15 Unique Courses at UChicago

The University of Chicago (UChicago) has a Core Curriculum that challenges students to connect ideas across different disciplines. This article lists 15 unique courses at UChicago you can consider, whether you’re completing the Core Curriculum or looking for electives.

• Unique Arts and Humanities Courses at UChicago
• Unique Science and Technology Courses at UChicago
• Unique Social Sciences Courses at UChicago
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Takeaways

Unique Arts and Humanities Courses at UChicago

UChicago’s Arts and Humanities courses combine creative practice with critical inquiry, so rather than just studying art or literature, you’ll also experience and analyze how different media convey meaning.

1. CMLT 14920 Comparative Media Poetics: Horror

Are you a big horror fan, or just generally interested in genre and media? In this unique course by UChicago’s Department of Comparative Literature, you’ll explore horror across cinema, video games, and virtual reality. You can expect to look at the raw artistic tools in each medium and ask questions about why we love to scare ourselves.

You’ll try to explain how horror works differently in film versus interactive games or VR. For example, how does a filmmaker’s jump scare compare to a game designer’s immersive fright? By comparing techniques like psychological suspense and sudden shocks across media, you’ll understand how horror engages social fears and personal anxieties in different ways.

2. ARTV 10300 Visual Language: On Time and Space

How does editing rhythm or camera movement affect an audience’s experience of time? How can visual composition alter our perception of space? In this unique UChicago studio course by the Department of Visual Arts, you’ll learn the basics of digital video production and explore how film shapes our sense of time and space.

To do this, you’ll be focusing on patterns and formal logic in video. You’ll practice pre-production, production, and post-production techniques from videography and lighting to sound design and editing using tools like Adobe Premiere. You can expect hands-on projects, screenings, and critiques to understand how filmmakers manipulate temporal and spatial experience on screen.

By the end of the quarter, you’ll have gained both technical skills and a creative grasp of how film can shape reality.

3. TAPS 10100 Drama: Embodiment and Transformation

The script is the blueprint for the whole theater production. In this unique dynamic course by UChicago’s Committee on Theater and Performance Studies, you’ll learn theatrical concepts and techniques by doing it all.

That’s right, you and your classmates will experience acting, directing, and designing scenes yourselves. By doing so, you’ll learn how different elements in theater interact to tell a story collaboratively.

Since the class emphasizes the process of bringing a script to life, you’ll also see how a written text transforms once it’s embodied by actors and shaped by stage design. At the end of the quarter, you’ll better appreciate the roles of everyone from actors to set designers in putting together a play.

4. MUSI 10300 Introduction to Music: Materials and Design

Curious about how music works and why it matters? This unique UChicago course by the Department of Music explores how music is put together and why it moves us. It’s an introductory course, so even those with no prior musical background are welcome!

You’ll study fundamental structures like melody, harmony, rhythm, and form across a wide span of repertoire, from the earliest notated Western music to contemporary works.

You can expect active listening, analysis, and even a bit of creating for a more immersive learning experience. You’ll be listening to both written compositions and improvised pieces to gain insight into the aesthetic choices behind them and prepare for your own small analytical or creative projects.

The course is taught by a practicing composer, which can also help you learn how cultural and historical contexts influence musical creation and reception.

5. MADD 26210 Media Art and Design Practice

If you’re interested in digital creativity or design thinking, this unique course from UChicago’s Department of Cinema and Media Studies will be your playground for new techniques and ideas.

As a studio-based course, you’ll be challenged to push the boundaries of digital and visual art. If you’re also not sure where to start, don’t worry—this is a hands-on introduction to creative media-making.

You can expect to experiment with anything from graphic design and digital photography to interactive media or installation art. By engaging in projects in different areas, you’ll learn both technical skills and critical design thinking.

Other than aspiring artists, this class is also great for anyone who wants to understand how contemporary media can be used to communicate and innovate artistically.

