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Explore big ideas, together.

Join a community of eminent scholars and intellectually curious peers.

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Woman walks down street on University of Chicago campus. Classroom discussion with four students and instructor. Graham School instructor leads virtual classroom discussion. Student writes down reflections in notebook. Student smiles during classroom discussion. Three Graham School students greet each other prior to an event. David Brooks and Anne Snyder converse with a Graham School student. Three Graham School students explore the UChicago Smart Museum. Three Graham School students and Anne Snyder converse. Dean Seth Green looks over UChicago campus while speaking with a student.

Featured Offerings

Our offerings are inspired by the belief that lifelong engagement with the liberal arts enriches lives and invigorates societies.

Courses

Pursue a Life Well Lived

Rethink aging through the lens of lifespan, healthspan, and joyspan with gerontologist and best-selling author Dr. Kerry Burnight.

Aging Brilliantly
two people walking during the summer
Weeklong Residential Program

Engage in a Week of Civic Virtue

This August, spend a week on UChicago’s Hyde Park campus to explore big ideas and lively conversations with fellow Graham students.

Graham Summer School
Travel Study

Visit Revolutionary War Sites

Celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary by visiting legendary Revolutionary War sites in New Jersey.

Travel to New Jersey
UChicago GSAL Students
Courses

Learning Never Stops

Renew your love of learning with a unique program aimed at personal growth.

Returning Scholars
Master’s Degree

Grow as a Thinker and Leader

Elevate your critical thinking and leadership through advanced study in the liberal arts.

Master of Liberal Arts

Which Graham offering is right for you?

Take the Quiz

Why Lifelong Learners Love Graham

Reading, literature, and philosophy were my first loves and all things the Graham School does so spectacularly well.

Don Phillips AM’86, CER’17 (Basic Program)

Once you start, there is a thirst within you for more. We’re always looking for courses to take and books to read. The desire for new knowledge and understanding never ends.

Rosemarie Mitchell MLA’12

By taking classes, I am reinforcing that we always have something new to learn. Knowledge helps us grow and enriches our lives. And through the University of Chicago, I can be an example of that.

Murad Sabzali MLA Student

Browse Spring Courses

Graham student gathering

New to Graham

Are You New to the Graham School?

In the Graham School’s one-of-a-kind community, you’ll join intellectually curious peers to explore big ideas with our extraordinary faculty and instructors. Whether studying the classics or looking at contemporary issues, our students are motivated by fundamental questions like: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “What difference do I want to make?”  We create a welcoming space of intellectual discovery and discernment for learners in mid-life and beyond.

Choose from our wide variety of offerings to learn in the modality and at the pace that makes sense for you. 

Find your Path

What we’re striving for as we age is wisdom, and I don’t think you can have it unless your mind is fully engaged and encountering the best that’s been thought and said.

David Brooks, AB’83 Senior Advisor & Senior Fellow, UChicago Leadership & Society Initiative

What I love most about teaching at the Graham School is that it is like eating at the chef’s table: there are no barriers between students and instructors. We are all peers, indeed, friends learning alongside each other.

Jennifer Lind, MLA’22 Instructor, UChicago Graham School

By discussing texts from around the world and throughout history, Graham School students, faculty, and staff seek answers to universal questions about human life while also appreciating the diversity of human experience.

Paul Cato, AM’19 Basic Program Instructor, UChicago Graham School

Our students are hungry. They want to talk about ideas. They want to read exciting, challenging texts and learn to think about them in new ways.

Mark Miller, MA’87, PhD’93 Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the English Department, UChicago

Upcoming Events at Graham

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Mar 25
Enduring Excellence

Enduring Excellence: A Conversation with Paul Polman

David Rubenstein Forum or via livestream

Join us for an important conversation in the ‘Enduring Excellence’ series with Paul Polman—former CEO of Unilever and Co-Founder of IMAGINE, a social venture advancing sustainable business leadership.

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Apr 09
Discussions

A Conversation with Melissa Kirsch

Online

Join us for a virtual conversation with New York Times writer Melissa Kirsch.

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Apr 17
Programmatic Event

2026 Basic Program Weekend: Moby-Dick

Hyde Park Campus

Join us from April 17-19 for a full weekend of panels and discussions led by Basic Program instructors discussing Herman Melville’s classic 1851 novel Moby-Dick.

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Apr 27
Discussions

Relevance, Purpose, and Meaning After a Major Life Transition

Gleacher Center

What happens when the drive that built your career becomes the thing that prevents you from ever truly knowing yourself? Geoff Curtis spent nearly 30 years in healthcare communications before an acquisition erased his role — and forced him to confront what it really means to find purpose after a major life transition.

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Graham School Stories

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GRAHAM SCHOOL COMMUNITY

We believe that the best learning happens in classrooms where people actively engage each other in the spirit of joint inquiry.

That’s why Graham School faculty focus on asking provocative questions and facilitating discussion rather than just imparting their expertise. Our courses invite learners to engage in meaningful dialogue across divergent perspectives.

Why Graham

Questions? Reach out for support.

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