Academic Departments

For over a century, the University of Chicago's Department of Art History has shaped the discipline through groundbreaking theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches, building on early collaborations with archaeology and arts education. Today, the department continues its global, object-driven, and collaborative research and teaching, embracing a wide range of art traditions while integrating resources from the university’s diverse area studies and interdisciplinary programs.

Since its founding in 1995, the academic program in Cinema and Media Studies has assembled a group of leading scholars in the field and developed a world-wide reputation for original, rigorous, and influential scholarship. With the growth and definition of its undergraduate and graduate curricula, the department has been attracting an impressive succession of students with a wide range of interests and backgrounds; they have not only been creating a vibrant community for film and new media on campus, but have also gone on to garner prestigious awards, fellowships, and academic teaching positions.

Classics has historically referred to the study of the languages, literatures, history, and material culture of the ancient Greeks and Romans, with the view that ancient artistic, mythological, and intellectual traditions and practices provide foundations from which many societies process and make sense of their own lived experiences. In addition to two PhD tracks, Classical Languages and Literatures and the Ancient Mediterranean World, the Department offers joint PhD programs in Classics and Social Thought as well as Classics and Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS).  Other joint degrees can be tailored ad hoc, such as one joining Classics and Middle Eastern Studies.

Comparative Literature explores cultural expressions across multiple languages, periods, genres, and disciplines by connecting diverse traditions and proposing new frameworks for understanding. The University of Chicago's Department of Comparative Literature embodies this approach, engaging with a wide array of languages and cultures while encouraging students to critically address major questions in the humanities, such as boundaries, authority, and the definition of literature.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC) at The University of Chicago is at the forefront of innovative humanistic approaches to the study of China, Japan, and Korea, past and present. Faculty specializations range from ancient paleography to contemporary cinema but interdisciplinary and interregional paths of inquiry are strongly encouraged.

Since its founding, the University of Chicago's Department of English has been a hub of influential research and teaching that has expanded the boundaries of literary studies. By focusing on the creation and analysis of literary works, the department demonstrates how language and literature reveal the human condition and help us adapt to technological change while preserving our humanity.

The Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Chicago is a national and international leader, offering innovative and interdisciplinary programs in Germanic language, literature, philosophy, and the arts, as well as Norwegian and Yiddish. Renowned for its vibrant intellectual community, flexible interdisciplinary culture, active mentoring, and global collaborations, the department fosters deep engagement through seminars, conferences, and collaborative events involving both current and former students.

Founded in the mid-1930s as the oldest linguistics department in the U.S., the University of Chicago's Department of Linguistics emphasizes theory-driven, empirically grounded research on languages from around the world. The department encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, and both faculty and students engage in diverse approaches to language study, with graduate students becoming active researchers early in their programs.

Founded in 1892, the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, with over forty faculty and lecturers, is one of the largest such departments in the country. The department’s distinguished faculty offer cutting-edge interdisciplinary perspectives on the lands of the Near and Middle East. We teach more than twenty ancient and modern languages, as well as topics in archaeology, history, and literature. The research and teaching interests of scholars in MES range over this historically central and geopolitically significant region from the Chalcolithic era to the present day.

Positioned at the heart of a world-renowned academic institution, the Department of Music offers graduate degrees in Composition and Sound Practices, Ethnomusicology, and Music History and Theory, as well as an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a lively performance program that involves undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students. Whether you’re considering applying to a program, browsing for interesting talks or concerts, wondering about curricular requirements, or looking for opportunities to play music, explore our site for answers.

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago is distinctive in combining a humanistic orientation with a commitment to philosophical rigor. We value clarity of expression and logical precision, and we believe that philosophical work is enriched when it is animated by a range of conversations in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and arts. We offer exceptionally broad and deep programs in Western philosophy at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a lively, congenial, and intellectually stimulating atmosphere.

The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago offers a diverse range of linguistic and disciplinary traditions, teaching seven languages, including Basque, Catalan, French, Haitian Kreyol, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. The department provides undergraduate majors and minors focused on various regions, as well as graduate programs in French and Francophone Studies, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Studies, and Italian.

The Slavic Department at the University of Chicago is renowned for its comprehensive research and teaching in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian cultural and literary studies, as well as engagement with the broader region’s non-Slavic cultures. With leading faculty across diverse specialties and dedicated language instruction, the department promotes interdisciplinary training and mentorship to prepare graduate students for leadership in Slavic Studies.

Founded in 1966, the Department of South Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Chicago focuses on a comprehensive humanistic understanding of South Asia through in-depth textual analysis and the study of its historical, social, literary, and political issues. The department is globally recognized for its leadership in the field and regularly offers instruction in seven South Asian languages: Bangla, Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu.

The Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) at the University of Chicago offers comprehensive academic and creative programs, undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree, a joint Ph.D. program, a TAPS-focused Master of Arts Program in the Humanities, and an expanding dance program, all supported by a state-of-the-art facility. TAPS fosters experimental and critical engagement in diverse expressive forms, equipping students with creative and analytical skills for leadership in the performing arts and related fields.

The Department of Visual Arts embraces a wide range of disciplines and intellectual interests in its commitment to the rigorous production and investigation of art.