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{{Short description|Private university in Chicago, Illinois, US}}
{{good article}}
{{Distinguish|University of Illinois Chicago}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = University of Chicago
 | image                  = University of Chicago shield.svg
 | image_upright          = 0.6
 | image_alt              = The coat of arms of the University of Chicago
 | motto                  = {{lang|la|Crescat scientia; vita excolatur}} ([[Latin]])
 | mottoeng               = "Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched"
 | established            = {{start date and age|1890}}
 | type                   = [[Private university|Private]] [[research university]]
 | founder                = [[John D. Rockefeller]]<br>[[American Baptist Churches USA|American Baptist Education Society]]
 | accreditation          = [[Higher Learning Commission|HLC]]
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[Association of American Universities|AAU]]|[[National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities|NAICU]]|[[Universities Research Association|URA]]}}
 | endowment              = $10.1 billion (2024)
 | president              = [[Paul Alivisatos]]
 | students               = 19,287 (2024)
 | undergrad              = 7,569 (2024)
 | postgrad               = 10,968 (2024)
 | faculty                = 3,418 (2023)
 | administrative_staff   = 23,217 (2023)
 | other                  = 750 (non-degree seeking, 2024)
 | city                   = [[Chicago]]
 | state                  = Illinois
 | country                = United States
 | coor                   = {{coord|41|47|23|N|87|35|59|W|type:edu_region:US-IL|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = Large city
 | campus_size            = {{convert|217|acre|ha|1}} (main campus)
 | sporting_affiliations  = [[NCAA Division III]] – {{hlist|[[University Athletic Association|UAA]]|[[Midwest Conference|MWC]]}}
 | colors                 = {{color box|#800000}} Maroon
 | sports_nickname        = [[Chicago Maroons|Maroons]]
 | mascot                 = Phil the Phoenix
 | website                = {{URL|https://uchicago.edu}}
 | logo                   = University of Chicago wordmark.svg
 | logo_upright           = 1.0
 | free_label2            = Newspaper
 | free2                  = ''[[The Chicago Maroon]]''
 | free_label             = Other campuses
 | free                   = {{hlist|Beijing | Delhi| [[The University of Chicago Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]|London||Luxor|Paris}}
 | footnotes              = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=chicago&s=all&pg=3&id=144050|title=College Navigator – University of Chicago |website=National Center for Education Statistics |access-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107193250/https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=chicago&s=all&pg=3&id=144050 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

The '''University of Chicago''' ('''UChicago''', '''Chicago''', '''UChi''', or '''U of C''') is a [[Private university|private]] [[research university]] in the [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] community area of [[Chicago]], Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1890 by [[John D. Rockefeller]] and the [[American Baptist Churches USA|American Baptist Education Society]].

The university is composed of an [[College of the University of Chicago|undergraduate college]] and four graduate research divisions: the Arts & Humanities Division, the Biological Sciences Division, the Physical Sciences Division, and the Social Sciences Division, all of which include various organized departments and institutes. In addition, the university operates seven professional schools in the fields of [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business|business]], [[Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice|social work]], [[University of Chicago Divinity School|theology]], [[Harris School of Public Policy|public policy]], [[University of Chicago Law School|law]], [[Pritzker School of Medicine|medicine]], and [[Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering|molecular engineering]], and a school of [[Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies|continuing studies]]. The university maintains satellite campuses and centers in London, [[University of Chicago Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], Paris, Beijing, Delhi, Luxor, and downtown Chicago.

University of Chicago scholars have played a role in the development of many academic disciplines, including economics, law, literary criticism, mathematics, physics, religion, sociology, and political science, establishing the [[Chicago school (disambiguation)|Chicago school]]s of thought in various fields. Chicago's [[Metallurgical Laboratory]] produced the world's first human-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction in [[Chicago Pile-1]] beneath the viewing stands of the university's [[Stagg Field]]. Advances in chemistry led to the "radiocarbon revolution" in the [[radiocarbon dating|carbon-14 dating]] of ancient life and objects. The university research efforts include administration of the [[Fermilab|Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory]] and the [[Argonne National Laboratory]], as well as the [[Marine Biological Laboratory]]. The university is also home to the [[University of Chicago Press]], the largest [[List of university presses|university press]] in North America.

As of 2025, the university's students, faculty, and staff have included [[List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation|101 Nobel laureates]]. The university's [[List of University of Chicago people|faculty members and alumni]] also include 10 [[Fields Medal]]ists, 4 [[Turing Award]] winners, 58 [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur Fellows]], 30 [[Marshall Scholars]], 55 [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholars]], 27 [[Pulitzer Prize]] winners, 20 [[National Humanities Medal]]ists, and 6 [[List of American universities with Olympic medals|Olympic medalists]].

== History ==
{{main|History of the University of Chicago}}

=== Old University of Chicago ===
{{further|Old University of Chicago}}
[[File:Uchicago_convocation_1894.jpg|thumb|[[Albert A. Michelson]], professor of physics and the first American Nobel laureate, delivers the second [[convocation]] address in front of Goodspeed and Gates-Blake Halls, with President [[William Rainey Harper]], professors, and trustees in attendance, July 1, 1894.<ref>{{cite web |title=Convocations : Photographic Archive : The University of Chicago |url=http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf3-00416.xml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025005012/http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf3-00416.xml |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |access-date=August 17, 2022 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |publisher=University of Chicago Library}}</ref>|alt=A professor addressing a crowd]]
The first University of Chicago was founded by a small group of [[Baptists in the United States|Baptist]] educators and incorporated in 1857 after a land endowment from Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]] and a fundraising campaign directed by the first president of the institution, [[John C. Burroughs]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Boyer |first=John |title=The University of Chicago: A History |publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] |year=2024 |isbn=9780226835303 |edition=Enlarged |pages=}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=8-10}} It closed in 1886 after decades of financial struggle, exacerbated by the [[Great Chicago Fire]] and the [[Panic of 1873]],<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=18}} when the university's property was foreclosed on by its creditors.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=8-10}} In 1890, its trustees elected to change the university's name to the "[[Old University of Chicago]]" so that the new university could go by the name of the city; a year later, the new university voted to recognize the alumni of the old as alumni of the new.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=59}}

===Early years===
{{EB1911 poster|Chicago, University of|the founding and early years}}
In 1890, the [[American Baptist Churches USA|American Baptist Education Society]] (ABES) incorporated a new University of Chicago as a [[Mixed-sex education|coeducational]] institution,<ref name="goodspeed2">{{cite book |last=Goodspeed |first=Thomas Wakefield |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryunivers00goodgoog |title=A History of the University of Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1916 |isbn= |location=Chicago}}</ref>{{rp|137}} using $400,000 donated to the ABES to supplement a $600,000 donation from [[Standard Oil]] co-founder [[John D. Rockefeller]]<ref>{{cite journal |year=1903 |title=The Decennial Publications of the University of Chicago |url=https://archive.org/details/decennialpublic01chicgoog |journal=Science |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |volume=1 |issue=501 |page=498 |bibcode=1904Sci....20..187. |doi=10.1126/science.20.501.187}}</ref> and land donated by [[Marshall Field]].<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=60-61}} The [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] campus’ construction was financed by donations from wealthy Chicagoans such as [[Silas B. Cobb]], donor of the campus's first building, Cobb Lecture Hall;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cobb Hall |url=https://zsllc-us.com/project/cobb-hall/ |access-date=September 18, 2025 |website=ZS Architectural Engineering |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Charles L. Hutchinson]], trustee, treasurer and donor of [[Hutchinson Commons]];<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hilliard |first=Celia |year=2010 |title=The Prime Mover: Charles L. Hutchinson and the Making of The Art Institute of Chicago |journal=Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies |location=Chicago |publisher=The Art Institute of Chicago |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=51 |issn=0069-3235 |jstor=i40072154}}</ref> and [[Martin A. Ryerson]], president of the board of trustees and donor of the Ryerson Physical Laboratory.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=103-105}}

[[William Rainey Harper]] became the university's president on July 1, 1891, and classes first began on October 1, 1892.<ref name="frederick2">{{cite book |last=Rudolph |first=Frederick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3se-H1Y_l7kC&pg=PA351 |title=The American College and University: A History |publisher=Knopf |year=1990 |orig-year=1st pub. 1962 |isbn=978-0-8203-1284-2 |page=351 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308042336/https://books.google.com/books?id=3se-H1Y_l7kC&pg=PA351 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Harper offered large salaries to attract senior faculty,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=78}} and in two years had a faculty of 120, including eight former university or college presidents.<ref>{{cite web |last=Firestein |first=Martin |title=Harper College Archives – Wiliiam Rainey Harper |url=http://dept.harpercollege.edu/library/archives/williamraineyharper.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109055914/http://dept.harpercollege.edu/library/archives/williamraineyharper.html |archive-date=November 9, 2016 |access-date=September 21, 2017 |website=Harper College Library Archives}}</ref> The undergraduate program was divided into two parts, with the first two years making up the Academic College, focusing on preparation for higher learning, and the last two years comprising the University College, with more advanced courses. The university operated on a [[Academic quarter (year division)|quarter system]], with 36 courses required to graduate.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=82-84}} Harper brought the [[Baptists|Baptist]] seminary, which had historical ties to the Old University of Chicago, to the university. This became the [[University of Chicago Divinity School|Divinity School]] in 1891, the first graduate professional school at the University of Chicago.<ref name="goodspeed" />{{rp|20–22}} Harper was a supporter of intercollegiate athletics, recruiting [[Amos Alonzo Stagg]] in 1892 to coach the football team and defending athletics from faculty opposition.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=89}} In 1894, the university adopted [[maroon]] as its official color after initially selecting [[Goldenrod (color)|goldenrod]]. The Maroons became the university's nickname during the same year.<ref name=":72">{{Cite web |title=Maroon, Maroons, and the Phoenix |url=https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/2023/6/12/maroons-phoenix.aspx |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> During this period, the university founded the [[University of Chicago Continuing Education Division|university extension]], which offered evening courses for adults and [[Distance education|correspondence courses]], and the [[University of Chicago Press]].<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=74}}

Rockefeller continued to provide significant contributions to the university after its founding. Harper's efforts to finance faculty research projects, expand the campus, and support university initiatives caused significant deficits covered by Rockefeller donations, with annual deficits between 1894 and 1903 averaging $215,000. In 1898, the board of trustees made a commitment to use new gifts to eliminate the deficit rather than to further expand programs, but structural deficits remained until after Harper's presidency.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=110-112}}

=== 1906–1929 ===
After Harper's death in 1906, the board of trustees named [[Harry Pratt Judson]], head of the Department of Political Science, acting president; in 1907, the appointment was made permanent.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=149-150}} Judson initiated a policy of financial austerity, which renewed Rockefeller's confidence in the university and resulted in a series of large gifts to the endowment between 1906 and 1910, including a final gift of $10 million in 1910 that balanced the university's budget.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=113}} In 1911, the university adopted a Latin motto of ''Crescat scientia; vita excolatur'', which translates to "Let knowledge grow from more and more; and so be human life enriched."<ref>{{Cite web |title=University Emblems {{!}} Office of the Secretary of the University |url=https://secretary.uchicago.edu/university-emblems/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Theme and Logo {{!}} 125th Anniversary |url=https://125.uchicago.edu/about-anniversary/theme-and-logo/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> In 1912, Judson successfully encouraged the board to create a faculty pension fund.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=150}}

During [[World War I]], Judson, as well as faculty members such as [[Albion Woodbury Small|Albion Small]] and [[Paul Shorey]], published works supporting the war. On the other hand, student reaction was mixed, with most not participating in newly formed voluntary military training programs such as the [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps|ROTC]]. In 1918, the Student Army Training Corps program was announced by the War Department, which requisitioned the campus to be run by army officers for military training, but the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|November armistice]] soon ended the program.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=154-162}} After the war, the Oriental Institute, now the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures]], was founded by Egyptologist [[James Henry Breasted]] to support and interpret [[archeological]] work in what was then called the [[Near East]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Oriental Institute |url=http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321210727/http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/history/ |archive-date=March 21, 2009 |access-date=September 8, 2009 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |quote=Since its establishment in 1919, the Oriental Institute (now known as the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa) has sponsored archaeological and survey expeditions in every country of the Near East.}}</ref>

In 1923, senior scholar [[Ernest DeWitt Burton|Ernest D. Burton]] succeeded Judson as president.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=163-164}} Burton launched the first major fundraising campaign of the university to improve the research environment of the faculty as well as invest in residential halls for undergraduates, finding initial success despite faculty opposition to the perceived prioritization of undergraduate over graduate interests. Burton's sudden death in 1925 led to his replacement by physicist [[Max Mason]], who ended the citywide fundraising drive early in favor of a quieter outreach among local businessmen.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=167-182}} During Burton's term, and later Mason's, the [[Chicago school (disambiguation)|Chicago Schools]] of thought began to emerge in the social sciences, with new organizations being established such as the [[Social Science Research Council]] in 1923.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=190-191}}

