Program Description

University of Chicago

Graham School of General Studies

Summer Programs for High School Students
Chicago, Illinois


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For More Information, Contact
Sarah López, Administrative Assistant
Summer Session Office
Graham School of General Studies
University of Chicago
1427 East 60th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
773-834-3792
Fax: 773-834-0549
http://summer.uchicago.edu
E-mail: uc-summer@uchicago.edu

Type of Program: Academic enrichment, college credit
Participants: Coeducational, rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school
Enrollment: 225
Program Dates: Session I begins June 23, end dates vary
Head of Program: Stephanie Friedman, Associate Director

Location

The University of Chicago is located in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, 7 miles south of the Loop, as the city’s downtown is called. Diverse and vibrant, Hyde Park offers all the amenities of a small college town—bookstores, restaurants, cafés, and shops—but is only a quick train or bus ride from the museums, restaurants, and shopping of downtown Chicago. The beaches and biking and jogging paths of Lake Michigan are a short walk from the campus.

Background and Philosophy

The University of Chicago was founded in 1892 to inspire excellence in liberal arts education as well as in a variety of professions. A leader in higher education since its inception, the University College (for undergraduates) focuses on a broad liberal education in the humanities, the sciences, the social sciences, and the arts. The University’s Summer Programs for High School Students, offered through the Graham School of General Studies, reflect the University’s overall emphasis on a commitment to intellectual challenge, critical thinking, and personal discovery. The programs offer a college-preparatory environment in which students can test their intellectual limits, live like a college student, and learn to make thoughtful and informed decisions about their academic future.

Program Offerings

High school students have four program options.
Summer Quarter Undergraduate Course Offerings In this program, students take regular undergraduate courses alongside University of Chicago students. They may take one, two, or three courses that are three to nine weeks in length, depending on the schedule they choose.
Insight This program consists of three-week, intensive courses in which students can explore a discipline in depth and in a hands-on environment. Topics include law, writing, Egyptology, psychology, and urban studies.
Research in the Biological Sciences This two-course program offers intensive theoretical and practical experience with current research techniques, in and out of the laboratory, in the biological sciences.
Stones and Bones This two-course program provides students with an opportunity to join a paleontological expedition. After studying geology and evolutionary biology at the Field Museum of Natural History, students apply their knowledge at an expedition site in Wyoming. After the dig, students return to Chicago to analyze and preserve their finds.
The Traveling Academy Interdisciplinary courses in Western civilization are offered overseas. In summer 2007, the program focused on classical Greek drama, with travel to Athens, Delphi, Mycenae, and the Isle of Spetses.

Enrollment

Students are drawn from throughout the United States and internationally. Students who complete their freshman, sophomore, or junior year before the summer are welcome to apply. Admission is competitive and administered on a rolling basis. The University is committed to a diverse student body, and that commitment is reflected in the summer programs.

Daily Schedule

A student’s daily schedule depends upon the student’s choice of program. Students who take Summer Quarter Undergraduate Offerings and live on campus take two courses simultaneously. Weekly classroom and lab hours vary depending on the length of the course—the shorter the course, the more intensive the work. Undergraduate courses can be scheduled anytime from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and students choose their own course schedule.
Students in all other programs can expect to be in class-related activities—whether in the classroom, the lab, the field, tutorials, or small-group work—all day.
Residential students take their meals together in the dining hall three times a day. For those times when students want to take a break from academic work, the residential program staff plans activities that take full advantage of the campus and the city.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

In the evening and on weekends, a full program of social and recreational events is available. Outdoor concerts, movies on the quads, lectures, the downtown Fourth of July fireworks display, “midnight soccer”, barbecues, and study breaks are among the many types of activities planned. Excursions to Six Flags Great America Amusement Park, Ravinia Music Festival, Chicago Cubs or White Sox games, and Chicago’s world-class museums are also part of the extracurricular schedule. Students are encouraged to organize their own events with the help of the Resident Advisers who live in the dormitory with students.
On campus, students can play pool or “midnight soccer”, chat with friends, get a snack, study, read, or just relax on the quads. The campus is actually a botanic garden, with a wide variety of trees and flowers set against beautiful Gothic-style buildings.
The city of Chicago comes alive in the summer with outdoor movies and concerts, street festivals, Cubs and White Sox games, miles of lakefront beaches and parks, and more. The city also offers many opportunities to further students’ summer learning experience: they can explore world-renowned museums, music, and theater; encounter the diverse cultures and cuisines represented in Chicago’s many neighborhoods; and marvel at some of the world’s finest examples of modern architecture.

Facilities

The University’s facilities are open to all summer students. Computing clusters (including one in the dormitory), e-mail and Internet access, the libraries, the laboratories (if related to a student’s course work), and athletic facilities are among the resources available for study, research, and recreation. The newly built Ratner Athletic Center features an Olympic-size swimming pool and other top-of-the-line workout facilities.
Residential students live in Max Palevsky Residential Commons, a centrally located dormitory with many fine amenities. They live in a suite, sharing a bathroom and common area with 3 other students and a room for sleeping and studying with a roommate.

Staff

Courses are taught by University faculty members and advanced graduate students, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognized in their fields, or by other professionals from the University or the Chicago area because of their recognized expertise in a particular discipline.
Trained Resident Advisers (RAs), who are University of Chicago undergraduates or graduate students, live in the dormitory with summer students. They are available to provide advice and guidance as students acclimate themselves to college living, the campus, and the city. They are responsible for fostering a comfortable and supportive residential environment for all students. In addition, they plan, implement, and attend all of the social and recreational activities. The RA staff is supervised by a Residential Program Director and an Assistant Director, who are graduate students or other adults. They, in turn, report to the Associate Director.

Medical Care

All students are required to have adequate health insurance coverage for injury, accident, or major illness. Students who are not covered are required to purchase health insurance, which is available through the University. In addition, all students pay a health services fee that entitles them to care through the Primary Care Group at the University of Chicago Hospitals. A physician and a therapist are on call 24 hours a day. Students must have required immunizations (including two vaccinations against measles, consistent with state of Illinois law) before classes begin.

Religious Life

The University maintains no religious affiliation. Rockefeller Chapel is the center of religious life at the University, and weekly ecumenical services are held there in the summer. Centers for a number of other faiths are available to students.

Costs

Tuition costs vary from program to program. In 2008, the Summer Quarter for High School Students tuition was $2545 per course. Insight tuition was $2545 per course. Research in the Biological Sciences tuition was $5290 for two courses. Room and board for all these programs cost $465 per week. Stones and Bones tuition was $5090 for two courses plus $2850 for room, board, and transportation. The Traveling Academy was $7485, all costs included.

Financial Aid

Partial-tuition scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit. Awards are made on a rolling basis, and early application is encouraged. A completed Tuition Scholarship Form as well as the parents’ most recent tax return are required for consideration. Awards can be applied toward tuition costs only; there is no aid available for room and board or other fees.

Transportation

The city of Chicago is served by Chicago–O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport. Students are advised of airport shuttle services upon their acceptance to the program, and students must make their own transportation arrangements to and from the airport at both the beginning and the conclusion of the program.

Application Timetable

Applications are accepted through April 15 for Traveling Academy and May 15 for all other programs. Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. Because admission is selective and limited, early application is encouraged. In addition to the application form, students must submit a personal essay, two letters of recommendation from teachers, and a current transcript. Online applications are available on the Web site at http://summer.uchicago.edu.