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Academics

Humanities Collegiate Division

The Humanities Collegiate Division is the College’s home for humanistic inquiry and artistic practice. There are many ways for College students to study the humanities or to make art. In the Humanities and Arts Cores, students learn to read closely, think critically, write and speak effectively, or make and interpret art. Through the Humanities Signature courses students get to sample the best the humanistic disciplines have to offer. They can study one of more than 50 languages or join one of many student-run theater productions. They can intern at the Smart Museum of Art or conduct their own research project in the College Summer Research Institute. And of course, they can pursue one of 26 major or minors offered by the Humanities Collegiate Division.

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Humanities and Arts Curriculum

    In the small discussion-based seminars of the Humanities Core, students enter into conversation with great thinkers of the past and present about questions and issues that have preoccupied mankind for millennia. Satisfying the general education requirement in the humanities, the Humanities Core teaches students to read closely, think critically, and communicate effectively.

    The Arts Core allows students to engage critically and creatively with art in a wide variety of courses. By training students’ critical imagination, they are enabled not only to perceive and understand art more thoughtfully but create their own art more self-reflexively. The Arts Core Curriculum draws on courses from Art History, Cinema & Media Studies, Creative Writing, Music, Theater & Performance Studies, and Visual Art.

    Clear and compelling communication is one of the main aims of a liberal arts education and is the domain of the humanities. The College’s Writing Program and the Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse offer a variety of courses and services to students.

    Students can learn over 50 languages at the University of Chicago. Through one of the many Study Abroad programs or through a Foreign Language Acquisition Grant (FLAG) students can deepen their immersion and improve their proficiency.

    Humanities Signature Courses introduce students to exciting themes, ideas, and materials in the humanities. They are designed as gateway courses that open up fields and disciplines for further exploration. While they have no prerequisites and are open to all students, they may satisfy major and minor requirements.

    Course Clusters enable students to explore topics or fields of wide intellectual concern from the vantage points of multiple disciplines. Cluster Courses have no prerequisites and are aimed at a general audience.

    Not limited to the sciences, undergraduate research in the humanities and the arts allows students to experience the thrill of discovery and to acquire the transferable skills of humanistic inquiry. The College Center for Research and Fellowships works with faculty and programs in the Humanities to provide a variety of research opportunities for students in the College.

    UChicago Career Advancement helps students in the humanities leverage their liberal arts education for a multitude of careers. Internships at one of the many art institutions on campus provide students valuable professional experience and a springboard to a career in journalism, art, and media.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Take advantage of experiences off campus, in Chicago, across the nation, and around the globe.

Programs of Study