Unique Science and Technology Courses at UChicago

Science and technology classes at UChicago have creative approaches to learning, engaging science majors and non-science majors alike with hands-on discovery and real-world applications.

6. BIOS 10140 Inquiry-based Exploration of Biology

Introductory science courses don’t necessarily have to be memorization-heavy. This unique UChicago course by the Division of Biological Sciences will use active scientific investigation to teach fundamental biology. That means you’ll learn key principles by experimenting and collecting original data rather than just listening to lectures.

Another great thing about this course is that you can register for the section that will tackle the branch of biology you’re interested in the most, such as:

• Neurobiology
• Microbiology
• Ecology
• Developmental Biology and Aging
• Sex Differences and Dimorphism
• Genetics of Plants
• Evolution and Ecology

This class is designed for non-majors, so even those without extensive biology backgrounds can be taught to think like scientists: posing questions, testing hypotheses, and expanding their knowledge of living systems in the process.

7. PHSC 12900 The Chemistry of Artists’ Materials

We’re all well aware that each piece of art has a history. However, more than the concept and story of each piece, every material used for the art also has its own history and science! In this unique course by UChicago’s Division of Physical Sciences, you’ll be combining art, history, and chemistry.

You’ll learn chemistry fundamentals (especially in inorganic and materials chemistry) by studying pigments, dyes, clays, metals, and other materials that artists use. This is a fun hands-on course with weekly labs where you might extract natural dyes from flowers one week and analyze the chemical composition of a historic painting the next.

At the end of the quarter, you can better appreciate how chemistry can authenticate artwork or explain how to preserve it.

8. CMSC 11111 Creative Coding

When you first think of “coding,” you might imagine confusing lines of numbers, letters, and characters where a missing comma or misspelled variable will cause an error.

However, this unique UChicago course from the Department of Computer Science is a fun, accessible introduction to programming. That’s because, rather than starting with abstract algorithms, the class focuses on visual and artistic applications of code.

You can expect to use JavaScript and other web-based languages to create interactive visuals like simple animations or creative web apps. Along the way, you’ll cover the standard basics of coding, including variables, loops, conditional logic, and functions, and see how they translate to something you can see.

9. GEOS 24300 Paleoclimatology

How do scientists figure out what Earth’s climate was like millions of years ago? Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates, and this unique course by the Department of Geophysical Sciences will take you through Earth’s climate history, from ice ages to tropical epochs, and the tools used to reconstruct those eras.

You’ll start by reviewing the fundamental drivers of climate (like solar radiation, atmospheric composition, and plate tectonics) and then continue into specific aspects like the “faint young sun paradox” (which is basically why Earth wasn’t frozen solid billions of years ago despite having a dimmer sun).

You’ll also examine evidence like ice cores, deep-sea sediments, and fossil pollen to see how temperature and CO₂ levels changed over eons.

10. ENSC 24300. Roles of Animals in Ecosystems: Marine Biological Laboratory

How are the structure and function of ecosystems affected by animals and humans? This unique UChicago course by the Department of Environmental Science combines ecology, animal behavior, and biogeochemistry to create a full picture of ecosystem dynamics. It’s taught at UChicago’s Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA.

The class is actually part of the Semester in Environmental Science program, which emphasizes hands-on, interdisciplinary learning in a living laboratory.

The course is taught in an intensive format where you’re immersed in science nearly eight hours a day, working closely with researchers at the MBL. This could be a rare chance to do fieldwork and research as undergraduates.

Unique Social Sciences Courses at UChicago

UChicago’s Social Science courses are known for their depth and originality, tackling pressing questions about society through interdisciplinary angles.:

11. ANTH 28400 Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology: Approaches to the Past

There’s a saying that goes “Dead men tell no tales.” However, in this unique UChicago course by the Department of Anthropology, you’ll experience a hands-on introduction in analyzing human skeletal remains from both archaeological and forensic perspectives.

That means you’ll learn to “read” skeletons to determine age at death, sex, health and disease, diet, and even patterns of physical activity or trauma in ancient populations.

