Connect to Opportunity

Explore Oakton's degrees and certificates by zeroing in on your area of interest. Our programs include nine subject areas across numerous careers and fields. Once you are enrolled, work with an Oakton academic advisor to build an academic plan that aligns your career goals and guides your educational investment.

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Computer and Information Technology

Technology is at the heart of the world’s most exciting innovations. Here, you’ll gain top-tier skills as you hone problem-solving abilities for a career in computer and information technology.

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Social and Behavioral Science, and Education

Explore the world around you and apply the lessons of history to today’s problems. Through Oakton’s education programs, you’ll learn to help the next generation of students prepare for their future.

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Health Careers and Nursing

Your options for a career in health care may include nursing—or may extend into other important areas. Consider your options for high-demand health fields that emphasize information technology, billing and coding, laboratory work and more.

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Humanities and Languages

As technology becomes more intricately woven into our interactions, the study of humanities and languages is more important than ever. At Oakton, you’ll gain the ability to make important connections and add meaning to human relationships.

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Public and Professional Business Services

Become a first responder or study for a career in finance, law or business at Oakton. Enter the workforce well-prepared and confident to serve your community in an essential field.

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Future jobs—including many that don’t yet exist—will come from the STEM disciplines. Explore your love for the sciences and develop in-demand skills that can be applied to numerous career fields.

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Fine, Performing and Applied Arts

Art has always been central to the human experience. Whether you’re pursuing meaning through beauty or enhancing the value of a new product through graphic design, Oakton is your training ground.

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Manufacturing, Facilities and Automotive

Skilled technicians are in high demand. If you love work that combines problem-solving with hands-on experiences, Oakton’s manufacturing, facilities and automotive programs will train you for a rewarding career.

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Hear from Oakton.

"Community college gave me the armor I needed to be successful at a four-year university. Your journey is written for you, but you have to be courageous enough to believe it and allow it to take you where you’re meant to go."

Filza Ali

Alumni
Oakton College

"Teaching feels like a direct intervention in the lives of students in the classroom where you can, over time, see some kind of impact or change in students. That exposure to content in the classroom helps some students self-actualize, or at least develop some idea of what self-actualization might look like for them."

Julian Thompson

Alumni
Oakton College

"Honestly, even before I had my nursing license, I knew nursing ran in my veins: medicine and helping others is part of my identity. As a practicing RN, I take pride in the work I do and am beyond grateful that I get to be wholly me both in and out of the workplace."

Susanna Wagner

Alumni
Oakton College

"This is the first time that I’ve gotten to take a class to learn about a hobby, and I’ll be gaining professional certification for it. I’d be growing cannabis no matter what; I came to Oakton and it really opened my mind to having a career in cultivation."

Amber Johnson

Student
Oakton College

"I didn’t have the support system to go to college while my older kids were young. Once my daughter started kindergarten, I had more free time, and I said ‘OK, I’m going to go into education.’"

Ely Lemus

Student
Oakton College

What's Happening

Get the latest news and information on a wide range of Oakton programs, events and initiatives.

News Events

Oakton College Empty Bowls event raises $32,000 for local food pantries

Oakton College’s Ceramics Club raised over $32,000 for local food pantries at the 20th annual Empty Bowls event, Dec. 2, which several hundred community members attended.

Oakton College Museum Shows Off Its Gems

Don’t miss a chance to see selected works from the Oakton College Koehnline Museum of Art’s permanent collection at the “Gems from the Koehnline” exhibition, Dec. 14 - Jan. 26. Stop by the public reception, Dec. 14, 5-8 p.m. to get a first look and mingle with artists and other community members.

Oakton College Announces December Performing Arts Program

Des Plaines (Nov. 27, 2023) - Cozy up this December and get in the spirit of winter holidays by supporting local performers at Oakton College.

Oakton’s Empty Bowls event, Dec. 2, supports local food pantries

Celebrate 20 years of the Oakton College Empty Bowls event, which has raised nearly $400,000 for local food pantries since 2004. Buy handcrafted ceramics, which make excellent “gifts that give back” while raising awareness for local and worldwide hunger.

Illinois Community Colleges Launch Statewide Brand Campaign to Promote Vital Role in Illinois

The community colleges of Illinois have joined forces through the Illinois Community College Marketing Collaborative (ICCMC).