=== 1929–1950 ===
[[File:ChicagoPileTeam.png|alt=A group of people in suits standing in three rows on the steps in front of a stone building|left|thumb|Some of the University of Chicago team who worked on the production of the world's first human-caused self-sustaining nuclear reaction, including [[Enrico Fermi]] in the front row and [[Leó Szilárd]] in the second]]
In 1929, the 30-year-old dean of [[Yale Law School]], [[Robert Maynard Hutchins]], became president.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=167-182}} In 1930, Hutchins organized the graduate departments under four independent divisions and united the undergraduate colleges into one college.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=222}} In 1931, alongside dean of the college [[Chauncey Samuel Boucher|Chauncey Boucher]], Hutchins implemented a new two-year general education curriculum called the "New Plan", which formed the basis for the university's core curriculum.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=231-233}} Later in the 1930s, Hutchins became unsatisfied with departmental influence on the undergraduate curriculum and pushed for further expansion to the general education curriculum.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=242-252}} In 1942, Hutchins transferred jurisdiction of the BA degree from the graduate divisions to the college, thus removing divisional leverage to shape the curriculum. The same year, the college reformed the BA degree with four years of prescribed general education.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=253-255}}

Budget shortfalls caused by the Great Depression led to significant austerity measures and staffing cuts, though Hutchins protected the salaries of those who remained. In 1933, Hutchins proposed a plan to alleviate the financial situation by merging the university with [[Northwestern University]], though it was ultimately abandoned.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=287-289}} Financial woes contributed to the decision to end the university's football program in 1939.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=214}} With substantial budget gaps remaining and support from the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] having dried up, a second major fundraising campaign was launched between 1939 and 1941 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the university's founding with mixed results.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=290-299}} Large deficits persisted after [[World War II]], leaving future presidents to balance the budget.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=316}}

During the war, the university recruited a number of refugee scientists from Europe, including [[Enrico Fermi]], [[Rudolf Carnap]], and [[James Franck]]. The university's [[Metallurgical Laboratory]] contributed to the [[Manhattan Project]], with Enrico Fermi engineering the first [[Nuclear chain reaction|self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction]] under the stands of [[Stagg Field]], the university's football stadium, in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago Landmarks - Landmark Details |url=http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/landmarkdetails.htm?lanId=1383 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250808041331/http://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/landmarkdetails.htm?lanId=1383 |archive-date=August 8, 2025 |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=webapps1.chicago.gov |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-01 |title=Chicago Pile 1: A bold nuclear physics experiment with enduring impact |url=https://www.anl.gov/article/chicago-pile-1-a-bold-nuclear-physics-experiment-with-enduring-impact |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Argonne National Laboratory |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=301-305}} In 1945, Hutchins announced the formation of the Institute for Nuclear Studies and the Institute for the Study of Metals in order to continue work done during the war. These were later renamed the [[Enrico Fermi Institute]] and the [[James Franck Institute]], respectively.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=286}} The university came under public scrutiny before and after the war for alleged communist influence, with university leadership called to testify before the [[Illinois General Assembly]] on the loyalty of its student body and faculty in 1935 and 1949.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=269-280}}

=== 1951–1977 ===
In 1951, vice president of development [[Lawrence A. Kimpton|Lawrence Kimpton]] succeeded Hutchins as chancellor,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=323-324}} a position created in 1945 replacing the president as head of the university.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=310}} The deficits left from Hutchins necessitated severe annual cuts in the operating budget, which was brought into balance by 1954. A fundraising campaign was launched the same year, which allowed for modest recovery,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=338-343|page=}} but the financial situation worsened after a decline in undergraduate enrollments.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=325-327|page=}} In 1957, to attract more students, Kimpton reduced the general education curriculum from four years to two years. Furthermore, the graduate divisional faculty with slowly merged with the previously independent college faculty via joint appointments.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=328-330|page=}} To address safety concerns driven by increasing crime and poverty in the Hyde Park neighborhood, the university became a major sponsor of a controversial [[Hyde Park, Chicago#Racial integration, economic decline, and urban renewal|urban renewal project for Hyde Park]]. Between 1954 and 1960, the university worked with the South East Chicago Commission and Mayor [[Richard J. Daley]] to clear approximately 925 acres of land, disproportionately affecting Black, low-income residents.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=343-350|page=}}
[[File:Chicago_Maroon_(January_17,_1962).pdf|left|thumb|Front page of ''[[The Chicago Maroon|Chicago Maroon]]'' breaking the news of the university's segregationist off-campus rental policies|alt=A newspaper whose headline is "UC admits housing segregation"]]
In 1961, [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]] professor [[George Beadle]] was elected chancellor, resuming the title of president later that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Office |url=https://president.uchicago.edu/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=355-356|page=}} Beadle's tenure saw large investments in faculty and campus expansion to rebuild the university after Kimpton's austerity, funded in large part by a $25 million grant provided by the [[Ford Foundation]] and an accompanying fundraising campaign.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=359-365|page=}} The university experienced its share of student unrest during this time, beginning in 1962 when then-freshman [[Bernie Sanders]] helped lead a [[University of Chicago sit-ins|15-day sit-in at the college's administration building]] in a protest over the university's segregationist off-campus rental policies. After continued turmoil, a university committee in 1967 issued what became known as the [[Kalven Report]]. The report, a two-page statement of the university's policy in "social and political action," declared that "To perform its mission in the society, a university must sustain an extraordinary environment of freedom of inquiry and maintain an independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/kalvenreport.pdf |title=Kalven Committee: Report on the University's Role in Political and Social Action|access-date=October 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923185337/http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/kalvenreport.pdf |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In 1964, the undergraduate college was reorganized into five collegiate divisions, four paralleling the four graduate divisions and one interdisciplinary New Collegiate Division.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=366}}

In 1967, provost [[Edward H. Levi|Edward Levi]] became president. His tenure saw a number of sit-ins at the administrative building: in 1962, over the university's segregationist off-campus rental policies;<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2015 |title=Can Sanders' civil rights experience at U. of C. translate on campaign trail? |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/26/can-sanders-civil-rights-experience-at-u-of-c-translate-on-campaign-trail/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |language=en-US}}</ref> in 1966 and 1967, over the university providing the class rank of students who sought deferments to draft boards; and in 1969, over the sociology's department decision not to rehire the openly Marxist assistant professor Marlene Dixon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinhababu |first=Supriya |title=The sit-in: 40 years later |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/22887/grey-city/the-sit-in-40-years-later/ |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref><ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=371-375|page=}} In 1967, a university committee issued the [[Kalven Report]], maintaining the university's duty to uphold academic freedom and remain non-partisan.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=497-499|page=}} The report has since been cited in university debates over divesting from South Africa and Sudan,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fang |first=Marina |title=Born amidst '60s student protests, Kalven Report remains controversial |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/16703/news/born-amidst-60s-student-protests-kalven-report-remains-controversial/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref> as well as in the [[Chicago Principles]] on free speech,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=500}} which a number of other universities have since adopted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago Statement: University and Faculty Body Support {{!}} The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression |url=https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/chicago-statement-university-and-faculty-body-support |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=www.thefire.org |language=en}}</ref> By the 1970s, facing the end of the Ford Foundation's support, a reduction in enrollment due to insufficient student housing, flagging federal funding, and broader economic [[1973–1975 recession|stagflation]], the university faced more fiscal austerity.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=379-387|page=}} In 1975, provost John Wilson was appointed president, balancing the budget once more through cuts.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=391-393|page=}}

=== 1978–present ===
In 1978, history scholar and provost of [[Yale University|Yale]], [[Hanna Holborn Gray]], became president of the university. She was the first woman in the United States to be appointed to a full-term presidency of a major research university.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=393}} Still facing budgetary issues, Gray modernized the university's financial systems, increased the size and tuition of the undergraduate college, and paired campus expansion and renovation with administrative austerity. While budgetary equilibrium was reached through the mid-1980s, acute deficits soon re-emerged, exacerbated by the [[Early 1990s recession|1990-1992 recession]].<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=393-398|page=}} Gray also oversaw the implementation of a unified 21 course core curriculum across all collegiate divisions in 1985 and invested in student life through new food services, school festivals, and the reintroduction of varsity athletics.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=403-405|page=}}
[[File:Harper_Midway_Chicago.jpg|thumb|View from the [[Midway Plaisance]]|alt=A view of neo-Gothic buildings in the background, with a grassy area in front]]
In 1992, economist [[Hugo F. Sonnenschein]] became president, facing projected deficits of $23 million for the 1995-96 budget and poor endowment growth.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=407}} The raising of $676 million in a fundraising campaign for the university's centennial throughout the early 1990s helped alleviate these problems.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=418}} In 1996, Sonnenschein proposed the expansion of the undergraduate college by 1,000 students to raise tuition revenue, and in 1997, backed a plan to reduce the number of required course in the core curriculum from 21 to 15–18 (depending on how a student met the language requirement). After intense debate, with the university becoming the focal point of a national debate on education, both reforms were approved.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=409-417|page=}} In 2000, [[Cornell University]] provost Don Michael Randel became the twelfth president of the university. His tenure was marked by increased support for the arts on campus, stronger outreach to local civic and business leaders, investments in major campus facilities, and the launch of a new $2 billion capital campaign.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=421}}

In 2006, mathematician [[Robert Zimmer|Robert J. Zimmer]] was appointed president, receiving board approval to take on large amounts of debt at low interest rates after the [[Great Recession in the United States|2008 recession]] in order to finance a number of major projects.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=465-468|page=}} These included new buildings and pavilions, such as [[Joe and Rika Mansueto Library|Mansueto Library]] in 2011, a reading room and book storage facility;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Site Protection - Verification Required |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/turnstile/challenge/?next=/mansueto/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> the Logan Center for the Arts in 2012;<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=471}} the Keller Center in 2019, home of the [[Harris School of Public Policy]];<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=471}} and Woodlawn Residential Commons in 2020, which houses 1,298 students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodlawn Residential and Dining Commons {{!}} The University of Chicago Facilities Services |url=https://facilities.uchicago.edu/construction/woodlawn_residential_and_dining_commons/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> Between 2008 and 2022, the university partnered with the city and outside businesses to launch three interventions along 53rd Street in an attempt to improve the neighborhood's economic condition.<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=473-477|page=}} As part of an effort to invest in its professional schools, the university formed the [[Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics|Becker Friedman Institute]] in 2011,<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2011 |title=Becker Friedman Institute established at University of Chicago {{!}} University of Chicago News |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/becker-friedman-institute-established-university-chicago |access-date=May 14, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> acquired the [[Marine Biological Laboratory]] in 2013,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=491}} repurposed the [[John Crerar Library|Crerar Library]] as the headquarters of the Department of Computer Science in 2018,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=472}} and established the [[Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rhodes |first=Dawn |date=May 28, 2019 |title=University of Chicago receives $75M to launch campus' first engineering school |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-university-of-chicago-molecular-engineering-20190528-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528175917/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-university-of-chicago-molecular-engineering-20190528-story.html |archive-date=May 28, 2019 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The university also expanded its presence abroad, opening [[University of Chicago Hong Kong|campuses in Hong Kong]] in 2018,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Hong Kong {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://uchicago.hk/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> in London in 2022,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=507}} and in Paris in 2024,<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 1, 2024 |title=Why UChicago is opening a Paris campus: 'The possibility of studying abroad is an argument in the battle between major American universities' |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/11/01/a-new-campus-for-the-university-of-chicago-in-paris-the-possibility-of-studying-abroad-is-an-argument-in-the-battle-between-major-american-universities_6731192_7.html |access-date=September 19, 2025 |work=[[Le Monde]] |language=en}}</ref> alongside centers in Beijing in 2010<ref>{{Cite web |title=UChicago Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Center in Beijing |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/why-booth/stories/uchicago-beijing-center-anniversary |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |language=en}}</ref> and in Delhi in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2024 |title=University of Chicago Center, Delhi marks 10 years of establishment, plans series of events for 2024 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/features/university-of-chicago-center-delhi-marks-10-years-of-establishment-plans-series-of-events-for-2024-101708335570959.html |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> Despite a $5.4 billion fundraising campaign started in 2014,<ref name=":02" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=468}} university debt has exceeded initial planning expectations, reaching $6.3 billion in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 14, 2025 |title=The Crisis of the University Started Long Before Trump |url=https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-crisis-of-the-university-started-long-before-trump/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=Compact |language=en}}</ref>

In 2021, Zimmer was succeeded by [[Paul Alivisatos]], then-provost of the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. In 2024, university students set up [[List of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the United States in 2024#Illinois|an encampment on the university's main quad]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2024 |title=University of Chicago students set up pro-Palestinian encampment on campus as protests spread |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/israel-hamas-war/2024/04/29/university-of-chicago-protest-camp-palestine-israel-hamas |access-date=August 5, 2024 |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |language=en}}</ref> as a part of [[2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses|the nationwide movement]] in support of Palestine at institutions of higher learning across the country. The encampment was later cleared by University of Chicago Police Department officers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maheras |first=Peter |title=Police raid quad encampment |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/43157/news/breaking-police-arrive-on-main-quad-in-riot-gear-tell-protesters-to-leave/ |access-date=August 5, 2024 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>

== Campus ==

=== Main campus ===
{{wide image|University of Chicago campus panorama (2011).jpg|1049px|The campus of the University of Chicago, from the top of [[Rockefeller Chapel]]. The Main Quadrangles can be seen on the left (west), the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa]] and the [[Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics]] can be seen in the center (north) and the [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business|Booth School of Business]] and [[University of Chicago Laboratory Schools|Laboratory Schools]] can be seen on the right (east), as the panoramic is bounded on both sides by the [[Midway Plaisance]] (south).|alt=The campus of the University of Chicago}}

