Degrees Offered | Biological Sciences Collegiate Division | Arts and Humanities Collegiate Division | Social Sciences Collegiate Division | Physical Sciences Collegiate Division | Accreditation

Degrees Offered

The College awards bachelor's degrees to degree-seeking undergraduates who have fulfilled all degree requirements within their allotted quarters of enrollment. Bachelor's degrees awarded are based on the major(s) selected by the student and may come in two forms: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.). A Bachelor of Arts typically allows for the exploration of a wider range of interests, while a Bachelor of Science ordinarily offers a more intensive program of study in the select subject area. Some programs of study offer only one degree, the B.A. or the B.S., while other programs offer both options and allow students to select the one they wish to pursue. A complete list of the programs of study and whether they are available as a B.S., B.A., or minor can be found below for each collegiate division. Students interested in pursuing more than one program should discuss their plans thoroughly with their academic adviser. 

Biological Sciences Collegiate Division

In the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division (BSCD), students from every major study life in all its forms. The student experience focuses on the research processes that inform our knowledge of biological mechanisms that govern living things and the interactions of organisms with each other and with their environment.

The BSCD oversees the following Core requirements and programs of study:

Core Requirements

Biological Science Core requirement

Programs of Study

Biological Sciences (B.A., B.S., minor)
Computational Neuroscience (minor)
Neuroscience (B.A., B.S., minor)

Arts and Humanities Collegiate Division

The Arts and Humanities Collegiate Division (AHCD) 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 the many major or minors offered by the Humanities Collegiate Division.

The AHCD oversees the following Core requirements and programs of study:

Core Requirements

Arts Core requirement
Humanities Core requirement
Language Competence Core requirement
Writing Core requirement

Programs of Study

Architectural Studies (minor)
Art History (B.A., minor)
Business German (minor)
Catalan (minor)
Cinema and Media Studies (B.A., minor)
Classical Studies (B.A., minor)
Cognitive Science (B.A., minor)
Comparative Literature (B.A.)
Creative Writing (B.A.)
Digital Studies of Language, Culture, and History (minor)
East Asian Languages and Civilizations (B.A., minor)
English Language and Literature (B.A.)
English and Creative Writing (minor)
French (minor)
Fundamentals: Issues and Texts (B.A.)
Gender and Sexuality Studies (B.A., minor)
Germanic Studies (B.A., minor)
Inquiry and Research in the Humanities (B.A.)
Italian (minor)
Jewish Studies (B.A., minor)
Kreyòl and Haitian Studies (minor)
Linguistics (B.A., minor)
Media Arts and Design (B.A., minor)
Medieval Studies (B.A., minor)
Middle Eastern Studies (B.A., minor)
Music (B.A., minor)
Norwegian Studies (minor)
Philosophy (B.A., minor)
Philosophy and Allied Fields (B.A.)
Portuguese (minor)
Religious Studies (B.A., minor)
Renaissance Studies (minor)
Romance Languages and Literatures (B.A., minor)
Russian and East European Studies (B.A., minor)
Science Communication and Public Discourse (minor)
Spanish (minor)
South Asian Languages and Civilizations (B.A., minor)
Theater and Performance Studies (B.A., minor)
Visual Arts (B.A., minor)
Yiddish (minor)

Social Sciences Collegiate Division

The Social Sciences Collegiate Division (SSCD) is home to the undergraduate curriculum in the social sciences. Our programs immerse students in the full range of social scientific inquiry, exploring the conceptual frameworks, theories, and methodologies essential to understanding the economic, political, cultural, and psychological phenomena by which human communities organize themselves. This encounter with foundational concepts is defined by an open and critical exchange of ideas, the practice of careful reading, precise writing, and engaging debate. 

The SSCD oversees the following Core requirements and programs of study:

Core Requirements

Civilization Studies Core requirement
Social Sciences Core requirement

Programs of Study

Anthropology (B.A., minor)
Comparative Human Development (B.A.)
Computational Social Science (minor)
Democracy Studies (minor)
Economics (B.A.)
Education and Society (minor)
Environment, Geography, and Urbanization (B.A., minor)
Geographic Information Science (minor)
Global Studies (B.A.)
Health and Society (minor)
History (B.A., minor)
History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (B.A., minor)
Human Rights (B.A., minor)
Inequality, Social Problems, and Change (minor)
Latin American and Caribbean Studies (B.A., minor)
Law, Letters, and Society (B.A.)
Political Science (B.A.)
Psychology (B.A.)
Public Policy Studies (B.A.)
Quantitative Social Analysis (minor)
Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity (B.A., minor)
Sociology (B.A.)

Physical Sciences Collegiate Division

The Physical Sciences Collegiate Division (PSCD) is where two major areas of intellectual exploration—physical and mathematical sciences—come together to help students better understand the physical world from multiple perspectives, ranging from the smallest chemical compounds to the densest stars.

The PSCD oversees the following Core requirements and programs of study:

Core Requirements

Mathematical Sciences Core requirement
Physical Sciences Core requirement

Programs of Study

Applied Mathematics (B.S.)
Astronomy and Astrophysics (minor)
Astrophysics (B.A., B.S.)
Biological Chemistry (B.S.)
Chemistry (B.A., B.S., minor)
Climate and Sustainable Growth (B.A., minor)
Computational and Applied Mathematics (B.S.)
Computational Molecular Engineering (minor)
Computer Science (B.A., B.S., minor)
Data Science (B.A., B.S., minor)
Environmental Science (B.S.)
Geophysical Sciences (B.A., B.S.)
Immunoengineering (minor)
Mathematics (B.A., B.S., minor)
Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Engineering (minor)
Molecular Engineering (B.S., minor)
Molecular Engineering Technology and Innovation (minor)
Polymers and Soft Materials (minor)
Quantum Information Science (minor)
Physics (B.A., B.S., minor)
Statistics (B.A., B.S., minor)
Sustainable Energy and Water Resources (minor) 
Systems Bioengineering (minor)

Accreditation

The University of Chicago is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. All degrees granted and programs of study offered by the University are considered accredited by this body. The University of Chicago has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1913. More information about the University's accreditation can be found here.