UChicago

Overview

The University of Chicago is a private research university with strong science and humanities programs. The University of Chicago promotes civic engagement of its students, faculty and staff by investing in programs to positively impact its local community.

The College houses 56 undergraduate majors. All students complete a common core curriculum: a total of 15 courses spread across the humanities, arts, social sciences, and the sciences. Most students spend the majority of their first two years completing the core requirements. Students are encouraged to select a major by the end of their second year, but do not officially have to select a major until the spring quarter of their third year.

University of Chicago manages Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The university also operates K-12 lab schools and charter schools.

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Number of 1st years: 1735

Undergraduates: 5,971

Graduates: 10,045

Faculty: 2,350

For more demographic data, see here.

First-Year Programs of Note

The following are noteworthy programs that differ from MIT practices. Unless otherwise stated, assumptions should not be made about the effectiveness of these programs.

Advising

All undergraduate students are paired with one of 26 professional advisors from the Office of the Dean of Students. Unless a student requests a change of advisor, students are advised by the same advisor for the duration of their undergraduate studies. The professional advisors are prepared to advise students across the academic programs offered on campus. All first-year students meet with their advisors at least six times during their first year: twice during orientation, for fall registration, and the once each of the remaining quarters. Students are held accountable for scheduling these meetings and will lose access to the course registration system. Upperclass students are required to meet with their advisor at least once per year.

Bridge Programs

  • The College Bridge program recognizes that high school students living in the Chicago area may not have access to challenging coursework at their high schools. Junior and seniors can apply to take one class per quarter at the university. Tuition, fees, and books are paid for by the Office of Civic Engagement. Students meet with College Bridge advisors every other week and are paired with a College student mentor to help acquaint them with campus. Mentors are asked to meet with their mentees at least twice per quarter and submit a report to the College Bridge office on the status of the mentorship. Some College Bridge students are later admitted to and enroll in the undergraduate program.
  • The Chicago Academic Achievement Program (CAAP) is a seven-week, residential summer program for incoming first-year students. Many participants are first-generation college students or from low-income backgrounds. Students take classes in math, science, humanities, and writing; attend concerts, sporting events, and cultural programs; and learn about campus and the Chicago neighborhoods. During the academic year, CAAP student participate in on-campus workshops, study sessions, and reflection activities. If a CAAP scholar’s financial aid package includes work-study, the work-study portion of the package is replaced with grants so that the student does not need to work.

First-Year Housing

All first-year students are required to live in on-campus residence halls. Each residence hall is composed of “houses” – smaller communities with their own traditions and norms. Houses compete against each other in friendly competitions including intramural sports and a scavenger hunt. Each House has a designated “House Table” in one of the dining halls so that residents always have a place to eat with friends from their House.

Internships

University of Chicago’s Career Advancement office offers resources for preparing for, finding, and funding internships.

  • The Metcalf Internship Program provides more than 2,000 paid internships for U of Chicago students. The University plays a big role in lining up these internships and preparing students for interviews.
  • Funding is available for students pursuing unpaid internships.
  • Odyssey Scholars (low-income or first-generation students) have funded internship opportunities available to them the summer after their first year.

University alumni also support career exploration for students:

  • Taking the Next Step is an all-day career exploration conference for first- and second-year students. The event consists of panel sessions about careers and workshops about writing cover letters, searching for a job, and interviewing.
  • The Alumni Board Externship Program gives students the opportunity to shadow alumni at their place of work for 1-5 days during winter, spring, or summer breaks.

Service Learning

The University Community Service Center helps link students and student groups to service opportunities in the Chicago area with a mission to create a more just Chicago. The center organizes many programs. A few are highlighted below.

  • Day of Service: Each term, interested students are matched with community service projects in the city as a way to learn about service opportunities and meet fellow students who are also interested in service. The fall quarter Day of Service is a service day specifically for first-year students.
  • Chicago Bound: A week-long, peer-led community service pre-orientation program for 40 first-year students. Students meet with Chicago community leaders and residents to learn about issues affecting the city and discuss methods for bringing about social change. All students in the program can apply for microgrant funding to initiate on- and off-campus projects that address a social concern.
  • Seeds of Justice: An academic year-long social justice and service program for 20 first-year students. Students participate in regular meetings with their cohort where they meet with civic leaders and discuss readings to explore social justice issues. Within these meetings, the students learn about the critical thinking and leadership skills necessary to work for social change. Small teams of students are matched with a community organization in order to gain field experience. Students also engage in reflection sessions to connect concepts discussed in cohort meetings with their experiences in the field.

Other Programs

The following programs are structured and implemented in a manner similar to MIT.

Diversity/Global Learning

First-Year Seminars

None.

Learning Communities

None found.

Orientation

Similar to MIT, University of Chicago hosts an orientation week for incoming first-year students and pre-orientation programs. (Note that all information for pre-orientation programs is not yet posted. Some programs are listed in the left navigation on the linked page.)

Undergraduate Research

The Career Advancement office offers guidance and funding for students who wish to participate in on-campus undergraduate research.

Writing-Intensive Courses

All undergraduates must complete at least two writing-intensive humanities courses before graduation.