Loyola University, formally Loyola University Chicago, is a private co-educational, religious-affiliated university established in Chicago, Illinois in 1869 as Saint Ignatius College. It was founded by the Roman Catholic religious order of the Society of Jesus and bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

Loyola University was entitled by the Illinois General Assembly on June 30, 1870 to confer degrees normally granted by universities. The institution was expanded to include Loyola University Medical School (established 1868) and Loyola University Chicago School of Law (established 1909). Loyola University was officially chartered on November 21, 1909 and Saint Ignatius College became the College of Arts and Sciences. The most recent expansion was the 1991 acquisition of Mundelein College from the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.