The main campus of the University of Chicago consists of {{convert|217|acre|ha|1}} in the Chicago neighborhoods of [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] and [[Woodlawn, Chicago|Woodlawn]], approximately {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} south of [[Chicago Loop|downtown Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Framework for Planning {{!}} The University of Chicago Facilities Services |url=https://facilities.uchicago.edu/services/construction/framework_for_planning/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The northern and southern portions of campus are separated by the [[Midway Plaisance]], a large, linear park created for the 1893 [[World's Columbian Exposition]]. In 2011, ''[[Travel+Leisure]]'' listed the university as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 10, 2014 |title="America's most beautiful college campuses", ''Travel+Leisure'' (September 2011) |url=http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses/27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802110608/http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses/27 |archive-date=August 2, 2014 |access-date=July 29, 2014 |publisher=Travelandleisure.com}}</ref>

[[File:John List- Extra footage 3-VPRO-The Mind of the Universe.ogv|thumb|Aerial shots from the University of Chicago campus]]

[[File:Harper Quadrangle.jpg|thumb|View of university building from the Harper Quadrangle|alt=A path in the grass leading towards a large, partially ivy-covered building]]

The first buildings of the campus, which make up what are now known as the Main Quadrangles, were part of a master plan conceived by two University of Chicago trustees and plotted by Chicago architect [[Henry Ives Cobb]].<ref name="famousbldgs" /> The Main Quadrangles consist of six [[quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangles]], each surrounded by buildings, bordering one larger quadrangle.<ref name="goodspeed">{{cite book |last=Goodspeed |first=Thomas Wakefield |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryunivers00goodgoog |title=A History of the University of Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1972 |orig-year=1st pub. 1916 |isbn=0-226-30367-5 |location=Chicago}}</ref>{{rp|221}} The buildings of the Main Quadrangles were designed by Cobb, [[Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge]], [[Holabird & Roche]], and other architectural firms in a mixture of the [[Victorian Gothic]] and [[Collegiate Gothic]] styles, patterned on the colleges of the [[University of Oxford]].<ref name="famousbldgs">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/chicagosfamousbu0000schu/page/246|title=Chicago's Famous Buildings|last1=Schulze|first1=Franz|last2=Harrington|first2=Kevin|edition=5th|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-74066-8|year=2003|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chicagosfamousbu0000schu/page/246 246–50]|access-date=August 31, 2009}}</ref> Mitchell Tower, for example, is modeled after Oxford's [[Magdalen Tower]],<ref name="mitchell">{{cite magazine|title=Architectural Details|date=December 2002|magazine=[[The University of Chicago Magazine]]|url=http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0212/alumni/arch.html|access-date=April 30, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518050733/http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0212/alumni/arch.html|archive-date=May 18, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> and the university Commons, [[Hutchinson Hall]], replicates [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]] Hall.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=David Allan|title=The University of Chicago: An Official Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/universityofchic00univ|access-date=August 31, 2009|edition=3rd|year=1919|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/universityofchic00univ/page/48 48]}}</ref> In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the University of Chicago Quadrangles were selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the [[American Institute of Architects]] Illinois component.<ref>{{cite web |title=AIA Illinois Great Places – University of Chicago Quadrangle |url=http://www.illinoisgreatplaces.com/#detail/university_of_chicago_quadrangle-081/type=educational/city=chicago |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031032430/http://www.illinoisgreatplaces.com/#detail/university_of_chicago_quadrangle-081/type=educational/city=chicago |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |access-date=January 26, 2021 |website=www.illinoisgreatplaces.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Waldinger|first=Mike|title=The proud history of architecture in Illinois|url=https://springfieldbusinessjournal.com/2018/01/the-proud-history-of-architecture-in-illinois/|access-date=January 30, 2018|newspaper=Springfield Business Journal|date=January 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613084700/https://springfieldbusinessjournal.com/2018/01/the-proud-history-of-architecture-in-illinois/|archive-date=June 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mitchell-Magdalen comparison.jpg|thumb|left|Many older buildings of the University of Chicago employ [[Collegiate Gothic]] architecture like that of the University of Oxford. For example, Chicago's Mitchell Tower (left) was modeled after Oxford's [[Magdalen Tower, Oxford|Magdalen Tower]] (right).|alt=A comparison between the similar architectures of Chicago's Mitchell Tower on the left and Oxford's Magdalen Tower on the right.]]

After the 1940s, the campus's Gothic style began to give way to modern styles.<ref name="famousbldgs" /> In 1955, [[Eero Saarinen]] was contracted to develop a second master plan, which led to the construction of buildings both north and south of the Midway, including the Laird Bell Law Quadrangle (a complex designed by Saarinen);<ref name="famousbldgs"/> a series of arts buildings;<ref name="famousbldgs"/> Edith Abbott Hall, designed by [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice {{!}} Explore the architecture at the University of Chicago |url=https://architecture.uchicago.edu/locations/crownschool/ |access-date=May 26, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> the Keller Center, which is home of the [[Harris School of Public Policy]] and was designed by [[Edward Durrell Stone]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Keller Center {{!}} Harris School of Public Policy {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://harris.uchicago.edu/about/who-we-are/keller-center |access-date=May 23, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> and the [[Regenstein Library]], the largest building on campus, a [[brutalist architecture|brutalist]] structure designed by [[Walter Netsch]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0878/chicago_journal/books.shtml|title=There Will Be Books|last=Puma|first=Amy Braverman|magazine=[[University of Chicago Magazine]]|year=2007|access-date=September 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621080611/http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0878/chicago_journal/books.shtml|archive-date=June 21, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Another master plan, designed in 1999 and updated in 2004,<ref name="twentytwenty">{{cite magazine|url=http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0502/chicagojournal/2020.shtml|title=2020 Vision|magazine=[[University of Chicago Magazine]]|last=Braverman|first=Amy M.|date=February 2005|issue=3|volume=27|access-date=September 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621140734/http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0502/chicagojournal/2020.shtml|archive-date=June 21, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> produced the [[Gerald Ratner Athletics Center]] (2003),<ref name="twentytwenty"/> the [[Max Palevsky Residential Commons]] (2001),<ref name="famousbldgs"/> [[South Campus Residence Hall]] and dining commons (2009), a new children's hospital,<ref name="milestones">{{cite magazine | url = http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0878/features/momentum.shtml | title = Of Milestones and Momentum | access-date = September 16, 2009 | magazine = [[University of Chicago Magazine]] | date = July–August 2008 | volume = 100 | issue = 6 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090131175610/http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0878/features/momentum.shtml | archive-date = January 31, 2009 | url-status = live }}</ref> and other construction, expansions, and restorations.<ref>[http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0878/features/on_the_map.shtml The University of Chicago Magazine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131163246/http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0878/features/on_the_map.shtml |date=January 31, 2009 }}. Magazine.uchicago.edu. Retrieved on August 15, 2013.</ref> In 2011, the university completed the glass dome-shaped [[Joe and Rika Mansueto Library]], which provides a grand reading room for the university library and prevents the need for an off-campus book depository.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/mansueto/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

The site of [[Chicago Pile-1]] is a [[National Historic Landmark]] and is marked by the [[Henry Moore]] sculpture ''[[Nuclear Energy (sculpture)|Nuclear Energy]]''.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 16, 2003 |title=Site of the First Self-Sustaining Nuclear Reaction |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=204&ResourceType=Site |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405180502/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=204&ResourceType=Site |archive-date=April 5, 2015 |access-date=September 12, 2009 |publisher=National Historic Landmarks Program}}</ref> [[Robie House]], a [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] building acquired by the university in 1963, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ UNESCO World Heritage Site]</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/arts/design/frank-lloyd-wright-unesco.html|title=Unesco AddsFrank Lloyd Wright's Architecture to World Heritage List|work=[[New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820035137/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/arts/design/frank-lloyd-wright-unesco.html|archive-date=August 20, 2019|date=August 7, 2019}}</ref> as well as a National Historic Landmark,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robiehouse.com/aboutus/aboutus.html |title=About Us |publisher=Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust |access-date=September 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219025633/http://robiehouse.com/aboutus/aboutus.html |archive-date=December 19, 2007 }}</ref> as is room 405 of the [[George Herbert Jones Laboratory]], where [[Glenn T. Seaborg]] and his team were the first to isolate plutonium.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 16, 2003 |title=Room 405, George Herbert Jones Laboratory |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=735&ResourceType=Building |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208100011/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=735&ResourceType=Building |archive-date=February 8, 2008 |access-date=September 12, 2009 |publisher=National Historic Landmarks Program}}</ref> [[Hitchcock Hall]], an undergraduate dormitory, is on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nrhp">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places NPS Focus database |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803035425/http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do?searchtype=natreghome |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |access-date=January 17, 2012 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}} Resource Name = Hitchcock, Charles, Hall; Reference Number = 74000751</ref>

Adjacent to the campus in [[Jackson Park (Chicago)|Jackson Park]] is the home of the [[Barack Obama Presidential Center|Obama Presidential Center]], the Presidential Library for the 44th president of the United States<ref>{{cite web |date=October 14, 2025 |title=About Us |url=https://www.obamalibrary.gov/about-us |access-date=October 14, 2025 |website=Barack Obama Presidential Library}}</ref> with expected completion in 2026. The Obamas settled in the university's Hyde Park neighborhood, where they raised their children and where [[Barack Obama]] began his political career. [[Michelle Obama]] served as an administrator at the university and founded the university's Community Service Center.<ref>{{cite web | title=University Community Service Center | website=[[University of Chicago]] | url=https://ucsc.uchicago.edu/ }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Campus of the University of Chicago">
File:Snell Hitchcock1.JPG|[[Snell-Hitchcock]], an undergraduate dormitory constructed in the early 20th century, is part of the Main Quadrangles. <!-- One of them, Hitchcock Hall, is on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://housing.uchicago.edu/college_houses/hitchcock.shtml|title=Hitchcock House|publisher=University of Chicago Housing and Dining Services|access-date=September 11, 2009}}</ref> -->
File:Rockefeller Chapel Entire Structure.jpg|[[Rockefeller Chapel]], constructed in 1928, was designed by [[Bertram Goodhue]] in the neo-Gothic style.
File:Henry Hinds Laboratory at University of Chicago5.jpg|The Henry Hinds Laboratory for Geophysical Sciences was built in 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://photofiles.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf2-03501.xml|title=Henry Hinds Laboratory Architect's Drawings|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=September 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617140204/http://photofiles.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf2-03501.xml|archive-date=June 17, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
File:Ratner Athletic Center.jpg|The [[Gerald Ratner Athletics Center]], opened in 2003 and designed by [[Cesar Pelli]], houses the volleyball, wrestling, swimming, and basketball teams.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://athletics.uchicago.edu/facilities/ratner-overview.htm|title=Overview|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=October 10, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080616150245/http://athletics.uchicago.edu/facilities/ratner-overview.htm |archive-date = June 16, 2008}}</ref>
</gallery>

==== Transportation ====
The Hyde Park campus is served by the CTA [[Red Line (CTA)|Red Line]] and [[Green Line (CTA)|Green Line]], as well as by the [[Metra Electric District]] and [[South Shore Line]] commuter trains,<ref name=":73">{{Cite web |title=Public Transportation |url=https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/en/transportation/public-transportation |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> all of which provide access to downtown Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Metra Electric (ME) {{!}} Metra |url=https://metra.com/train-lines/me |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=metra.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Green Line (Route info, alerts & schedules) |url=https://www.transitchicago.com/greenline/ |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=CTA |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Line (Route info, alerts & schedules) |url=https://www.transitchicago.com/redline/ |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=CTA |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stations & Map |url=https://mysouthshoreline.com/plan-your-trip/stations-map/ |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=South Shore Line |language=en-US}}</ref> The campus is also served by a network of [[CTA bus routes]].<ref name=":73" />

The university shuttle program includes daytime and nighttime routes, most of which operate within Hyde Park.<ref name=":82">{{Cite web |title=Shuttle Services |url=https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/transportation/shuttle-services/ |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, the university added a Downtown Campus Connector to its shuttle program, which connects the main Hyde Park campus to the Gleacher Center and downtown UChicago Medicine clinics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Downtown Campus Connector |url=https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/news-alerts/2022-12-20-Downtown-Campus-Connector |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

In 2024, the university introduced a [[Via Transportation|Via]] ride-sharing program ahead of the 2024–2025 school year, which provides unlimited free rides on campus in shared vans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ma |first=Amy |title=University Announces New Via Rideshare Service to Replace Lyft Program in September |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/43817/news/university-announces-new-via-rideshare-service-to-replace-lyft-program-in-september/ |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>

