What is the Social Sciences Homepage at the University of Chicago?

Updated

The Social Sciences Homepage at socialsciences.uchicago.edu is the official website of the University of Chicago Division of the Social Sciences. It serves as the central hub for information about the division's academic programs, faculty, admissions, funding, and student resources. You would use it if you are a prospective applicant researching doctoral or master's programs, a current student looking for registration or funding details, a faculty member seeking directory or administrative information, or an alum checking news and divisional announcements.

What the site covers

The navigation structure reveals the main content areas:

Section What you'll find
Programs of Study Doctoral programs, joint/dual doctoral programs, master's programs, joint/dual master's, MA and PhD certificates, joint BA/MA degrees
Undergraduate Programs Majors, minors, and additional opportunities
The Faculty Faculty directory, departments, committees
Admissions How to apply, deadlines and decisions, application materials, funding and financing, estimated cost of attendance
Academic Development Dean of Students Office, registration, convocation, PhD residence status, workshops, co-curricular opportunities
Research Development Social Sciences Research Center, IRB, computing services, centers and institutes
About Leadership, divisional announcements, awards, diversity and inclusion, former deans

Who each part is for

  • Prospective students should start with Admissions, which links to application requirements (transcripts, letters of recommendation, candidate statement, writing sample, GRE, English proficiency), deadlines, and the application fee. Separate tracks exist for BA/MA applicants and non-degree visiting students.
  • Current students will find registration, PhD candidacy and defense, MA residence status, funding, and room reservation policies under Academic Development.
  • Faculty and staff can use the Faculty Directory, administrative resources, and the Local Business Center / Mail Room links.
  • Alumni have a dedicated SSD Alumni section and can follow divisional news.

Key things to know before you rely on it

  • The site is a division-level hub, not a single department page. Individual departments and committees are linked from the Faculty section, so program-specific requirements may live on those sub-sites.
  • Admissions content distinguishes between doctoral, master's, joint/dual, and BA/MA paths. Check the specific track rather than assuming one set of deadlines or materials applies to all.
  • Funding and cost information appears under Admissions (Funding and Financing, Estimated Cost of Attendance) and under Academic Development (MA Funding, PhD Funding). These are separate pages, so confirm which applies to your program level.

How to use it effectively

  1. Identify your role (prospective student, current student, faculty, alum) and go to the matching top-level section.
  2. For admissions questions, read How to Apply first, then Deadlines & Decisions, then Application Materials — the three pages build on each other.
  3. For program structure, use Programs of Study to see whether your interest is a doctoral, master's, joint/dual, or certificate track.
  4. For anything administrative (registration, residence status, room reservations), go to Academic Development rather than Admissions.
  5. Use the Faculty Directory or Departments links when you need to reach a specific department, since the homepage only summarizes them.

The site also surfaces News and a Dialogo Podcast under the About section, which are useful for following divisional announcements and awards.