University of Chicago

About

The University of Chicago is an urban research university that has driven new ways of thinking since 1890. Our commitment to free and open inquiry draws inspired scholars to our global campuses, where ideas are born that challenge and change the world.

We empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. Students in the College develop critical, analytic, and writing skills in our rigorous, interdisciplinary core curriculum. Through graduate programs, students test their ideas with UChicago scholars, and become the next generation of leaders in academia, industry, nonprofits, and government.

UChicago research has led to such breakthroughs as discovering the link between cancer and genetics, establishing revolutionary theories of economics, and developing tools to produce reliably excellent urban schooling. We generate new insights for the benefit of present and future generations with our national and affiliated laboratories: Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The University of Chicago is enriched by the city we call home. In partnership with our neighbors, we invest in Chicago's mid-South Side across such areas as health, education, economic growth, and the arts. Together with our medical center, we are the largest private employer on the South Side.

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. Our diverse and creative students and alumni drive innovation, lead international conversations, and make masterpieces. Alumni and faculty, lecturers and postdocs go on to become Nobel laureates, CEOs, university presidents, attorneys general, literary giants, and astronauts. 

American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy's elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business and public affairs. The following are current UChicago faculty members and trustees that have been elected to the Academy:

Breakthroughs

Since 1890, the University of Chicago’s singular focus on inquiry has made it a model for modern institutions of higher education and research.

Across numerous departments and disciplines, as well as over 150 institutes and centers, the UChicago community advances ideas and innovations that enrich human life. The University’s culture of inquiry thrives on intellectual rigor, diverse perspectives, extensive civic and research partnerships, and ever-broadening global reach.

UChicago breakthroughs transform the way we live and the way we think. Members of our community have pioneered sociology scholarship, introduced hormonal cancer treatment, proposed the existence of black holes, discovered new dinosaur species, changed the face of economics, improved graduation rates in American cities, and the list goes on. Tracing such breakthroughs from decade to decade, the timeline above provides a sampling of how UChicago scholars have made a lasting impact on our world.

Admissions & Aid

Since its inception in 1890, UChicago has remained committed to educating extraordinary people regardless of race, gender, religion, or financial ability. More than $100 million in financial assistance and scholarships are awarded annually, and we are one of the few highly selective institutions to award both need-based and merit-based aid.

Non-degree

One of the first U.S. universities with continuing education, UChicago offers non-degree programs spanning business, public policy, and a wide range of professional and liberal arts.

Summer

The Graham School offers a rich array of summer learning opportunities for UChicago and visiting college students, accomplished high school students, teachers, and many others.

Online Learning

Online learning is in many ways an extension of the University of Chicago’s longstanding commitment to free and open inquiry

Graduate and professional

In more than 100 programs across our graduate divisions and professional schools, students discover firsthand the power of ideas to make a difference in the world.

Research

With a commitment to free and open inquiry, our scholars take an interdisciplinary approach to research that spans arts to engineering, medicine to education. Their work transforms the way we understand the world, advancing fields of study, and often creating new ones. Generating new knowledge for the benefit of present and future generations, UChicago research has had an impact around the globe, leading to such breakthroughs as discovering the link between cancer and genetics, establishing revolutionary theories of economics, and developing tools to produce reliably excellent urban schooling.

Research News

Octopus skin inspires engineers to develop programmable ‘camouflaging’ material

OCTOBER 19, 2017—This week, engineers report on their invention of stretchable surfaces with programmable 3-D texture morphing, a synthetic “camouflaging skin” inspired by studying and modeling the real thing in octopus and cuttlefish.

Exascale and the city

OCTOBER 17, 2017—The Argonne-led Multiscale Coupled Urban Systems project aims to help city planners better examine complex systems, understand the relationships between them and predict how changes will affect them. The ultimate goal is to help officials identify the best solutions to benefit urban communities.

Research by Sociologist Forrest Stuart Explains How to Talk to Gang Members

OCTOBER 16, 2017—Forrest Stuart’s current project—working title “Hashtags and Handguns”—focuses on poverty, violence, social media, and hip-hop on Chicago’s South Side. During a year of intense fieldwork, Stuart discovered that music and social media play a significant part in the city’s “balkanized gang violence.”

Modeling an Asymptomatic Epidemic

OCTOBER 16, 2017—An innovative new partnership between the Computation Institute/Argonne National Laboratory, Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) will combine rich epidemiological and biological data with agent-based modeling to test hepatitis C prevention and treatment strategies in silico, simulating the activity of 32,000 people who inject drugs in the Chicagoland area.

Globus Expands Data Services to Accelerate Secure Cancer Research

OCTOBER 13, 2017—With a $4.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, the University of Chicago’s Globus and leading cancer researchers at University of Chicago Medicine will build new protected cancer research networks that enable collaborations while keeping sensitive health data secure and private.