University of Chicago

One of the world's premier academic and research institutions, the University of Chicago has driven new ways of thinking since 1890 founding.

Today, UChicago is an intellectual destination that draws inspired scholars to Hyde Park and international campuses, keeping UChicago at the nexus of ideas that challenge and change the world.

The education in UChicago empowers individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. 

With a commitment to free and open inquiry, our scholars take an interdisciplinary approach to research that spans arts to engineering, medicine to education.

Located in one of the world's greatest cities, UChicago is enriched by and invested in the community. Our talented faculty, physicians, and staff compose a dedicated team committed to the mission of the University.

This university is the partner with the South Side neighbors on innovative initiatives with local benefits and replicable outcomes for urban universities everywhere. Meanwhile, the research and ideas have broad impact, crossing borders to drive international conversations. The same is true of the diverse and creative students and alumni, who found businesses, create masterpieces, and win Nobel Prizes.

In all we do, we are driven to dig deeper, push further, and ask bigger questions—and to leverage our knowledge to enrich all human life.

• Biological Sciences

  The Mission of the Biological Sciences Division is to discover and create new knowledge of living systems, to preserve and communicate knowledge through education, and to nurture and sustain a community of scholars. These scholars pursue this mission through research; through education of basic scientists, physicians, and others interested in living things; and through enlightened and compassionate care of patients in a humane, academic environment. 
  
  The Biological Sciences Division is unique in American higher education in that no other American university combines the delivery of undergraduate biological sciences education with graduate, medical and postgraduate education. This is made possible by a compact, integrated Divisional organization in which all elements of academic medicine - basic and translational research, education, and patient care - are consolidated in a single campus in Hyde Park. 
  
  This integration gives rise to and sustains another differentiating aspect of the Division - a rigorous commitment to interdisciplinary effort in all mission areas. This commitment in turn generates unique research collaborations, educational partnerships, and cross-disciplinary clinical programs.

• Chicago Booth School of Business

  As part of The University of Chicago, we share this world-renowned university’s core values, which shape our distinctive intellectual culture. At Chicago Booth, we constantly question and test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions. In fact, seven of our faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for these ideas.

  We are proud to claim:

  an unmatched faculty

  degree and open enrollment programs offered on three continents

  a global body of nearly 48,000 accomplished alumni

  strong and growing corporate relationships that provide a wealth of lifelong career opportunities.

  Since 1898, we have produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Our rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education transforms our students into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges. We are the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

• The College

  The College has been providing students with a world-class education since the founding of the University of Chicago in 1890. For over 100 years, undergraduates have thrived in an environment that encourages critical inquiry and independent thought.

• Divinity School

  The University of Chicago Divinity School is a tough-minded, sprawling, rigorous and dynamic conversation about what religion is and why understanding it is so vitally important. At the Divinity School, we believe serious inquiry into the subject of religion requires a university context where all ideas are subject to uncompromising standards of argument and evidence. Located in the heart of campus, the Div School is the graduate professional school for the academic study of religion at the University of Chicago. The dominant ethos of the school -- toward the cultivation of new knowledge through research -- imbues both the PhD and masters programs (MA, MDiv, AMRS), which are taught by the same faculty. The Divinity School and University represent an unparalleled depth of expertise in all five major world religions (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism), throughout their historical periods, and other religious movements, past and present. Our faculty and students engage in advanced research in pursuit of new knowledge about the human phenomenon of religion, as viewed from the broadest possible range of perspectives. We train students for all kinds of roles which require thinking and speaking about religion -- in general and specific religious communities, in traditions, texts, rituals, and other realities -- in a manner that is deeply informed, rigorously critical, and honestly engaged.  Our conversation takes place both through research and teaching in Swift Hall and also through a constellation of extracurricular offerings, such as student-organized workshops, public lectures, our student-run coffeeshop (“where God drinks coffee”), and even Divinity Student Association “4-to-8” socials. It takes place in the major scholarly journals History of Religions and Journal of Religion and in programs of the Martin Marty Center, which promotes scholarly engagement with the wider public. And it takes place every week when we meet in community gathering at the Wednesday Community Luncheon, a tradition of conviviality smack in the middle of the week, a weekly chance to enter the conversation from yet another angle. Come join the conversation. 

• Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies

  Since the University’s founding in 1890, the University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies has served as the center of innovative lifelong learning at the University of Chicago. Connecting people around the world to the University of Chicago’s distinct educational tradition, the Graham School offers a diverse collection of courses, certificates, and degree programs primarily at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. The Graham School is dedicated to curating and disseminating the university’s rich content for a broader set of learners in ever more innovative ways; helping the university engage civically, globally, and with the latest innovations in teaching and learning.

