University of Chicago: Arts Programs

The arts are central to the mission of the University of Chicago. With a strong tradition of cross-disciplinary practices, intricately mixed with intellectual curiosity and creative energy, the University fosters a bustling arts community on Chicago's South Side.

In response to a 2001 report on the future of the arts at UChicago, the University launched an ambitious suite of new initiatives and programs to enhance the existing UChicago Arts landscape. These include the Arts + Public Life Initiative and its flagship project, the Washington Park Arts Incubator, the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.

The initiatives join academic departments and programs in the Division of the Humanities and the College, as well as professional organizations including the Court Theatre, Oriental Institute Museum, Smart Museum of Art, Renaissance Society, and University of Chicago Presents, and more than 60 student arts organizations, in forging an integrative model for practice, presentation, and scholarship.

Academic offerings at the University of Chicago include multiple degree-granting programs and research initiatives, as well as dozens of courses for non-degree students to explore the arts. Our arts faculty come from diverse interdisciplinary backgrounds to cater to the creative and intellectual talents of our students.