You’ll spend one session a week in the lab, literally examining human skeletal specimens or casts, gaining hands-on osteology experience. Meanwhile, another session each week is seminar-style, discussing case studies from around the world and theoretical issues like ethical considerations of handling human remains.

12. HIST 18702 Race, Politics, and Sports in the United States

Why can a simple act like kneeling during a national anthem spark national conversation? How have sports heroes historically been agents of change or controversy in the ongoing story of American civil rights?

This unique course by UChicago’s Department of History examines the intersection of race, politics, and sports in American life, making sense of debates that often spill beyond the playing field.

You’ll discuss how sporting events have both reflected and influenced racial politics in the U.S., and why athletes tend to become symbols in cultural battles. You can expect to talk about big moments like Muhammad Ali’s conscientious objection during Vietnam or Billie Jean King’s fight for gender equality in tennis.

At the end of the quarter, you’ll learn to see athletics as a lens for racial formation, nationalism, and protest movements.

13. LING 21550 What’s Up With These Words? (Ideology and Word Meaning)

These days, even words can become political minefields—such as “privilege,” “woke,” or “illegal immigration.” In this unique UChicago course from the Department of Linguistics, you’ll learn to analyze how contested terms get different meanings and cause strong reactions.

You’ll study concepts from sociolinguistics, semantics, anthropology, and psychology to understand how words carry multiple meanings for different groups. You’ll also learn tools to navigate and depolarize such language disputes.

Through exercises, you’ll also practice parsing the layers of meaning in a “trigger word” and identifying the contexts that give rise to those meanings. You can expect to get hands-on experience with linguistic data, using language corpora and internet searches to see how a term is actually used across contexts.

14. PHIL 21002 Human Rights: Philosophical Foundations

What are rights? How are human rights different from other rights? On what grounds do all humans deserve certain freedoms or protections? This unique course by UChicago’s Department of Philosophy will dig into the moral and theoretical basis of human rights.

You’ll start the quarter by distinguishing rights from other moral concepts and examining the role rights play in politics and society. Then you’ll shift your focus specifically to human rights, looking at various contemporary philosophers’ attempts to explain what makes something a human right.

You can also expect to discuss tough issues such as how we can respect cultural differences while upholding justice, and when one nation can legitimately intervene to stop human rights abuses in another.

15. RDIN 12100. Racial Formations

This unique UChicago course by the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity will introduce you to race as a concept and racialization as an active process. Throughout the quarter, you’ll learn how the idea of “race” has been constructed, defined, and changed over time, and how society continually “racializes” groups of people.

You can expect to analyze case studies from the U.S. and beyond, to see how racial meanings are produced in different contexts, from law and policy to media and everyday life. For example, you might discuss how immigration law racialized certain ethnic groups as “alien,” or how popular culture stereotypes contribute to racial ideologies.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is unique to UChicago?

Academically, UChicago is known for its Core Curriculum, which ensures all undergraduates engage deeply with humanities, sciences, and social sciences. UChicago also has unique traditions, such as students being able to rent original Picasso and Chagall artworks to hang in their dorms, and every spring, they participate in a legendary 72-hour campus-wide Scavenger Hunt.

2. What majors is UChicago best known for?

Some of the majors that UChicago is best known for are Economics, Biology, Public Policy, Political Science, and Psychology.

3. What is UChicago known for?

UChicago is renowned for its rigorous academic programs, innovative research across disciplines, iconic Gothic architecture, and a distinguished roster of alumni who have made lasting contributions in fields ranging from economics to literature.

Takeaways

• UChicago’s Core Curriculum trains all undergraduates to think critically and consider multiple perspectives. This gives them a good foundation for their individual programs.
• UChicago’s course catalog offers so many options that can cater to anyone’s interests. The best ones you can take are classes that you’re genuinely curious about and are in line with your academic and professional goals.
• Did you see a class you like? Talk to a private admissions consultant to guide you in creating a strong college application that can boost your chances of getting into UChicago.