• Harris School of Public Policy Studies

  The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy was founded on the belief that rigorous, quantitative research is the best guide for public policy. In 1975, this conviction motivated the Committee on Public Policy Studies to advance the concept of a world-class policy program that would exhibit the University of Chicago traditions of intellectual rigor and interdisciplinary investigation.

  Since 1988, when the School as we know it opened its doors, Chicago Harris has continued to build on this rich legacy. Honoring its foundation, the School does not restrict itself to any particular policy domain but distinguishes itself by its unique point of view. From urban studies to early childhood development, from energy to global health and more, Harris brings an exacting, data-driven perspective to the full spectrum of policy concerns.

  Continually adapting to address the world’s most complex social challenges, the School is a pre-eminent source of scholarship with immediate relevance to practitioners. Our students come to us with the ambition to make a difference, and they graduate with a set of skills that enable them to become effective policy leaders. Chicago Harris alumni are thriving in a wide range of fields, but they are united by their commitment to figuring out what is best for society and getting it done. 

  We are proud of what has been accomplished, but not satisfied. Rigor and relevance remain our compass points but our aspirations for the School continue to rise.

• Division of the Humanities

  The Division of the Humanities comprises twenty-one departments and committees, with approximately 1,000 students from around the world enrolled in our PhD, MFA, and MA programs.

  Research in the humanities gives us the tools we need to articulate deep truths about ourselves. What does it mean to be a human being? What has it meant historically and what will it come to mean? The students and faculty in our departments dedicate themselves to the thoughtful consideration of humanity’s place in the world. This dedication is displayed through our interdisciplinary centers and programs as well as through workshops on themes ranging in diversity from political theory to contemporary art to animal studies.

  The Division teaches fifty foreign languages on a regular basis, and our three master's programs offer remarkable opportunities for students to advance their knowledge of a field in an interdisciplinary context through courses taught by some of the world's leading scholars.

  Whether you are a prospective student considering UChicago for your graduate education, an alumnus seeking news about the University, or an intellectually curious friend stopping by for a visit, we welcome you.

• Law School

  The University of Chicago Law School occupies a unique niche among this country's premier law schools. Located on a residential campus in one of America's great cities, Chicago offers a rigorous and interdisciplinary professional education that blends the study of law with the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Students, faculty, and staff form a small, tightly knit community devoted to the life of the mind. Learning is participatory. Chicago does not seek to impose a single viewpoint or style of thought on its students. Instead, our faculty exposes students to contrasting views, confident in students' abilities to choose their own paths.

• Institute for Molecular Engineering

  Vision

  The Institute for Molecular Engineering will lead engineering research and education in new directions, solve major technological problems of global significance, and continually inspire creative applications of molecular-level science.
   

  Mission

  Our mission is to translate advances in basic physics, chemistry, biology and computation into new tools to address important societal problems and, to create a research and teaching environment to enhance and transmit these capabilities from scientific generation to generation.

  The Institute for Molecular Engineering, established in 2011 by the University of Chicago in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory, is a transformational academic unit exploring the intersection of science and engineering. Building upon the University of Chicago’s mission of cross-collaboration and cutting-edge research, IME will lead science and engineering research and education in new directions, solve technological problems of global significance, and continually inspire creative applications of molecular-level science.

  Assembling a team of world-class researchers across a broad range of science and engineering disciplines, IME will translate discoveries in basic physics, chemistry, and biology into new tools to address important societal problems, and to create a research and teaching environment to enhance and transmit these capabilities from scientific generation to generation. By converging multiple disciplines, IME is well-equipped to develop breakthrough technologies through designated thematic areas.

  With an organizational structure that transcends traditional boundaries, IME boasts the unique status of both an academic unit and an interdisciplinary research institute. IME brings together a group of renowned faculty, each with a dual appointment to Argonne National Laboratory, known for its state-of-the-art facilities and researchers. Coming from a myriad of disciplines, each faculty member brings a specialized expertise to our growing team to tackle challenging research goals.

  Led by Pritzker Director Matthew Tirrell, the institute partners with other research institutions, corporate industry entities, and the global bioengineering community to develop game-changing new technologies. As IME expands its faculty, academic programming capabilities, and facilities, it will continue to be on, and indeed define, the forefront of engineering research and education.

• Oriental Institute

  The Oriental Institute was founded in 1919 by James Henry Breasted with the financial support of John D. Rockefeller Jr., and was originally envisaged as a research laboratory for the investigation of the early human career that would trace humankind’s progress from the most ancient days of the Middle East. The goal of the Oriental Institute is to be the world’s leading center for the study of ancient Near Eastern civilizations by combining innovation in theory, methodology, and significant empirical discovery with the highest standards of rigorous scholarship.

