Lower semi-target school#42 of 100
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investment banking placement: is it a target school?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a lower semi-target school for investment banking by our count. It ranks #42 of the 100 schools we measure: 278 alumni list investment banking analyst titles alongside the 18 top banks from classes of roughly 2015 onward, weighted for school size, and its wider banking alumni network holds 1,872 profiles that include an investment banking job title.
- Rank
- #42of 100 schools
- At 18 top banks, 2015+
- 27876% graduated 2018+
- At the elite five
- 12144% of the top-bank total
- IB alumni network
- 1,872#25 by profiles
- Per 1,000 undergrads
- 52.6#66 per capita
- US-based
- 74%1,380 profiles
Is UIUC a target school for investment banking?
The verdict, from the dataIllinois has 278 people matched to the 18 top banks by an investment banking analyst title tracked here, all of them 2013 graduates or later, which ranks the school #32 on that precise measure. J.P. Morgan holds the largest block at 59, followed by Goldman Sachs at 40, Citi at 34, Bank of America at 29 and Morgan Stanley at 28. The pipeline runs through several firms rather than depending on one relationship.
That #32 sits ten places above the headline rank of #42, a gap opened by the per-student leg of the blend rather than by the count itself. Of the 278, 121 are at the elite five, a 44 percent share, and 211 graduated in 2018 or later, meaning three quarters of the top-bank cohort is recent. The buyside mix is unusually deep for a large public school, with 177 hedge fund profiles ranking #11 and 49 private equity profiles per 100 IB profiles.
The scale is largely a function of size. Illinois carries 1,872 IB profiles across 35,564 undergraduates, which works out to 52.6 per 1,000 undergraduates against a median of 97.8, and its per-capita rank of #66 trails its count rank of #25 by 41 places. Only 74 percent of profiles are currently US-based. Illinois offers one of the largest and most bank-diversified alumni networks in this tier, spread thin across a very big student body.
UIUC investment banking placement by bank
Analysts, classes of ~2015+University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign analysts at each of the top banks we measured — graduates of 2013 or later with investment banking analyst titles. Banks with published feeder pages link through.
- 1J.P. Morgan59
- 2Goldman Sachs40
- 3Citi34
- 4Bank of America29
- 5Morgan Stanley28
- 6Barclays16
- 7Wells Fargo13
- 8Deutsche Bank10
- 9UBS8
Banks with fewer than five matched analysts, and banks not yet measured for this school, are left off the list. Of the 278 analysts at the 18 banks, 121 (44%) are at the elite five: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Evercore, and Centerview.
Where UIUC alumni land beyond investment banking
Alumni profiles, all yearsUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s rank in each vertical we count, by the same title-phrase method. Bars show its count as a share of that ranking’s #1 school. Per 100 IB shows the network mix: profiles per 100 IB profiles.
How to recruit for investment banking from UIUC
Gies’ 2023–2024 outcomes report, built on the Illini Success survey of the August 2023, December 2023, and May 2024 cohorts, shows 96% of undergraduates with a successful outcome six months out, at a $76,560 average salary and a $5,993 average signing bonus. Finance majors match the 96% rate with 84% employed and 12% continuing education, at $82,070 and a $6,000 bonus. Illinois took 318 of the graduates accepting full-time jobs and New York 19, and JPMorgan Chase and Lincoln International appear on the employer sample.
The Class of 2025 report, released in April 2026, puts the successful-outcome rate at 96% again, with 78% entering the workforce and 19% pursuing further education, and record compensation: an $81,000 median salary, an $81,621 average, and a $7,180 average signing bonus, all three all-time highs for the college.
The Investment Banking Academy is the pipeline. Run by the finance department with alumni and Business Career Services, it is highly selective, opens to sophomores and juniors, and pairs mentorship and technical training with the banking software in the Margolis Market Information Lab. Its published rosters show where members land: the Class of 2026 lists 22 members whose full-time placements include William Blair, BMO Capital Markets, Houlihan Lokey, Lincoln International, Perella Weinberg Partners, Moelis, J.P. Morgan, Guggenheim Securities, and Bank of America, and the Class of 2025 lists 37 members at firms from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to Centerview Partners, Jefferies, Baird, and Deutsche Bank.
Financial modeling partner Adventis has worked with the academy since 2015 and reports more than 250 Illinois students earning its FMC Level I certification through the program, the technical credential members carry into interviews alongside the academy’s coursework and case competitions.
Peak Frameworks ranks UIUC #51 of 60 schools and #43 by total hires, a lower semi-target with an elite-firm share of 55%, driven by ties to J.P. Morgan’s Chicago office: J.P. Morgan alone accounts for 32% of the school’s investment banking placements. The same analysis flags a 0.09% undergraduate placement rate and weaker placement outside Chicago.
Forum posters treat UIUC as a Chicago target and a semi-target everywhere else: nearly every bulge bracket and elite boutique recruits on campus but takes a handful, the academy has a hard GPA cutoff and closes to students who discover banking late, and most members place in Chicago because most come from the Chicago suburbs, with the New York presence still being built out. The comparison with Wisconsin’s club has Illinois placing more in Chicago and Wisconsin more in New York.
