University of Chicago

University of Chicago
MottoCrescat scientia; vita excolatur (Latin)
Motto in English
"Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched"
TypePrivate research university
Established1890 (1890)
FounderJohn D. Rockefeller
AccreditationHLC
Academic affiliations
Endowment$10.6 billion (2025)
PresidentPaul Alivisatos
Academic staff
3,418 (2023)
Administrative staff
23,217 (2023)
Students18,732 (2025)
Undergraduates7,496 (2025)
Postgraduates11,195 (2025)
Other students
408 (non-degree seeking, 2025)
Location,
Illinois
,
United States

41°47′23″N 87°35′59″W / 41.78972°N 87.59972°W / 41.78972; -87.59972
CampusLarge city, 217 acres (87.8 ha) (main campus)
Other campuses
NewspaperThe Chicago Maroon
Colors  Maroon
NicknameMaroons
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III
MascotPhil the Phoenix
Websiteuchicago.edu

The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, UChi, or U of C) is a private research university in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States.

The university is composed of an 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 business, social work, theology, public policy, law, medicine, and molecular engineering, as well as a school of continuing studies. The university maintains satellite campuses and centers in London, 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 schools of thought in various fields. The university'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 carbon-14 dating of ancient life and objects. The university operates and administers research institutions including the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the Argonne National Laboratory, and the Marine Biological Laboratory. The university is also home to the University of Chicago Press, the largest university press in North America.

As of 2025, the university's students, faculty, and staff have included 101 Nobel laureates. The university's faculty members and alumni also include 10 Fields Medalists, 4 Turing Award winners, 58 MacArthur Fellows, 30 Marshall Scholars, 55 Rhodes Scholars, 27 Pulitzer Prize winners, 20 National Humanities Medalists, and 6 Olympic medalists.