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 and instructors focus on asking provocative questions and facilitating discussion rather than just imparting their expertise. Our courses invite learners to hone their critical and synthetic thinking skills, explore other cultures, and enrich self- and societal awareness.
As one of the first university extension schools, the Graham School has roots tracing back to the University’s founding in 1890.
Since then, we have remained at the pinnacle of lifelong learning and leadership by nurturing a restless spirit of inquiry. We are dedicated to providing learners from all walks of life with opportunities to engage with advanced insights from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
University of Chicago Accolades and Figures
All our offerings are inspired by a belief that the liberal arts should extend throughout one’s lifetime, enriching individuals and our society.
Our students are experienced individuals with diverse backgrounds who share an insatiable curiosity about the world around them. Even many decades into their careers or into retirement, they remain zealously committed to lifelong learning. Our distinctive courses and programs help these students stay cognitively nimble, socially involved, and ready to share the benefit of their experience with others.
Graham students have opportunities to leverage UChicago’s vast resources, delving into the complex issues that fascinate them and unlocking new possibilities in their lives. They find personal fulfillment through investigating big ideas and participating in respectful, illuminating conversations with others who have different perspectives and insights.
Whether students attend Graham School courses in person at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park or downtown Chicago campuses or online, they find that our classrooms are vibrant spaces where the unique viewpoints of learners from around the world come together in an enriching dialogue. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students all collaborate to foster an environment where every learner is valued, supported, challenged, and inspired.
About the University of Chicago
For more than 125 years, the University of Chicago has provided transformative education and tackled the world’s most pressing issues. Through research, discovery, and community partnerships, UChicago scholars and students take on complex problems—from solving crime at scale to combating climate change.
UChicago has produced innovative schools of thought and breakthroughs across the sciences, medicine, economics, law, business, history, culture, the arts, and humanistic inquiry. Our faculty members shape and define fields, engaging in groundbreaking research driven and the search for illuminating new evidence.
Dedication to free and open discourse is the foundation for everything that the UChicago community accomplishes. The University is committed to providing an environment for free, robust, and uninhibited debate, bringing together diverse perspectives to reveal new insights.
