
From North: Exit Edens Expressway at Dempster Street East. Drive east on Dempster to Niles Center Road. Turn right on Niles Center Road and continue to Lincoln Avenue. Turn left on Lincoln to the Ray Hartstein Campus entrance.
From South: Exit Edens Expressway at Touhy Avenue East. Drive north on Skokie Boulevard to Lincoln Avenue. Turn left on Lincoln to the Ray Hartstein Campus entrance.
Via Public Transportation
Pace Bus No. 210 stops in front of the Skokie campus on Lincoln Avenue.
For alternate routes to either campus, call 847.635.1600.