University rankings
National
ARWU[65] 8
Forbes[66] 14
U.S. News & World Report[67] 5
Washington Monthly[68] 29
Global
ARWU[69] 9
QS[70] 8
Times[71] 10
The academic bodies of the University of Chicago consist of the College, four divisions of graduate research, six professional schools, and the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies (a continuing education school). The university also contains a library system, the University of Chicago Press, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and the University of Chicago Medical Center, and holds ties with a number of independent academic institutions, including Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory. The university is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.[72]
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 (April–June).[73] Full-time undergraduate students take three to four courses every quarter[74] for approximately eleven weeks before their quarterly academic breaks. The school year typically begins in late September and ends in mid-June.[73]
Undergraduate college[edit]
Main article: College of the University of Chicago
The College of the University of Chicago grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 50 academic majors[75] and 28 minors.[76] The college's academics are divided into five divisions: the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division, the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division, the Social Sciences Collegiate Division, the Humanities Collegiate Division, and the New Collegiate Division.[77] The first four are sections within their corresponding graduate divisions, while the New Collegiate Division administers interdisciplinary majors and studies which do not fit in one of the other four divisions.[78]
Undergraduate students are required to take a distribution of courses to satisfy the university's core curriculum known as the Common Core. In 2012-2013, the Core classes at Chicago were limited to 17 students, and are generally led by a full-time professor (as opposed to a teaching assistant).[79] As of the 2009–2010 school year, 15 courses, tested proficiency in a foreign language, passage of a swim test, and up to three physical education courses (depending on results of an entrance examination) are required under the Core.[28] Undergraduate courses at the University of Chicago are known for their demanding standards, heavy workload and academic difficulty; according to Uni in the USA, "Among the academic cream of American universities – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and the University of Chicago – it is UChicago that can most convincingly claim to provide the most rigorous, intense learning e