==== Safety ====
In November 2021, a university graduate was robbed and fatally shot on a sidewalk in a residential area in Hyde Park near campus; a total of three University of Chicago students were killed by gunfire incidents in 2021.<ref name="Suspect Charged">[https://news.wttw.com/2021/11/13/suspect-charged-death-university-chicago-student Suspect Charged in Death of University of Chicago Student] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214190218/https://news.wttw.com/2021/11/13/suspect-charged-death-university-chicago-student|date=February 14, 2022}} WTTW/[[Associated Press]], November 13, 2021</ref><ref name="could be anyone">[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-university-of-chicago-student-rally-shooting-response-20211117-szbvysl6vvdahbv6qnez4xrfle-story.html University of Chicago international students rally to demand safety upgrades a week after fatal shooting of recent grad. 'The next one ... could be anyone in this crowd.'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215164812/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-university-of-chicago-student-rally-shooting-response-20211117-szbvysl6vvdahbv6qnez4xrfle-story.html|date=February 15, 2022}} PAIGE FRY, ''CHICAGO TRIBUNE'', November 16, 2021</ref> These incidents prompted student protests and an open letter to university leadership signed by more than 300 faculty members.<ref>{{cite web |title="We are experiencing an existential crisis": Faculty Letter Calls for Increased Safety and Security Actions in Hyde Park |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/article/2021/11/15/experiencing-existential-crisis-faculty-letter-calls/ |access-date=February 27, 2022 |website=chicagomaroon.com |language=en |archive-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227181212/https://chicagomaroon.com/article/2021/11/15/experiencing-existential-crisis-faculty-letter-calls/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 16, 2021 |title='We Are Here To Learn, Not To Die:' University of Chicago Students, Faculty Protest After Shooting That Killed Dennis Shaoxiong Zheng, Other Violence |url=https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/11/16/university-of-chicago-protest-violence/ |access-date=February 27, 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220163214/https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/11/16/university-of-chicago-protest-violence/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, the university introduced measures including increased foot and vehicular patrols near campus, expanded coordination between the [[University Police Department|university police department]] and the [[Chicago Police Department]], and greater use of [[Closed-circuit television|security cameras]] and [[Automatic number-plate recognition|license plate readers]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2021 |title=UChicago, Chicago Police Department leaders reaffirm commitment to campus safety {{!}} University of Chicago News |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-chicago-police-department-leaders-reaffirm-commitment-campus-safety |access-date=May 8, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The university continues to maintain one of the largest private police forces in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kartik-Narayan |first=Ashvini |date=July 17, 2018 |title=The Fight Over Chicago's Largest Private Police Force |url=https://southsideweekly.com/the-fight-over-chicagos-largest-private-police-force-university-of-chicago-ucpd/ |access-date=May 8, 2025 |website=[[South Side Weekly]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Satellite campuses ===
[[File:The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus.jpg|thumb|The University of Chicago [[University of Chicago Hong Kong|Francis and Rose Yuen Campus]], located at [[Mount Davis, Hong Kong]]|alt=A curved, glass walkway over a pavilion leading to a building]]
The university also maintains facilities apart from its main campus. The university's [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business|Booth School of Business]] maintains campuses in [[Hong Kong]], [[London]], and downtown Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Locations |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/executiveeducation/experience/global-locations |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |language=en}}</ref> The Center in Paris, a campus located on the [[Rive Gauche|left bank]] of the [[Seine]] in Paris, hosts various undergraduate and graduate study programs.<ref>{{cite web|title=The University of Chicago Center in Paris|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|url=http://centerinparis.uchicago.edu/|access-date=August 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905082342/http://centerinparis.uchicago.edu/|archive-date=September 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The university also maintains the Chicago House, based in [[Luxor]], which serves as the Egyptian headquarters for the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 20, 2024 |title=Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures marks 100 years of documenting Egypt's ancient inscriptions {{!}} University of Chicago News |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/institute-study-ancient-cultures-marks-100-years-documenting-egypts-ancient-inscriptions |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> In fall 2010, the university opened a center in [[Beijing]], near [[Renmin University]]'s campus in [[Haidian District]]. The most recent additions are a center in [[New Delhi]], India, which opened in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Global Foundation {{!}} University of Chicago Global |url=https://global.uchicago.edu/global-foundation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624061420/https://global.uchicago.edu/global-foundation |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |access-date=March 17, 2023 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> and a center in Hong Kong which opened in 2018.<ref>{{cite journal |date=May 14, 2019 |title=FGLA 2019 Merit: The University of Chicago Center in Hong Kong |url=https://www.futurarc.com/project/the-university-of-chicago-center-in-hong-kong/ |url-status=dead |journal=FuturArc |volume=2nd Quarter 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129014451/https://www.futurarc.com/project/the-university-of-chicago-center-in-hong-kong/ |archive-date=January 29, 2023 |access-date=January 29, 2023}}</ref> In 2024, the university opened the John W. Boyer Center in Paris, designed by architectural firm [[Studio Gang]] and nearly tripling the size of the Center in Paris which had opened in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 15, 2024 |title=UChicago celebrates opening of John W. Boyer Center in Paris {{!}} University of Chicago News |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-celebrates-opening-john-w-boyer-center-paris?s_src=9J68Z&mkt_tok=MjUwLUNRSC05MzYAAAGXCgBBaElWxXwuR2AnNG8BXI7HHJQeVaJNXIKuY3e0wnESEAGSx7XS9w0ZudrajiS6T-2I2bbfrvVIzfaSVxXuFGOYOFzgvx8Lu436DkXVjd6lrQ |access-date=November 27, 2024 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Academics ==<!-- This section is linked to from Template:UChicago. If you change this section heading, make sure to update that template as well. -->
[[File:University of Chicago July 2013 19 (Main Quadrangles).jpg|thumb|The University of Chicago Main Quadrangles, looking north|alt=A large gate, with students walking through]]
The academic bodies of the University of Chicago consist of the [[College of the University of Chicago|college]], four divisions of graduate research, seven professional schools, and the [[Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/academic-programs|title=Academic programs|website=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=August 31, 2023|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531172830/https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/academic-programs|url-status=dead}}</ref> The university also contains a library system, the [[University of Chicago Press]], and the [[University of Chicago Medical Center]], and oversees several laboratories, including the [[Fermilab|Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory]] (Fermilab), the [[Argonne National Laboratory]], and the [[Marine Biological Laboratory]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Affiliated Laboratories |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/affliated-laboratories |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The university is accredited by the [[The Higher Learning Commission|Higher Learning Commission]].<ref name="collegenavigator">{{cite web |title=The University of Chicago |url=http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=university+of+Chicago&s=all&id=144050 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413004814/http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=University+of+Chicago&s=all&id=144050 |archive-date=April 13, 2011 |access-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=College Navigator}}</ref> It is a member of the [[National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities]] and the [[Universities Research Association]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Member Detail |url=https://members.naicu.edu/Membership/Membership-Directory/Member-Detail?MemberId=%7BA8E55C04-6142-E411-BEB5-00505683000D%7D&Alpha=&keyword=university%20of%20chicago |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=members.naicu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Member Universities |url=https://ura-hq.org/member-universities/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Universities Research Association |language=en-US}}</ref>

The university runs on a [[quarter system]] in which the academic year is divided into four terms: Summer (June–August), Autumn (September–December), Winter (January–March), and Spring (March–June).<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Academic Calendar |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/academic-calendar#nav-current |access-date=September 9, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> Full-time undergraduate students take three to four courses every quarter<ref>{{Cite web |title=Enrollment Policies {{!}} The College {{!}} The University of Chicago {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://college.uchicago.edu/advising/enrollment-policies |access-date=September 9, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> for approximately ten weeks before their quarterly academic breaks. The school year typically begins in late September and ends in early June.<ref name=":10" />

=== Undergraduate college ===
{{Main|College of the University of Chicago}}

[[File:Harper Library from the Midway Plaisance.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Harper Memorial Library was dedicated in 1912, and its architecture takes inspiration from various colleges in England.|alt=The campus in winter, with snow covering the ground]]

The College of the University of Chicago grants [[Bachelor of Arts]] and [[Bachelor of Science]] degrees in 51 undergraduate courses of study<ref>{{cite web |title=Majors |url=http://college.uchicago.edu/academics-advising/majors-minors |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423184516/http://college.uchicago.edu/academics-advising/majors-minors |archive-date=April 23, 2014 |access-date=May 17, 2016 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> (since 2005 known as [[academic major|major]]s) and 33 secondary courses of study, now known as minors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://college.uchicago.edu/academics-advising/majors-minors/minors|title=Minors|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=May 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211200719/http://college.uchicago.edu/academics-advising/majors-minors/minors|archive-date=February 11, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The college's academics are divided into four divisions: the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division, the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division, the Social Sciences Collegiate Division, and the Humanities Collegiate Division. Each division is affiliated with the corresponding graduate division of the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collegiate Divisions {{!}} The College {{!}} The University of Chicago {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://college.uchicago.edu/academics/collegiate-divisions |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

The college introduced a now-widespread model of the liberal arts undergraduate program which featured the [[Socratic method]] in undergraduate contexts, the [[Great Books of the Western World#History|Great Books]] program, and the [[core curriculum]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Mortimer Jerome |title=Reforming education: the opening of the American mind |last2=Van Doren |first2=Geraldine |date=1990 |publisher=Collier Books |isbn=978-0-02-030175-2 |edition=1st Collier Books |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The liberal arts tradition: a documentary history |date=2010 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-7618-5132-5 |editor-last=Kimball |editor-first=Bruce A. |location=Lanham, Md.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Core Curriculum {{!}} The College {{!}} The University of Chicago|url=https://college.uchicago.edu/academics/core-curriculum|access-date=May 2, 2021|website=[[University of Chicago]]|language=en|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502150208/https://college.uchicago.edu/academics/core-curriculum|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the 1999–2000 school year, 15 courses across seven subjects and demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language are required under the core curriculum.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=History of the Core {{!}} The College {{!}} The University of Chicago {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://college.uchicago.edu/academics/core/history |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Eckhart Hall.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Eckhart Hall houses the university's math department.|alt=A large building]]

=== Graduate schools and committees ===
The university graduate schools and committees are divided into four divisions (biological sciences, humanities, physical sciences, and social sciences), seven professional schools, and the [[Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies|Graham School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/graduate-programs|title= Graduate Divisions & Professional Schools|website=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=August 31, 2023}}</ref> In the autumn quarter of 2022, the university enrolled 10,546 graduate students on degree-seeking courses: 569 in the biological sciences division, 612 in the humanities division, 2,103 in the physical sciences division, 972 in the social sciences division, and 6,290 in the professional schools (including the Graham School).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uchicago.app.box.com/s/trkqpw1ztu0lc4niahgz0y7g6eyqt6z6/file/1045237976077|title=Autumn Quarter 2022 Census Report|publisher=University of Chicago Registrar|access-date=August 31, 2023}}</ref>

The university is home to several committees for interdisciplinary scholarship, including the [[Committee on Social Thought|John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought]].<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Academic Departments |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/academic-departments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315181102/https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/academic-departments |archive-date=March 15, 2023 |access-date=March 17, 2023 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

=== Research ===
[[File:Fermilab.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of [[Fermilab]], a science research laboratory co-managed by the University of Chicago|alt=Bird's-eye view of a large circular shape inscribed into a grassy area]]

According to the [[National Science Foundation]], the University of Chicago spent $423.9&nbsp;million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 60th in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Table 20. Higher education R&D expenditures, ranked by FY 2018 R&D expenditures: FYs 2009–18 |url=https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2018/html/herd18-dt-tab020.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930141919/https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2018/html/herd18-dt-tab020.html |archive-date=September 30, 2020 |access-date=July 21, 2020 |website=ncsesdata.nsf.gov |publisher=[[National Science Foundation]]}}</ref> It is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".<ref>{{cite web |title=Carnegie Classifications Institution Lookup |url=https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=144050 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722033734/https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=144050 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |access-date=July 21, 2020 |website=carnegieclassifications.iu.edu |publisher=Center for Postsecondary Education}}</ref> It is a founding member of the [[Association of American Universities]], and was a member of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation between 1946 and 2016, when the group's name was changed to the [[Big Ten Academic Alliance]]. The University of Chicago is not a member of the rebranded consortium, but continues to be a collaborator.<ref name="btaa_chicago">{{cite web |title=Name Change – FAQ |url=http://www.btaa.org/about/expansion/name-change-faq |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711111625/http://www.btaa.org/about/expansion/name-change-faq |archive-date=July 11, 2016 |access-date=June 30, 2016 |publisher=Big Ten Academic Alliance}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=June 30, 2016 |title=Big Ten's Academic Division Changes Name |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/06/30/big-tens-academic-division-changes-name |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914020235/https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/06/30/big-tens-academic-division-changes-name |archive-date=September 14, 2016 |access-date=June 30, 2016 |website=Inside Higher Ed}}</ref>