Our data ranks UIUC #42 on 1,872 top-bank analysts, the #25 count in the country, from 35,564 undergraduates, or 52.6 per 1,000; 74% of its banking alumni network is US-based. The bank breakdown above shows which of the 18 measured firms hold the most UIUC analysts.
What UIUC publishes about outcomes
22 figures, 6 sourcesEvery figure below is quoted from the source named above it, as published; none is ours. Read them beside our counts, which measure a different thing: analysts matched to named banks rather than a graduating class's outcomes.
Gies College of Business, Gies Business Outcomes 2023–2024 (PDF)
- Gies undergraduates with a successful outcome, 2023–2024
- 96%
- Average salary, Gies 2023–2024
- $76,560
- Average signing bonus, Gies 2023–2024
- $5,993
- Finance majors employed, 2023–2024
- 84%
- Finance majors continuing education, 2023–2024
- 12%
- Finance major average salary, 2023–2024
- $82,070
- Finance major average signing bonus, 2023–2024
- $6,000
- Graduates accepting full-time jobs in Illinois
- 318
- Graduates accepting full-time jobs in New York
- 19
Gies College of Business, New data shows strong outcomes, salaries for Gies Business graduates (April 2026)
- Class of 2025 entering the workforce
- 78%
- Class of 2025 pursuing further education
- 19%
- Class of 2025 median starting salary
- $81,000
- Class of 2025 average starting salary
- $81,621
- Class of 2025 average signing bonus
- $7,180
Golder Academies, Investment Banking Academy Class of 2026
- Investment Banking Academy Class of 2026 members listed
- 22
Golder Academies, Investment Banking Academy Class of 2025
- Investment Banking Academy Class of 2025 members listed
- 37
Adventis, University of Illinois Investment Banking Academy partnership
- Illinois students with Adventis FMC Level I certification
- more than 250
Peak Frameworks, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Investment Banking Placement
- Peak Frameworks rank
- #51 of 60
- Peak Frameworks rank by total hires
- #43
- Share of Peak-counted hires at the top five firms
- 55%
- Share of Peak-counted placements at J.P. Morgan
- 32%
- Peak Frameworks undergraduate placement rate
- 0.09%
How UIUC compares with schools ranked nearby
Analysts at 18 top banks, ~2015+UIUC investment banking FAQ
8 questionsIs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign a target school for investment banking?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a lower semi-target school for investment banking by our count. It ranks #42 of the 100 schools we measure: 278 alumni list investment banking analyst titles alongside the 18 top banks from classes of roughly 2015 onward, weighted for school size, and its wider banking alumni network holds 1,872 profiles that include an investment banking job title.
Which banks hire the most UIUC analysts?
By our count, J.P. Morgan leads with 59 UIUC alumni holding investment banking analyst titles, then Goldman Sachs with 40 and Citi with 34, among graduates of 2013 or later at the 18 top banks we measure.
Do banks treat UIUC as a target school?
A Chicago target and a semi-target elsewhere by forum consensus; Peak Frameworks ranks it #51 of 60 with J.P. Morgan taking 32% of placements. Our count ranks it #42 of 100, in the lower semi-target tier, on the #25 analyst count in the country.
How do you get into investment banking from UIUC?
Through the Investment Banking Academy, which admits sophomores and juniors selectively and publishes rosters showing members at William Blair, Houlihan Lokey, Moelis, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs.
What do Gies finance graduates earn after graduation?
The 2023–2024 report puts finance majors at an $82,070 average salary and a $6,000 signing bonus with a 96% successful-outcome rate; the Class of 2025 college-wide average is $81,621.
How many University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni work in private equity?
910 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni profiles include a private equity job title, ranking #23 of the 100 schools in our database.
How many University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni work in venture capital?
304 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni profiles include a venture capital job title, ranking #19 of the 100 schools in our database.
How many University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni work in hedge fund?
177 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni profiles include a hedge fund job title, ranking #11 of the 100 schools in our database.
How we counted UIUC’s analysts
Counts come from People Data Labs, which aggregates public professional profiles. The headline rank is anchored on the strict measure: profiles that list University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in their education, a job title containing “investment banking analyst”, one of 18 named top banks as an employer, and a graduation year of 2013 or later — the analyst classes of roughly 2015 onward, deduplicated across banks. Those conditions hold on the profile rather than on a single job, so the title and the bank are usually but not provably the same role. The rank weights that count at two-thirds and the same count per 1,000 undergraduates at one-third, so school size is priced in. The elite-five figure counts analysts at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Evercore, and Centerview. Data pulled 2026-10-16.
The alumni-network figure is broader: everyone who has held a title containing “investment banking” at any firm worldwide, across all years, including graduate alumni. It reads as the size of the school’s banking network rather than a single era’s placement. Of those, 1,380 (74%) are currently based in the United States and 492 are abroad. The per-1,000 figure divides the network count by 35,564 total undergraduates reported for fall 2023 in the NCES IPEDS Fall Enrollment dataset — a school-size comparison, not a placement rate for a graduating class.