  The Oriental Institute Museum was opened to the public in 1931. The majority of the collections of the Oriental Institute came from its expeditions in the Middle East during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. A major reinstallation of the Museum, including the construction of a climate-controlled wing for housing collections and archives, took place in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Voting Members of the Oriental Institute meet quarterly and approve changes to the Mission Statement of the Oriental Institute Museum. The Oriental Institute is a unit within the University of Chicago and the name of the corporation is “The University of Chicago.” The corporation was originally incorporated on September 10, 1890. The corporation has not changed its name since its original date of incorporation.

• Physical Sciences Division

  The history of the Physical Sciences Division at the University of Chicago is arguably the richest of any such division in any university in this country. The scientists of the Physical Sciences Division have not merely advanced their fields—in many cases, they have defined new ones. That tradition of discovery continues to the present day. Witness the manyNobel Prizes in physics and chemistry and Fields Medals awarded to our faculty, staff, and alumni.

  The division includes the Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry,Computer Science, Geophysical Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics. The history of each department is intertwined inextricably with the history of science.

  Research at Chicago was interdisciplinary before the word interdisciplinary was coined. Today, the Enrico Fermi Institute, theJames Franck Institute, theComputation Institute, the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, and the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics bring scientists from different fields together to unlock the secrets of nature. Many of our scientists have joint appointments at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. The University of Chicago has a management role in both labs, as well as Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. A number of our researchers also have joint affiliations with other Chicago based research institutions such as the Toyota Technological Institute of Chicago,Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Field Museum, to name a few.

• Pritzker School of Medicine

  The University of Chicago Medicine has been at the forefront of medical care since 1927, when we opened our doors to the first patients. Located in historic Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago, the medical campus includes the Center for Care and Discovery, Comer Children’s Hospital, Bernard A. Mitchell Hospital for adult inpatient care, and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine. The University of Chicago Medicine also has outpatient locations throughout the Chicago area.

  University of Chicago Medicine physicians are members of the University of Chicago Physicians Group, which includes more than 700 physicians and covers the full array of medical and surgical specialties. Our physicians are faculty members of the Pritzker School of Medicine.

  These organizations are headed by Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine, and executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Chicago.

• School of Social Service Administration

  For over 100 years, the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration has defined the fields of social work and social welfare. Our “Founding Mothers” were among the first to use social research and community data to inform the care and counseling of the most vulnerable members of our society, and thisintegrated academic approach —using research to inform practice and policy—continues to distinguish us today. SSA differs from other graduate schools of social work because we challenge our students to dig deeper to understand the root causes and human costs of social inequity. Our mission is to continue to produce the best, most forwarding-thinking research in social work and social welfare policy and to prepare the best social workers to use those ideas to serve individuals, families and communities in creating a better quality of life.

  Our First Century

  SSA was one of the first schools of social work in the United States, opening our doors in 1908 as the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. In 1920, SSA becamepart of the University of Chicago, one of the world’s premier universities and a bastion of progressive, interdisciplinary scholarship. Together, we formed an academic community with the intellectual rigor and mission-driven idealism to directly improve the lives of the disenfranchised in the City of Chicago and across the nation. Browse the interactive SSA timeline.

  SSA Today

  SSA is one of the top three graduate schools of social work in the world. Our remarkably diverse students arrive with energy, empathy, intelligence, and a keen desire to serve. We give them the firm theoretical foundation, the clinical and policy perspective, and the hands-on experience to make a meaningful impact in the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society. SSA and the University support interdisciplinary research centers that shed light on the complex connections between race, human rights, politics, access to care, with a special emphasis on preventive policies and practices. SSA graduates quickly advance to leadership positions in clinical practice, public and private social welfare agencies, community development organizations, policy research institutes, charitable foundations and academia. 

• Social Sciences

  The University of Chicago is a remarkable institution that is dedicated to the life of the mind and to professors pursuing their intellectual and scholarly goals. Since its inception, the university has been especially focused on the core academic values of scholarship and free inquiry. Propelled by rigorous debate and cross-disciplinary collaboration, faculty form an intellectual community that produces ideas that matter and enrich human life. Talented students, small seminars, and a multitude of workshops make this institution truly a scholar’s haven.

• Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)

  CMES supports research, teaching, and outreach across a wide range of disciplines. CMES administers the MA program in Middle Eastern Studies, a dynamic interdisciplinary degree whose alumni span diverse fields from academia to government service. Through a variety of curricular and co-curricular programs, the Center works to maintain the University of Chicago's singular reputation as a leader in the field of Middle Eastern Studies. Regular conferences and lectures present cutting-edge research on Middle Eastern history, society, and culture. The Middle East Education Initiative (MEEI) works with K-12 institutions, community colleges, business, media, and government to share campus expertise with the wider public.