The university operates more than 140 research centers and institutes on campus. Among these are the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures|Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa]]—a museum and research center for [[Near East]]ern studies owned and operated by the university—and a number of [[National Resource Center]]s, including the [[Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago|Center for Middle Eastern Studies]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Institutes and Centers |url=http://www.uchicago.edu/research/centers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513224921/http://www.uchicago.edu/research/centers/ |archive-date=May 13, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2016 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> Chicago also operates or is affiliated with several research institutions apart from the university proper. The university manages the [[Argonne National Laboratory]], part of the [[United States Department of Energy]]'s national laboratory system, and co-manages the [[Fermilab|Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory]] (Fermilab), a nearby particle physics laboratory.<ref name=":5" /> It was also part of the Astrophysical Research Consortium that constructed the [[Apache Point Observatory]] in [[Sunspot, New Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peterson |first=Jim |title=A Brief History of the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) and the Apache Point Observatory (APO) |url=https://arc.apo.nmsu.edu/ARC-History.pdf |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=Astrophysical Research Consortium}}</ref> Faculty and students at the adjacent [[Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago]] collaborate with the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TTIC About |url=https://www.ttic.edu/about/ |access-date=October 8, 2025 |website=www.ttic.edu}}</ref> In 2013, the university formed an affiliation with the formerly independent [[Marine Biological Laboratory]] in Woods Hole, Mass.<ref>[https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/06/11/marine-biological-laboratory-affiliate-with-university-chicago/Z6VMtposQFr8hBqV0GzWnL/story.html Marine Biological Laboratory to affiliate with University of Chicago – Health & wellness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829202545/https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/06/11/marine-biological-laboratory-affiliate-with-university-chicago/Z6VMtposQFr8hBqV0GzWnL/story.html|date=August 29, 2017}}. The Boston Globe (June 12, 2013). Retrieved on August 15, 2013.</ref> The [[National Opinion Research Center]] maintains an office at the Hyde Park campus and is affiliated with multiple academic centers and institutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Chicago Institutes and Centers |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/center/population_research_center |access-date=September 18, 2023 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Other Academic Units and Resources |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/other-academic-units-and-resources |access-date=September 18, 2023 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>
[[File:University of Chicago at Fall.jpg|thumb|University of Chicago building during fall|alt=Ivy-colored building with various shades of color]]
The University of Chicago has been the site of various experiments and academic movements. The university has played a role in shaping ideas about the [[free market]]<ref>Kasper, Sherryl (2002) ''The Revival of Laissez-Faire in American Macroeconomic Theory: A Case Study of Its Pioneers''. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. {{ISBN|1-84064-606-3}}</ref> and is the namesake of the [[Chicago school of economics]], the school of economic thought supported by [[Milton Friedman]] and other economists. The university's [[sociology]] department was the first independent sociology department in the United States and gave birth to the [[Chicago school (sociology)|Chicago school of sociology]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Sociology Homepage {{!}} Department of Sociology |url=https://sociology.uchicago.edu/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The university was the site of the [[Chicago Pile-1]] (the first controlled, self-sustaining human-made nuclear chain reaction, part of the [[Manhattan Project]]), of [[Robert Millikan]]'s [[oil-drop experiment]] that calculated the charge of the electron,<ref name="oildrop">{{cite web |date=January 13, 2009 |title=Abstract of Robert A. Millikan Oil Drop Experiment Notebooks |url=http://caltechln.library.caltech.edu/8/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703071919/http://caltechln.library.caltech.edu/8/ |archive-date=July 3, 2010 |access-date=September 8, 2009 |publisher=Caltech Institute Archives}}</ref> and of the development of [[radiocarbon dating]] by [[Willard F. Libby]] in 1946.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Radiocarbon Dating |url=https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/radiocarbon-dating.html |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=American Chemical Society |language=en}}</ref> The chemical experiment that tested how life originated on early Earth, the [[Miller–Urey experiment]], was also conducted at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miller-Urey experiment {{!}} Description, Purpose, Results, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Miller-Urey-experiment |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> [[REM sleep]] was discovered at the university in 1953 by [[Nathaniel Kleitman]] and [[Eugene Aserinsky]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cox |first=John D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BMPSJTQaFTQC&pg=PA27 |title=Climate crash: abrupt climate change and what it means for our future |publisher=National Academies Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-309-09312-5 |page=27 |quote=In 1947, at the University of Chicago, chemist Willard F. Libby discovered a powerful new technology known as radiocarbon dating. Libby would win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960 for developing this geological clock. |access-date=September 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308042353/https://books.google.com/books?id=BMPSJTQaFTQC&pg=PA27 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics operated the [[Yerkes Observatory]] in [[Williams Bay, Wisconsin]] from 1897 until 2018,<ref>{{cite web |date=March 7, 2018 |title=UChicago activities at Yerkes Observatory to end in 2018 |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-activities-yerkes-observatory-end-2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809072516/https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-activities-yerkes-observatory-end-2018 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=June 28, 2020 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> where the largest operating [[refracting telescope]] in the world and other telescopes are located.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yerkes Observatory {{!}} Astronomy, Research, Wisconsin {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yerkes-Observatory |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Professional schools ===
The university contains seven professional schools and the [[Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies]].

* The [[University of Chicago Divinity School]] was the first professional school at the University of Chicago, chartered in 1865 and incorporated into the university in 1890. It offers four graduate degree programs as well as undergraduate course offerings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} The University of Chicago Divinity School |url=https://divinity.uchicago.edu/about/history |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> It has been accredited by the [[Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada]] since 1938.<ref name="collegenavigator2">{{cite web |title=The University of Chicago |url=http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=university+of+Chicago&s=all&id=144050 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413004814/http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=University+of+Chicago&s=all&id=144050 |archive-date=April 13, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |publisher=College Navigator}}</ref>
* The [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business|Booth School of Business]] was founded in 1898 as the College of Commerce and Politics and received business school accreditation in 1916.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Booth School of Business - The University of Chicago |url=https://www.metromba.com/school/the-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=MetroMBA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Key Facts |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/about/key-facts |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |language=en}}</ref> In 2008, the then-called Graduate School of Business was renamed following a $300 million donation from alumnus David Booth.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Meet David Booth |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/about/david-booth |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |language=en}}</ref> It was ranked fourth out of 133 American business schools by U.S. News in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Chicago (Booth) Full-Time MBA Program |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/university-of-chicago-01073 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[U.S. News]]}}</ref>
* The [[University of Chicago Law School]] was established in 1902, twelve years after the founding of the university.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 18, 2009 |title=History of the Law School {{!}} University of Chicago Law School |url=https://www.law.uchicago.edu/school/history |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> It has been accredited by the [[American Bar Association]] since 1923 and was ranked third out of 195 American law schools by U.S. News in 2025.<ref name="collegenavigator2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Chicago |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-chicago-03052 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[U.S. News]]}}</ref>
* The [[Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice]] was first established in 1908 as the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy and received its first dean, [[Edith Abbott]], who became the first female dean of any graduate school in the United States in 1924. It was renamed in 2021 in recognition of a $75 million donation from [[James Crown|James]] and Paula Crown and the Crown family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our First Century {{!}} Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice |url=https://crownschool.uchicago.edu/about/history/our-first-century |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice |url=https://crownschool.uchicago.edu/about/history |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>
* The [[Pritzker School of Medicine]] matriculated its first class of medical students in 1927 and was renamed to the Pritzker School of Medicine in 1968 in recognition of support from the [[Pritzker family]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Pritzker {{!}} Pritzker School of Medicine {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://pritzker.uchicago.edu/about |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> It has been accredited by the [[Liaison Committee on Medical Education]] since 1942.<ref name="collegenavigator2" /> In 2023, the school declined to continue submitting data to U.S. News to help the publication rank the institution, joining medical schools including those at Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia in doing so.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 26, 2023 |title=University of Chicago medical school withdraws from US News rankings |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/01/26/university-of-chicago-medical-school-withdraws-from-us-news-rankings/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
* The [[University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy|Harris School of Public Policy]] was established in 1988 as the Graduate School of Public Policy Studies. In 1990, it was renamed in recognition of [[Irving Harris]]' financial support of the program during its inception.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Harris {{!}} Harris School of Public Policy {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://harris.uchicago.edu/about/history/history-of-harris |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The school offers six graduate degree programs as well as joint degree and non-degree programs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Academics {{!}} Harris School of Public Policy {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://harris.uchicago.edu/academics |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>
* The [[Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering]] was founded in 2019 following an expansion of the Institute of Molecular Engineering, which was established in 2011. The Pritzker Foundation provided a $75 million donation to help establish the school, which occupies the William Eckhardt Research Center.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dyer |first=Emma |title=UChicago Expands IME to School of Molecular Engineering with $100 Million from Pritzkers |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/27008/news/uchicago-expands-ime-school-molecular-engineering/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>
* The [[Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies]], originally known as the university-Extension program, was established in 1892.<ref>{{Cite web |last=grahamschool@uchicago.edu |date=February 1, 2021 |title=A Brief History of the Graham School: President Harper's Vision |url=https://graham.uchicago.edu/article/a-brief-history-of-the-graham-school-president-harpers-vision/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The school offers various non-degree courses and certificates as well as degree programs.<ref>{{cite web |title=About {{!}} University of Chicago Graham School |url=https://grahamschool.uchicago.edu/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607193125/https://grahamschool.uchicago.edu/about |archive-date=June 7, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2016|website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> In 1997, it was renamed to the William B. and Catherine V. Graham School of General Studies in honor of a $10 million donation from William and Catherine Graham made in the same year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 20, 1997 |title=Grahams give gift of $10 million to University |url=https://chronicle.uchicago.edu/970320/graham.shtml |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |volume=16 |number=13}}</ref>
Until 1989, the [[University of Chicago Graduate Library School]] was the graduate-level librarianship school at the University of Chicago. It was established in 1928 to develop a program for the graduate education of librarians with a focus on research.<ref>Association of American Library Schools. ''New Frontiers in Librarianship; Proceedings of the Special Meeting of the Association of American Library Schools and the Board of Education for Librarianship of the American Library Association in Honor of the University of Chicago and the Graduate Library School, December 30, 1940.'' [Chicago]: The Graduate library school, the University of Chicago, 1941.</ref> Housed for a time in the [[Regenstein Library|Joseph Regenstein Library]], the Graduate Library School closed in 1989 when the University of Chicago decided to promote information studies instead of professional education.<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 15, 1989 |title=Chicago GLS to close |journal=Library Journal |volume=114 |page=111}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Stieg |first=Margaret F. |year=1991 |title=The Closing of Library Schools: Darwinism at the University |journal=The Library Quarterly |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=266–272 |doi=10.1086/602365 |s2cid=144038790}}</ref>

=== Associated academic institutions ===
[[File:University of Chicago Laboratory Schools exterior.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private day school run by the university|alt=A large building]]
The university runs a number of academic institutions and programs apart from its undergraduate and postgraduate schools. It operates the [[University of Chicago Laboratory Schools]] (a private [[day school]] for [[K–12 (education)|K-12]] students and [[day care]]),<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2025 |title=About Lab - University of Chicago Laboratory Schools |url=https://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/about-lab |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en-US}}</ref> and a public [[charter school]] with three campuses on the [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]] of Chicago administered by the university's Urban Education Institute.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About UChicago Charter |url=https://www.uchicagocharter.org/aboutuchicagocharter |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=www.uchicagocharter.org |language=en}}</ref> In addition, the Hyde Park Day School, a school for students with learning disabilities,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Success |url=https://hydeparkday.org/our-success/ |access-date=October 8, 2025 |website=Hyde Park Day |language=en-US}}</ref> and the [[Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School]], a residential treatment program for those with behavioral and emotional problems,<ref>{{cite web|title=Caring for the Whole Person|url=http://oschool.org/why-the-o-school/history/|publisher=Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School|access-date=May 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519205115/http://oschool.org/why-the-o-school/history/|archive-date=May 19, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> maintains a location on the University of Chicago campus. Since 1983, the University of Chicago has maintained the [[University of Chicago School Mathematics Project]], a mathematics program used in urban primary and secondary schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview - UCSMP |url=https://ucsmp.uchicago.edu/about/overview/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The university runs a program called the Council on Advanced Studies, which administers interdisciplinary workshops to provide a forum for graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars to present scholarly work in progress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Council on Advanced Studies Workshops |url=https://grad.uchicago.edu/academic-support/council-on-advanced-studies-workshops/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The university also operates the [[University of Chicago Press]], the largest [[university press]] in North America.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Chicago Press Journals: About |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/about |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-06-14 |title=University presses: a view from the academy |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/06/14/university-presses-a-view-from-the-academy/ |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Library system ====
{{Main|University of Chicago Library}}

[[File:University of Chicago, Harper Library.jpg|thumb|University of Chicago, Harper Library|alt=The interior of the reading room of the library, with tables and lamps on either side of the hall]]
The [[University of Chicago Library]] system encompasses six libraries that contain a total of 11 million volumes, the 9th most among library systems in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=The University of Chicago Library |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/about/factsheet.html |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515160908/http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/about/factsheet.html |archive-date=May 15, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2016 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The university's primary library is the [[Regenstein Library]], which contains over 4.5 million print volumes on a variety of subjects and is the largest on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Site Protection - Verification Required |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/turnstile/challenge/?next=/spaces/joseph-regenstein-library/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Joseph Regenstein Library |url=https://architecture.uchicago.edu/locations/joseph_regenstein_library/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The [[Joe and Rika Mansueto Library]], built in 2011, houses a large study space and an automated book storage and retrieval system.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joe and Rika Mansueto Library {{!}} Explore the architecture at the University of Chicago |url=https://architecture.uchicago.edu/locations/joe_and_rika_mansueto_library/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The [[John Crerar Library]] contains more than 1.4 million volumes in the biological, medical and physical sciences and collections in general science and the philosophy and history of science, medicine, and technology.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 13, 2013 |title=About the John Crerar Library |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/crerar/about.html |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531144239/http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/crerar/about.html |archive-date=May 31, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2016 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The university also operates a number of special libraries, including the D'Angelo Law Library, the Social Service Administration Library, and the Eckhart Library for mathematics and computer science.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |title=Eckhart Library |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/eck/index.html |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012035723/http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/eck/index.html |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |access-date=October 26, 2013 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref><ref name="petersons">{{cite web |title=College Closeup: University of Chicago |url=http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/idd.asp?sponsor=36&inunId=9162#The%20university |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310210336/http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/idd.asp?sponsor=36&inunId=9162#The%20University |archive-date=March 10, 2007 |access-date=August 19, 2006 |publisher=Peterson's}}</ref> The Harper Memorial Library, the first library of the university, is now a reading and study room.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Tony |title=The Storied Past of Harper Memorial Library |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/26013/news/storied-past-harper-memorial-library/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>

