Catholic women's college in Lake Forest, Illinois (1858–2005), later coeducational, absorbed by DePaul University.
Barat College of the Sacred Heart began as an academy for young women in Chicago in 1858 and relocated to Lake Forest in 1904. The Illinois state charter in 1918 established it as a four-year college. Originally an all-women institution, Barat became coeducational in 1982. Governance transitioned from the Society of the Sacred Heart to an independent board of trustees in 1969 to qualify for federal financial programs. In February 2001, facing fiscal challenges, the college was purchased by DePaul University and renamed Barat College of DePaul University. The DePaul Trustee Board voted to discontinue operations in February 2004, and the college closed in 2005.
Located 30 miles north of Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois, the 23-acre campus featured Old Main and the Thabor Wing (added 1924), which housed the Italianate-style Sacred Heart Chapel. After closure, the property was sold to developer Robert G. Shaw in 2006 for residential development. Following foreclosure and purchase by Harris Bank in 2010, the land was gifted to the adjacent Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in 2012. The Old Main building was demolished in 2013, though its cupola was restored and placed in the "Barat Cupola Garden" in 2015.
Barat College thrived during the expansion of women's colleges in the 1960s, when it was one of seven higher education institutions operated by the Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ). The college housed academic records for Duchesne College in Omaha, Nebraska, which were transferred to the Society of the Sacred Heart Archives. Faculty were largely absorbed by DePaul University, where many continued teaching. The Barat Education Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) organization, continues to preserve the college's legacy.