• The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, the University’s land was donated by Marshall Field. Rockefeller described the donation as “the best investment I ever made.”
• William Rainey Harper, the University’s first president, stated the University of Chicago as modern research university, combining an English-style undergraduate college and a German-style graduate research institute.
• The first faculty assembled on Opening Day, 1892. Charles O. Whitman was the head of the biology department at the new institution. 
• Harper W.R., incorporated into UChicago a commitment to gender equality in both undergraduate and graduate education and. This commitment to an accepting environment and equal opportunity distinguished the University in its early years and holds firm today.
• One of Harper’s curricular innovations was to run classes year-round, allowing students to graduate at whatever time of year they completed their studies.
• The first buildings copied the English Gothic style of architecture, complete with towers, spires, cloisters, and gargoyles. By 1910, UChicago had adopted more traditions, including a coat of arms that bore a phoenix emerging from the flames and a Latin motto, Crescat Scientia, Vita Excolatur (“Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched.”)
• During Robert Hutchins’s tenure as president, from 1929 to 1951, he established many of the undergraduate curricular innovations: interdisciplinary education, comprehensive examinations instead of course grades, courses focused on the study of original documents and classic works, and an emphasis on discussion, rather than lectures. 
• In 1935, senior Jay Berwanger was awarded the first Heisman Trophy (which is proudly displayed today in the Ratner Athletic Center on campus). 
• In the early 1950s, UChicago became a major sponsor of an urban renewal effort for Hyde Park.
• In 1978, Hanna Gray, Professor of History, was appointed President of the University, becoming the first woman to serve as president of a major research university. 
• In the 1990s,  the new curriculum included a new emphasis on foreign language acquisition and expanded international and cross-cultural study opportunities.
• UChicago demonstrated in its partnerships with the Argonne and Fermi national laboratories, its world-class Medical Center, its tradition of accomplishment in economic research, its dedication to social services and community growth, and the many accomplishments of its faculty, researchers, and students.

Since 1913, the University of Chicago has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

Housing

• International housing:

2014-2015 Room Rates for Residents 

Average Single​ $7,353 per Academic Year

Average Single With Sink​ $8,550 per Academic Year

Extra Large Single​ $9,804 per Academic Year

Suite $9,804 per Academic Year

Extended stay reservations may be made for a limited number of days prior to and/or after the end of a resident's term at the rate of $44 per day.

• Undergarduate students

Chicago’s 11 residence halls are home to 38 Houses—communities that eat, debate, and play together. Each House consists of a group of about 70 students sharing a cluster of residential rooms and common areas. Housing is guaranteed all four years.

Most Residence Halls are divided (often by floor) into House communities. Weekly House meetings and active House Councils bring students together for cultural activities, fundraising, intramural sports, and trips to downtown or the myriad neighborhoods.

Housing and Dining Rates (all room rates are annual rates and are per person)

First Year Room Rate: All First Year students pay the same room rate, regardless of room type: $8,550

Upperclass/Transfer Student Room Rates from $7,695 to $9,576​

Residential Dining Requirement

• First year students (regardless of residence hall or room type): Unlimited Meal Plan $5,655

• Upperclass students: Unlimited Meal Plan  from $4,377 to $5,655

The 11 residence halls are located throughout Hyde Park, all residence halls are serviced within one block by the campus transportation systems - the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses that operate during the day, and the NightRide shuttles that run during the evening/late night.  UChicago students may ride the three dedicated campus routes (170, 171 and 172) at no charge by displaying their UChicago ID card.  The NightRide shuttles are also free with UChicago ID.  

Other transports (taxis, buses, shuttles) which are not mentioned cost from $2.12 - $3.5

• Graduate students

Choose from 1,300 units in 28 apartment buildings owned and managed by the University. Conveniently located within walking distance of campus and near public transportation, these properties offer proximity to what you value most, whether retail shops, restaurants, schools, or play lots.

We have some pet friendly buildings and all of our buildings provide bicycle storage, a laundry room, and a two-way intercom to a locked building entrance.

Prices depend on the particular building. Approximate Rent Ranges 2014 - 2015

Two bedrooms, shared:        $714 - $737

Studio: $656 - $738

One bedroom: $850 - $1018

There are a lot of communities offer various activity for students: University Community Service Center (UCSC),  Spiritual Life Office, Student Government, Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMSA), Cinema & Media, Literary, Music, Performance and Visual Arts, intramural teams, club sports, classes, and fitness programs.

University of Chicago scholars have played a major role in the development of various academic disciplines, including: the Chicago school of economics, the Chicago school of sociology, the law and economics movement in legal analysis, the Chicago school of literary criticism, the Chicago school of religion, the school of political science known as behavioralism, and in the physics leading to the world's first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction. The university is also home to the University of Chicago Press, the largest university press in the United States.

The University of Chicago is home to many prominent alumni. 89 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with the university as visiting professors, students, faculty, or staff, the fourth most of any institution in the world. In addition, Chicago's alumni include 49 Rhodes Scholars, 9 Fields Medalists, 20 National Humanities Medalists and 13 billionaire graduates.