=== Arts ===
[[File:Logan Center for the Arts.jpg|left|thumb|The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, opened in 2012|alt=A large building]]
The University of Chicago Arts program joins academic departments in the Division of the Arts & Humanities and the undergraduate College, student art programs, and professional organizations including the [[Court Theatre (Chicago)|Court Theatre]], the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures]], the [[Smart Museum of Art]], and the [[Renaissance Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arts Institutions & Programs |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/life-at-uchicago/arts |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The university offers graduate degrees in music, cinema and media studies, visual arts, and the humanities, among other subjects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Master's Programs |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/graduate-programs/masters-programs |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctoral Programs |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/graduate-programs/phd-programs |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> It also offers bachelor's degree programs in visual arts, music, art history, cinema and media studies, and theater and performance studies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Undergraduate Programs |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/education-and-research/undergraduate-programs |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> Several thousand major and non-major undergraduates enroll annually in creative and performing arts classes.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 5, 2012 |title=Background and History of UChicago Arts |url=http://arts.uchicago.edu/content/background-and-history |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110215036/http://arts.uchicago.edu/content/background-and-history |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |access-date=July 29, 2014 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

The university was home to the improvisational [[Compass Players]] student comedy troupe, which evolved into [[The Second City]] in 1959.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2024 |title=The Compass Players: How the First Improv Theater Changed Comedy |url=https://blog.crowdwork.com/the-compass-players/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=CrowdWork |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alumni - The Second City |url=https://www.secondcity.com/history |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=www.secondcity.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The university has an artist-in-residence program, which has supported over 32 individual artists as of May 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artists-in-Residence Program {{!}} Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://csrpc.uchicago.edu/programs/artists_programs/artists_in_residence/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts opened in 2012. It was financed by a $35 million gift from alumnus David Logan and his wife Reva, the single largest cash gift to the arts in the city of Chicago as of 2025. The center includes spaces for exhibitions, performances, classes, and media production.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History —Logan Center |url=https://www.logancenter.uchicago.edu/history |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Reputation and rankings ===
{{Infobox US university ranking
<!-- U.S. rankings -->| Forbes = 13
| THE_WSJ = 75
| USNWR_NU = 6
| Wamo_NU = 54 
<!-- Global rankings -->| ARWU_W = 10
| QS_W = 13
| THES_W = 14 (tie)
| USNWR_W = 26
}}

The University of Chicago is considered one of the most prestigious research universities in the United States.<section begin="reputation" reference="" />{{#tag:ref|
Characterizations of the reputation of the University of Chicago:
* {{cite book |author=Webber, Henry S. |title=The University as Urban Developer: Case Studies and Analysis |date=2005 |publisher=[[Lincoln Institute of Land Policy]]/[[M. E. Sharpe]] |isbn=9780765615411 |editor1=David C. Perry |page=66 |chapter=The University of Chicago and its Neighbors: A Case Study in Community Development |editor2=Wim Wiewel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmcgIYDVWoIC&pg=PA66 |quote=among the wealthiest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the United States}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cole |first=Jonathan R. |title=The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, Why It Must Be Protected |date=2009 |publisher=PublicAffairs Hachette |isbn=9781586484088 |pages=32–33 |language=en |quote=[in] the ranks of America's leading research universities}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=University of Chicago |encyclopedia=Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Chicago |date=April 15, 2023 |language=en |quote=one of the United States' most outstanding universities |ref=none}}
* {{Cite news |date=January 18, 2017 |title=Some Colleges Have More Students From the Top 1 Percent Than the Bottom 60. Find Yours. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html |access-date=May 20, 2025 |work=[[New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331| quote=Ivy plus}}
* {{cite news |last1=Bronner |first1=Ethan |title=Winds of Academic Change Rustle University of Chicago |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/28/us/winds-of-academic-change-rustle-university-of-chicago.html |access-date=May 20, 2025 |work=[[New York Times]] |date=December 28, 1998 |quote=no other academic institution has exemplified intellectual seriousness quite like the University of Chicago}}
|name="reputation"}}<section end="reputation" reference="" />The ''[[Academic Ranking of World Universities]]'' has consistently placed the University of Chicago among the top 10 universities in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ShanghaiRanking-Univiersities |url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/institution/university-of-chicago |access-date=May 23, 2025 |website=www.shanghairanking.com}}</ref> In 2026, the university was ranked 6th by [[U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking|''US News & World Report'']] and 13th by ''[[Forbes]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best National University Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?_sort=rank&_sortDirection=asc |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[U.S. News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Forbes America's Top Colleges List 2025 - Best US Universities Ranked |url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=Forbes |language=English}}</ref> In 2025, ''[[QS World University Rankings]]'' placed the university in 13th place worldwide, while [[Times Higher Education World University Rankings|''THE World University Rankings'']] ranked the university in a tie for 14th.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2025 |title=QS World University Rankings 2025 |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-chicago |access-date=June 20, 2025 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2023 |title=The University of Chicago |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-chicago |access-date=October 17, 2023 |website=[[Times Higher Education]] |language=en}}</ref>

The university's [[University of Chicago Law School|law]] and [[Booth School of Business|business]] schools consistently rank among the top three professional schools in the United States. In 2025, the business school was placed in second out of 77 American schools by ''[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Business School Rankings 2024-2025 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/business-schools/?leadSource=uverify%20wall |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref> fourth in the US by ''US News & World Report,''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=2025 Best Business Schools |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[U.S. News]]}}</ref> and second by ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]].''<ref>{{Cite web |title=These are the best MBA programs for those looking to apply to business school for 2025 |url=https://fortune.com/education/business/best-mba-programs/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=Fortune Education |language=en}}</ref> In the same year, it was placed fifteenth in the world by ''QS World University Rankings'' and seventeenth by the [[Financial Times]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2025 |title=Full Time MBA Rankings by QS-Global 2025 |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/mba-rankings/global |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MBA 2025 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com |url=https://rankings.ft.com/rankings/2997/mba-2025 |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=rankings.ft.com}}</ref> In 2025, the law school was ranked third in the United States by ''US News & World Report'' and second by [[Above the Law (website)|''Above the Law'']].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=2025 Best Law Schools |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[U.S. News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Law |first=Above the |date=June 13, 2024 |title=The 2024 ATL Top 50 Law School Rankings Are Here! |url=https://abovethelaw.com/2024/06/2024-atl-top-50-law-school-rankings/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=Above the Law |language=en-US}}</ref> In the same year, it was ranked 11th globally by ''QS World University Rankings.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2025 |title=QS World University Rankings for Law & Legal Studies 2024 |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/law-legal-studies |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}</ref>

== Administration and finance ==
{{See also|List of presidents of the University of Chicago}}
[[File:Paul Alivisatos University of Chicago President September 2021.png|thumb|Paul Alivisatos, University of Chicago president|alt=A professional photo of Paul Alivisatos smiling at the camera]]

The university is governed by a board of trustees. The board oversees the long-term development and plans of the university and manages fundraising efforts, and is composed of 55 members including the [[President of the University of Chicago|university president]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Board of Trustees |url=http://trustees.uchicago.edu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530232950/http://trustees.uchicago.edu/ |archive-date=May 30, 2016 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> Directly beneath the president are the provost, fourteen vice presidents, including the chief financial officer and [[Chief Investment Officer|chief investment officer]], and twelve deans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UChicago Leadership |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/leadership |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The current chair of the board of trustees is [[David Rubenstein]], who has occupied the position since May 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Rubenstein |url=https://president.uchicago.edu/leadership/david-rubenstein |access-date=May 23, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The current provost is [[Katherine Baicker]], who was appointed in March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Katherine Baicker |url=https://president.uchicago.edu/leadership/officers/katherine-baicker |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=January 30, 2023 |title=Katherine Baicker appointed provost of the University of Chicago |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/katherine-baicker-appointed-provost-university-chicago |access-date=April 7, 2023 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The current president of the University of Chicago is chemist [[Paul Alivisatos]], who assumed the role on September 1, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of the President |url=https://president.uchicago.edu/ |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

The university's endowment was the 21st largest among American educational institutions and state university systems in 2024, valued at roughly $10.1 billion.<ref name="NACUBO">{{cite web |date=February 12, 2025 |title=U.S. and Canadian 2024 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2024 Endowment Market Value, Change in Market Value from FY23 to FY24, and FY24 Endowment Market Values Per Full-time Equivalent Student |url=https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2024-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL-Feb-12-2025.xlsx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212074654/https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2024-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL-Feb-12-2025.xlsx |archive-date=February 12, 2025 |access-date=February 12, 2025 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) |format=XLSX}}</ref> Since 2016, the university's board of trustees has resisted pressure from students and faculty to divest its investments from fossil fuel companies.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 22, 2016 |title=University of Chicago professors urge fossil fuel divestment over climate change fears |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/22/university-chicago-divest-fossil-fuel-professors-climate-change |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026192835/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/22/university-chicago-divest-fossil-fuel-professors-climate-change |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |access-date=October 26, 2021 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2024}}, such investments remain a part of the university's endowment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buntin |first=Oliver |title=UChicago Alumni Pledge to Withhold Donations Unless Endowment Eliminates Fossil Fuel Investments |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/42142/news/uchicago-alumni-pledge-to-withhold-donations-unless-endowment-eliminates-fossil-fuel-investments/ |access-date=May 23, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>

In fall 2023, the university employed 3,418 academic staff and 23,217 administrative staff, including those from the [[University of Chicago Medical Center|medical center]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=University Facts – At a Glance {{!}} data.uchicago.edu |url=https://data.uchicago.edu/data-at-a-glance/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> In 2024, the university's combined annual budget, including the university proper, the medical center, and the marine biological laboratory, stood at $5.2 billion, with the university's operations making up an additional $2.6 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Max Blaisdell |date=November 13, 2024 |title=U. of C. unveils 4-year plan to close $288 million budget deficit |url=https://www.hpherald.com/evening_digest/u-of-c-unveils-4-year-plan-to-close-288-million-budget-deficit/article_af808bbe-a215-11ef-891b-5bc4720df8f8.html |access-date=May 21, 2025 |website=[[Hyde Park Herald]] |language=en}}</ref> In the same year, the university's total assets were valued at $20.3 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Financial Statements |url=https://intranet.uchicago.edu/tools-and-resources/financial-resources/accounting-and-financial-reporting/financial-statements |access-date=May 21, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

Part of the financial plan for the university by former university president [[Robert Zimmer]] was an increase in accumulation of debt to finance large building projects.<ref>{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Michael |date=March 17, 2014 |title=University of Chicago Is Outlier With Growing Debt Load |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-17/university-of-chicago-is-outlier-with-growing-debt-load |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223140447/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-17/university-of-chicago-is-outlier-with-growing-debt-load |archive-date=February 23, 2017 |access-date=March 12, 2017 |work=Bloomberg}}</ref> This drew both support and criticism from many in the university community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ando |first=Clifford |title=(West Virginia) Chicago is happening to you. The fight for the modern university. |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/40932/viewpoints/op-ed/west-virginia-chicago-is-happening-to-you-the-fight-for-the-modern-university/ |access-date=March 12, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref> In 2024, the university budget deficit stood at $288 million despite liquidating assets to cover the gap; the administration announced plans in November of that year to close the deficit over the next four years.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Max Blaisdell |date=November 13, 2024 |title=U. of C. unveils 4-year plan to close $288 million budget deficit |url=https://www.hpherald.com/evening_digest/u-of-c-unveils-4-year-plan-to-close-288-million-budget-deficit/article_af808bbe-a215-11ef-891b-5bc4720df8f8.html |access-date=May 23, 2025 |website=[[Hyde Park Herald]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=August 14, 2025 |title=The Crisis of the University Started Long Before Trump |url=https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-crisis-of-the-university-started-long-before-trump/ |access-date=September 4, 2025 |website=Compact |language=en}}</ref> The financial strain has caused the university to increase its student-faculty ratio, reduce the proportion of classes taught by research faculty, and spend an unusually high percentage of undergraduate tuition on servicing debt.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ando |first=Clifford |title=West Virginia Chicago is happening to you. The fight for the modern university. |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/40932/viewpoints/op-ed/west-virginia-chicago-is-happening-to-you-the-fight-for-the-modern-university/ |access-date=September 4, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>

In the summer of 2025, the university announced more than $100 million in budget cuts across capital projects, hiring, and graduate admissions in a response to the growing university deficit, [[Education policy of the second Trump administration#Actions against universities|less federal funding, and uncertainty about international student admissions]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glick |first=Isaiah |title=University of Chicago Announces $100 Million Budget Cuts Amid Federal Policy Changes |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/48358/news/university-of-chicago-announces-100-million-budget-cuts-amid-federal-policy-changes/ |access-date=September 9, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>{{Clear}}

== Student body and admissions ==
{{Infobox U.S. college admissions|year=2023|ref=<ref>{{cite web |title=Class of 2027 Profile |url=https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/class-2027-profile |website=[[University of Chicago]] |access-date=April 28, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> |admit rate=4.8%|admit rate change=-3.3|yield rate=87.9%|yield rate change=+24.2|float=right}}

