University of Chicago

A private university chartered in 1890 by John D. Rockefeller, the University of Chicago has been shaping higher education and the intellectual lives of undergraduates for more than a century. William Rainey Harper, the first president, imagined a university that would combine an American-style undergraduate liberal arts college with a German-style graduate research university. The University of Chicago quickly fulfilled Harper's dream, becoming a national leader in academia and research.Boasting its 211-acre campus on the shores of Lake Michigan, UChicago has been home to over eighty Nobel Laureates, the largest number affiliated with any American university. UChicago scholars were the first to split the atom, to measure the speed of light, and to develop the field of sociology. The College is the largest academic unit of the University, which encompasses 10 graduate divisions and professional schools, including on-campus law, business, and medical schools.