In fall 2024, the university enrolled 7,569 undergraduate students, 10,968 graduate students, and 750 non-degree students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Enrollment {{!}} University Registrar |url=https://registrar.uchicago.edu/data-reporting/historical-enrollment/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The college class of 2025 is composed of 53% male and 47% female students. Twenty-seven percent of the class identify as Asian, 19% as Hispanic, and 10% as Black. Eighteen percent of the class is international.<ref name="collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu">{{Cite web|url=https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/class-2025-profile|title=Class of 2025 Profile &#124; College Admissions|date=December 30, 2021|access-date=March 18, 2022|archive-date=December 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230004705/https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/class-2025-profile|url-status=dead |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The university is [[need-blind]] for domestic applicants.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://financialaid.uchicago.edu/about |website=Financial Aid |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |access-date=May 4, 2023 |language=en |date=February 13, 2018 |archive-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810083407/https://financialaid.uchicago.edu/about |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Admission to the University of Chicago has become highly selective over the past two decades, reflecting changes in the application process, school popularity, and marketing strategy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Record-low acceptance rate as applicant numbers increase|url=https://www.chicagomaroon.com/2015/04/14/record-low-acceptance-rate-as-applicant-numbers-increase/|access-date=February 7, 2021|website=www.chicagomaroon.com|language=en|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414182811/https://www.chicagomaroon.com/2015/04/14/record-low-acceptance-rate-as-applicant-numbers-increase/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Acceptance rate falls by one third, reaching record low of 18 percent|url=https://www.chicagomaroon.com/2010/4/2/acceptance-rate-falls-by-one-third-reaching-record-low-of-18-percent/|access-date=April 22, 2021|website=www.chicagomaroon.com|language=en|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422025238/https://www.chicagomaroon.com/2010/4/2/acceptance-rate-falls-by-one-third-reaching-record-low-of-18-percent/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Hoover|first=Eric|date=November 5, 2010|title=Application Inflation|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/application-inflation/|access-date=April 22, 2021|website=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422204405/https://www.chronicle.com/article/application-inflation/|url-status=live}}</ref> Between 1996 and 2023, the acceptance rate of the college fell from 71% to 4.7%.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The University of Chicago Magazine: October 2001, Features|url=https://magazine.uchicago.edu/0110/features/abuse.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126132935/https://magazine.uchicago.edu/0110/features/abuse.html|archive-date=January 26, 2021|access-date=February 7, 2021|website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

The middle 50% band of [[SAT]] scores for the undergraduate class of 2025 was 1510–1570 (98th–99th percentiles),<ref name="collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu" /> the average [[MCAT]] score for students entering the Pritzker School of Medicine class of 2024 was 519 (97th percentile),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pritzker.uchicago.edu/admissions/admissions-faq|title=&#124; Pritzker School of Medicine &#124; The University of Chicago|website=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=November 1, 2019|archive-date=November 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101222451/https://pritzker.uchicago.edu/admissions/admissions-faq|url-status=live}}</ref> the median [[GMAT]] score for students entering the full-time Booth MBA program class of 2023 was 740 (97th percentile),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/mba/full-time/admissions/class-profile |title=Full-Time MBA Class Profile |publisher=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |access-date=November 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216151137/https://www.chicagobooth.edu/programs/full-time |archive-date=December 16, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the median [[LSAT]] score for students entering the Law School class of 2021 was 172 (99th percentile).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.law.uchicago.edu/class-profile |title=The University of Chicago – The Law School Profile 2020–2021 |date=October 11, 2019 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |access-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304081648/https://www.law.uchicago.edu/class-profile |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2018, the University of Chicago attracted national headlines by becoming the first major research university to no longer require SAT or ACT scores from college applicants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/06/16/now-that-the-university-of-chicago-dropped-its-testing-requirement-for-applicants-will-other-elite-colleges-follow/|title=Perspective {{!}} Now that the University of Chicago dropped its testing requirement for applicants, will other elite colleges follow?|last=Selingo|first=Jeffrey J.|date=June 16, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 18, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617114050/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/06/16/now-that-the-university-of-chicago-dropped-its-testing-requirement-for-applicants-will-other-elite-colleges-follow/|archive-date=June 17, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Athletics ==
[[File:Chicago Maroons logo.svg|thumb|left|Official athletics logo|alt=Logo of the Maroons]]
{{Main|Chicago Maroons}}

The University of Chicago hosts 19 varsity sports teams: 10 men's teams and 9 women's teams, all called the [[Chicago Maroons|Maroons]], with 502 students participating in the 2012–2013 school year.<ref name="sportsfacts">{{cite web |year=2013 |title=Quick Facts: 2012–13 Summary |url=http://athletics.uchicago.edu/about/quick_facts |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325055237/http://athletics.uchicago.edu/about/quick_facts |archive-date=March 25, 2014 |access-date=April 23, 2014|website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> The Maroons compete in the [[NCAA Division III]] as members of the [[University Athletic Association]] (UAA).<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Chicago {{!}} NCAA.com |url=https://www.ncaa.com/schools/chicago |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=www.ncaa.com |language=en}}</ref> Their mascot is Phil the Phoenix.<ref name=":72"/>

The university was a founding member of the [[Big Ten Conference]] and participated in the NCAA Division I men's basketball and football.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenthal |first=Phil |date=March 8, 2021 |title=So much for Chicago's Big Ten team: 75 years ago, the University of Chicago told the conference it wanted out |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/03/08/so-much-for-chicagos-big-ten-team-75-years-ago-the-university-of-chicago-told-the-conference-it-wanted-out/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1935, the University of Chicago reached the Sweet Sixteen.<ref name="sportsfacts"/> In 1935, [[Chicago Maroons football]] player [[Jay Berwanger]] became the first winner of the [[Heisman Trophy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners Archive |url=https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Heisman |language=en-US}}</ref> However, the university chose to withdraw from the Big Ten Conference in 1946 after University president [[Robert Maynard Hutchins]] de-emphasized varsity athletics in 1939 and dropped football.<ref>{{cite book| last=McNeill|first=William Hardy|year=1991|title=Hutchins' University: A Memoir of the University of Chicago, 1929–1950| place=[[Chicago]]|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-56170-4}}</ref> In 1969, Chicago reinstated football as a Division III team, resuming play at the new [[Stagg Field]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Six score of UChicago football |url=https://mag.uchicago.edu/footballhistory |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

The University of Chicago is home to the University of Chicago Rugby Football Club (UCRFC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Chicago - University of Chicago Rugby - Men's Rugby Team |url=https://www.uchicagorugby.com/about |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=www.uchicagorugby.com |language=en}}</ref> Since 2022, men's rugby competes in the Division II Great [[Midwest Conference|Midwest Conference (MWC)]] under [[National Collegiate Rugby]], having previously competed under [[USA Rugby]]. It was ranked 15th in the country at the end of the 2024 fall 15s season, falling to Montana State 19–48 in the Sweet Sixteen NCR DII playoff round. It competes in a [[Rugby sevens|Rugby 7s]] circuit in the spring. It shares its conference with Loyola University Chicago, the University of Illinois Chicago, Northwestern University (for which it competes in a yearly cup, the Hutchins-Scott Cup), DePaul University, and Benedictine University.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 30, 2025 |title=Great Midwest Conference Rankings |url=https://rugby.exposureevents.com/widgets/v1/schedule?eventid=224249&divisionid=995117&division=true&css=https://cdn.exposureevents.com/content/external/ncrugby.min.css&responsive=true}}</ref> A women's club also exists at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UC Rugby |url=https://rugby.uchicago.edu/ |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

Founded in 1939, UChicago's Sailing Club is one of the oldest in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sailclub.uchicago.edu/ |website=University of Chicago Sailing Team Page |publisher=University of Chicago |access-date=7 December 2025}}</ref> The team competes in the Midwestern Collegiate Sailing Association conference within the Intercollegiate Sailing Association. From 2022 to 2025, the team won 4 conference championships granting berths to national championship regattas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collegesailing.org/ |access-date=7 December 2025}}</ref>

The university is also home to the [[ultimate frisbee]] team UChicago Fission.<ref>{{cite web |title=USA Ultimate Events, Teams and Member Accounts &#124; Play USA Ultimate |url=https://play.usaultimate.org/teams/events/Eventteam/?TeamId=BieG8NB%2f%2fsXUbEdh%2fNsShBmII%2bS3K7TovdfW9xJGBwk%3d}}</ref>

== Student life ==<!-- This section is linked to from Template:UChicago. If you change this section heading, make sure to update that temlate as well. -->
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible" ; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Student body composition as of May 10, 2025
|-
! Race and ethnicity<ref>{{Cite web |title=School Profile {{!}} College Scorecard |url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?144050-University-of-Chicago |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=collegescorecard.ed.gov |language=en}}</ref>
! colspan="2" data-sort-type="number" |Total
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
|align=right| {{bartable|31|%|2||background:gray}}
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
|align=right| {{bartable|20|%|2||background:purple}}
|-
| [[Foreign national]]
|align=right| {{bartable|16|%|2||background:orange}}
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]
|align=right| {{bartable|17|%|2||background:green}}
|-
| Other{{efn|Other consists of [[Multiracial Americans]] & those who prefer to not say.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2||background:brown}}
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
|align=right| {{bartable|7|%|2||background:mediumblue}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type="number" |[[Economic diversity]]
|-
| [[American lower class|Low-income]]{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal [[Pell grant]] intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|14|%|2||background:red}}
|}

=== Student organizations ===<!-- This section is linked to from Template:UChicago. If you change this section heading, make sure to update that temlate as well. -->
<!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: please do not add to this list unless it is a notable example that can be verified with multiple sources that are not directly from the university or the organization itself. If you're in doubt, ask on the talk page. Thanks! -->
Students at the University of Chicago operate more than 400 clubs and organizations known as Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Recognized Student Organizations (RSO) {{!}} Center for Leadership and Involvement {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://leadership.uchicago.edu/get-involved/recognized-student-organizations-rso/ |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> These include cultural and religious groups, academic clubs and teams, and common-interest organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Student Organizations & Activities |url=https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/campus-life/student-orgs-activities/ |access-date=October 8, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> Among notable student organizations are the nation's longest continuously running student film society [[Doc Films]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://docfilms.org/about/ |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=docfilms.org}}</ref><ref name="FilmNews">{{cite journal |author= |year=1950 |title=Film News |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GAsdAAAAMAAJ |journal=Educational Film Library Association, American Film Center |publisher=Film News Co. |volume=11–13 |pages=628 |quote=At the University of Chicago the Documentary Film Group, probably the oldest US film society, has been operating continuously...since 1932.}}</ref> the organizing committee for the [[University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt]], and the weekly student newspaper ''[[The Chicago Maroon]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago Maroon |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/ |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>[[File:Reynoldsclub.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.9|The university's Reynolds Club, the student center|alt=A large building]]

==== Student government ====
All recognized student organizations are funded by the [[The University of Chicago Student Government|University of Chicago Student Government]]. Student Government consists of graduate and undergraduate students elected to represent members from their respective academic units.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Student Government {{!}} Center for Leadership and Involvement {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://leadership.uchicago.edu/get-involved/student-government/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> It is led by an executive committee, chaired by a president with the assistance of two vice presidents (one for administration and the other for student life) who are elected together as a slate by the student body each spring. {{As of|2025}}, the Undergraduate Student Government annual budget was greater than $2.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mission |url=https://www.uchicagocollegecouncil.com/mission |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Undergraduate Student Government |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Fraternities and sororities ====

{{As of|2019}}, there were more than 20 [[Greek fraternity|Greek]] organizations operating on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Maroon |title=Sororities and Fraternities at UChicago |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/27132/news/greek-life-uchicago/ |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref> According to a 2016 ''Maroon'' article, 19.6% of undergraduates were members of fraternities or sororities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hauck |first=Grace |title=A Snapshot of UChicago Greek Life: Demographics, Growth, and Regulation |url=https://chicagomaroon.com/24521/grey-city/snapshot-uchicago-greek-life-demographics-growth-r/ |access-date=September 18, 2025 |website=[[Chicago Maroon]]}}</ref>

=== Student housing ===
[[File:Blue, orange and pink.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.65|alt=An orange brick building with pink window frames and a blue roof|[[Max Palevsky Residential Commons]] is a dormitory completed in 2001 designed by postmodernist Mexican architect [[Ricardo Legorreta]].]]
{{main|Housing at the University of Chicago}}

On-campus undergraduate students at the University of Chicago participate in a [[house system]] in which each student is assigned to one of the university's seven [[residence hall]] buildings and to a smaller community within their residence hall called a "house". There are 48 houses, with an average of 80 students in each house.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Housing & Dining |url=https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/campus-life/housing-and-dining/ |access-date=September 18, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> The houses are named after former professors and other historical figures in the university community, such as [[Eugene Fama]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 11, 2019 |title=University announces names for seven new College residential houses {{!}} University of Chicago News |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/university-announces-names-seven-new-college-residential-houses |access-date=May 14, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

Students are required to live in on-campus housing for the first six quarters of enrollment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Residency Requirement & Housing Eligibility {{!}} Housing & Residence Life |url=https://housing.uchicago.edu/residency-requirement-housing-eligibility/ |access-date=September 18, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> As of the 2024–2025 school year, 58% of undergraduate students live on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Data Set {{!}} data.uchicago.edu |url=https://data.uchicago.edu/common-data-set/ |access-date=September 18, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

The university owns and manages more than 300 residential units near campus for graduate students.<ref>{{Cite web |title={{!}} Apartments in Chicago, IL {{!}} RENTCafe |url=https://rp.uchicago.edu/ |access-date=October 8, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

=== Traditions ===
[[File:Scavrace1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Qwazy Quad Rally, [[University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt|Scav Hunt]] 2005|alt=A group of students in front of six shopping carts that have been decorated; there is a student wearing a helmet in each one]]
<!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: please do not add to this list unless it is a notable example that can be verified with multiple sources that are not directly from the university or the organization itself. If you're in doubt, ask on the talk page. Thanks! -->
{{Main|Doc Films|University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt}}

Every May since 1987, the University of Chicago has held the [[University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt]], in which teams of students compete to obtain notoriously esoteric items from a list.<ref>{{cite press release |title=World's largest Scavenger Hunt begins in Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |url=http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/05/050505.scavhunt.shtml |access-date=June 13, 2005 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050507235316/http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/05/050505.scavhunt.shtml |archive-date=May 7, 2005}}</ref> Every January, the university holds a week-long winter festival, Kuviasungnerk/Kangeiko (Kuvia), which includes early morning exercise routines and fitness workshops.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Harrington |first1=Adam |last2=Feurer |first2=Todd |last3=Cramer |first3=Matthew |date=January 16, 2025 |title=Kuvia, winter tradition at University of Chicago, canceled over student's arrest, suspension - CBS Chicago |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/kuvia-winter-tradition-university-of-chicago-canceled-protest/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The university also annually holds a carnival and concert called Summer Breeze,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major Activities Board |url=https://uchicagomab.com/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Major Activities Board |language=en-US}}</ref> which hosts outside musicians. Ida Noyes Hall is home to [[Doc Films]], a student film society founded in 1932 that screens films nightly at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://docfilms.org/about/ |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=docfilms.org}}</ref> Since 1946, the university has organized the [[Latke-Hamantash Debate]], which involves humorous discussions about the relative merits and meanings of [[latke]]s and [[hamantash]]en.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The University of Chicago Magazine |url=https://magazine.uchicago.edu/0512/features/puns.shtml |access-date=May 8, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> Since 2002, the Ida Noyes Pub has hosted [[Pub quiz|Trivia Nights]] for university affiliates each Tuesday.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 13, 2015 |title=Trivia, Pursued {{!}} The College {{!}} The University of Chicago {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=https://college.uchicago.edu/news/student-stories/trivia-pursued |access-date=May 23, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

== People ==
{{Main list|List of University of Chicago people
}}Since the university's establishment in 1890, there have been 101 [[List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation|Nobel laureates]] across all six categories affiliated with the University of Chicago,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nobel Prizes |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/global-impact/accolades/nobel-laureates |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> 21 of whom were pursuing research or on faculty at the university at the time of their award announcement.<ref>{{cite web |year=2008 |title=Nobel Laureates and Universities |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/universities.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410035330/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/universities.html |archive-date=April 10, 2008 |access-date=March 18, 2008 |publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref> Of these 101 Nobel Prizes, 30 were in [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]], 19 in [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]], 13 in [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology/Medicine]], 3 in [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature]], 1 in [[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace]], and 31 in [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Economics]]. Chicago faculty and alumni also include ten [[Fields Medal]]ists,<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Fields Medal |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/14/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407140029/https://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/14/ |archive-date=April 7, 2019 |access-date=November 16, 2020 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> seventeen [[National Medal of Science]] recipients,<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Medal of Science |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/global-impact/accolades/national-medal-of-science |access-date=May 16, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> four [[Turing Award]] winners,<ref>
* [[Robert W. Floyd]]
* [[Herbert A. Simon]]
* [[Richard Hamming]]
* [[Dana Scott]]
</ref> fifty-eight [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur Fellows]],<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=MacArthur Fellows |url=http://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/18/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706173343/http://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/18/ |archive-date=July 6, 2016 |access-date=July 8, 2016 |website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> five [[John Bates Clark Medal]]ists,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Guibert |first1=Susan |date=April 18, 2014 |title=Chicago Booth's Gentzkow awarded 2014 Clark Medal |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2014/04/18/chicago-booth-s-gentzkow-awarded-2014-clark-medal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113113035/https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2014/04/18/chicago-booth-s-gentzkow-awarded-2014-clark-medal |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |access-date=November 13, 2017 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> thirty [[Marshall Scholars]],<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Statistics |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/global-impact/accolades/marshall-scholars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126211334/http://www.marshallscholarship.org/about/statistics |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=March 31, 2025 |publisher=Marshallscholarship.org}}</ref> fifty-five [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholars]],<ref name="Rhodes">{{cite web |title=Rhodes Scholarships |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/global-impact/accolades/rhodes-scholars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222074903/https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/global-impact/accolades/rhodes-scholars |archive-date=February 22, 2022 |access-date=November 14, 2024 |publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> twenty-seven [[Pulitzer Prize]] winners,<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Pulitzer Prize Winners |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/24/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419120810/https://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/24/ |archive-date=April 19, 2018 |access-date=April 19, 2018|website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> twenty [[National Humanities Medal]]ists,<ref name=":4">{{cite web |title=National Humanities Medalists |url=https://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/20/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319090912/http://www.uchicago.edu/about/accolades/20/ |archive-date=March 19, 2016 |access-date=April 3, 2016|website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> and six [[List of American universities with Olympic medals|Olympic medalists]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold-medal UChicagoans: The University's history at the Olympic Games |url=https://intranet.uchicago.edu/news-and-events/news/2024/08/uchicagos-history-at-the-olympic-games |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=intranet.uchicago.edu |language=en}}</ref>{{multiple image
| total_width       = 450
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| header            = Notable alumni
| image1            = Milton Friedman.jpg
| caption1          = [[Milton Friedman]]
| image2            = Bernie Sanders (49624954238).jpg
| caption2          = [[Bernie Sanders]]
| image3            = Carl Sagan Planetary Society.JPG
| caption3          = [[Carl Sagan]]
| alt1              = Milton Friedman
| alt2              = Bernie Sanders
| alt3              = Carl Sagan
}}
[[List of University of Chicago alumni|Chicago alumni]] have gone on to become notable in several fields. In particular, alumni include CEOs of firms such as [[Microsoft]], [[Goldman Sachs]], and [[Credit Suisse]];<ref>
* [[Satya Nadella]], CEO of Microsoft
* [[Jon Corzine]], Co-CEO of Goldman Sachs
* [[Brady Dougan]], CEO of Credit Suisse
</ref> six heads of state or government across five continents;<ref>
* [[Hastings Banda]], President of Malawi
* [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], Prime Minister of Canada
* [[Lien Chan]], Premier of the Republic of China
* [[Álvaro Magaña]], President of El Salvador
* [[Geoffrey Palmer (New Zealand politician)|Geoffrey Palmer]], Prime Minister of New Zealand
* [[Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada]], President of Bolivia
</ref> eight U.S. Cabinet Secretaries;<ref>
* [[Harold L. Ickes|Harold LeClair Ickes]], Secretary of the Interior
* [[Robert Todd Lincoln]], Secretary of War
* [[Peter G. Peterson|Peter George Peterson]], Secretary of Commerce
* [[Abraham Ribicoff|Abraham A. Ribicoff]], Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
* [[Pete Peterson|Peter Peterson]], Secretary of Commerce
* [[Patricia Roberts Harris]], Secretary of Health and Human Services
* [[Steve Preston|Steven C. Preston]], Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
* [[Edward H. Levi|Edward Levi]], Attorney General
</ref> ten U.S. Senators;<ref>
* [[Jon Corzine|Jon S. Corzine]] (D-NJ)
* [[Bernie Sanders]] (VT)
* [[Jim Talent]] (R-Mo)
* [[Todd Young]] (R-IN)
* [[Amy Klobuchar]] (D-MN)
* [[Carol Moseley Braun]] (D-IL)
* [[Pete Ricketts]] (R-NE)
* [[Roman Hruska]] (R-NE)
* [[Gale W. McGee|Gale McGee]] (D-WY)
* [[Charles H. Percy]] (R-IL)
</ref> four central bank Presidents or Directors, including the [[World Bank]];<ref>
* [[Jacob A. Frenkel]], Bank of Israel
* [[Masaaki Shirakawa]], Bank of Japan
* [[Agustín Carstens]], Bank of Mexico
* [[Paul Wolfowitz]], World Bank
</ref> one U.S. Supreme Court justice;<ref>
* [[John Paul Stevens]], Associate Justice
</ref> and presidents of [[Princeton University|Princeton]], [[Northwestern University|Northwestern]], and [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]].<ref>
* [[Christopher L. Eisgruber]], Princeton
* [[Henry Bienen]], Northwestern
* [[Howard Wesley Johnson]], MIT
</ref>

[[List of University of Chicago faculty|Notable faculty]] include three Supreme Court Justices, one central bank governor, and numerous Nobel Prize laureates. Former U.S. president [[Barack Obama]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Joe |date=March 28, 2008 |title=Obama a Constitutional Law Professor? |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2008/03/Obama-a-constitutional-law-professor/ |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=FactCheck.org |language=en-US}}</ref> poet [[T. S. Eliot|T.S. Eliot]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=TIME |date=November 13, 1950 |title=Education: Find Your Own Answers |url=https://time.com/archive/6886061/education-find-your-own-answers/ |access-date=May 9, 2025 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> and writer [[Ralph Ellison]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Ellison, Ralph : Photographic Archive : The University of Chicago|url=http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf1-05960.xml|access-date=September 1, 2021|archive-date=September 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901213406/http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf1-05960.xml|url-status=live|website=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> all served on the faculty.

== In pop culture ==
The University of Chicago is the [[alma mater]] of fictional characters Harry Burns and Sally Albright (from ''[[When Harry Met Sally...|When Harry Met Sally]]''), [[Indiana Jones]], and Mark Watney (from ''[[The Martian (Weir novel)|The Martian]]''). It has served as filming locations for scenes in ''[[Divergent (film)|Divergent]],'' ''[[The Fugitive (1993 film)|The Fugitive]]'', and ''[[Sense8]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago in TV and Movies |url=https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/uncommon-blog/chicago-tv-and-movies |url-status=dead |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=[[University of Chicago]] |language=en |archive-date=September 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907144435/https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/uncommon-blog/chicago-tv-and-movies }}</ref>

Abe Ravelstein, the titular character of the novel ''[[Ravelstein]],'' was based on UChicago faculty member [[Allan Bloom]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=With Friends Like Saul Bellow |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000416mag-ravelstein.html |access-date=May 26, 2025 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Boyer |first=John |title=The University of Chicago: A History |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015}}
* {{cite journal |last=Burstein |first=Stanley M. |title=Werner Jaeger Comes to Chicago |journal=International Journal of the Classical Tradition |volume=26 |issue=3 |year=2019 |pages=319–332|doi=10.1007/s12138-018-0484-8 |s2cid=255504312 }}
* {{cite book |last=Dunn |first=William N. |title=Pragmatism and the origins of the policy sciences: rediscovering Lasswell and the Chicago school |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2019}}
* {{cite journal |last=Eldred |first=Juliet Sprung |title='A Highly Complex Set of Interventions': The University of Chicago as Urban Planner, 1890-2017 |journal=Chicago Studies |year=2019 |doi=10.6082/uchicago.5538 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal |last=Irwin |first=Douglas A. |title=The midway and beyond: recent work on economics at Chicago |journal=History of Political Economy |volume=50 |issue=4 |year=2018 |pages=735–775 |doi=10.1215/00182702-7202548 |s2cid=158553976 |url=https://www.academia.edu/80417983}}
* {{cite journal |last=Jaworski |first=Gary D. |title=On loyalty and betrayal in postwar social science, mainly in Chicago |journal=Journal of Classical Sociology |volume=22 |issue=3 |year=2022 |pages=320–349 |doi=10.1177/1468795X211042550 |s2cid=238677255 |url=http://cdclv.unlv.edu/ega/articles/gj_on_loyalty_21.pdf}}
* {{cite book |last=Stigler |first=Stephen M. |chapter=University of Chicago Department of Statistics |editor-first1=A. |editor-last1=Agresti |editor-first2=X. L. |editor-last2=Meng |title=Strength in Numbers: The Rising of Academic Statistics Departments in the U.S. |year=2013}}
* {{cite book |last=Storr |first=Richard J. |title=Harper's University: The Beginnings |year=1966}} (a major scholarly history)
* {{cite book |last1=Veith |first1=Ilza |last2=McLean |first2=Franklin C. |title=The University of Chicago Clinics and Clinical Departments, 1927–1952: A Brief Outline of the Origins, the Formative Years, and the Present State of Medicine at the University of Chicago |year=1952}}
* {{cite book |last=Vermeulen |first=Cornelius W. |title=For the Greatest Good to the Largest Number: A History of the Medical Center, the University of Chicago, 1927–1977 |year=1977}}
* {{cite book |last=Webber |first=Henry S. |chapter=The University of Chicago and Its Neighbors: A Case Study in Community Development |editor-first1=David C. |editor-last1=Perry |editor-first2=Wim |editor-last2=Wiewel  |title=The University as Urban Developer: Case Studies and Analysis |year=2005}}
* {{cite thesis |last=White |first=Woodie T. |title=The Study of Education at the University of Chicago 1892–1958 |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=University of Chicago |year=1977}}
* {{cite book |last=Wind |first=James P. |title=The Bible and the University: The Messianic Vision of William Rainey Harper |year=1987}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikisource|Portal:University of Chicago}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.illinoisgreatplaces.com/#welcome Illinois Great Places] – [http://www.illinoisgreatplaces.com/#detail/university_of_chicago_quadrangle-081/type=educational/city=chicago University of Chicago Quadrangles]
* [http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IL-01-031-0093 Society of Architectural Historians SAH ARCHIPEDIA entry on the University of Chicago Quadrangles]

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