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Immersion

Summer Immersion Programs for Pre-College Students

Immerse yourself in one of your passions and take advantage of the rich educational resources offered by the University through our summer Immersion programs for high school students. In these undergraduate-level courses, you will get personalized attention from faculty, researchers, and other professionals who will lead you through workshop discussions, research projects, and other hands-on activities.

The biggest advantage of this program is its caliber in teaching. The depth and style of teaching was perfect, keeping a perfect balance of serious work and an exciting atmosphere. Despite having to read tons and writing an essay, I was still eager to jump out of bed and dash into class
Lawrence X., Western Academy of Beijing, Beijing, China -

Whether you’re looking for creative writing workshops, preview courses in STEM fields, or to explore theories of economic policy, philosophy, and free expression., the University of Chicago’s summer Immersion courses offer you the opportunity to explore a topic of interest in-depth. 

The Immersion Program is a residential program. Students are expected to live in residence and must attend class in-person. There is no hybrid or remote option for Immersion courses. 

2024 Session I Session II
Course Dates June 17 – July 5 July 10 – July 26 
Move in  Sat., June 15 Mon., July 8
Move out  Sat., July 6 Sat., July 27

Eligibility: Current high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, who are at least 14 years old.

To search for courses based on your grade level and academic interest, check out the course finder.

Each summer course is the equivalent of a full, quarter-long (9 week) course.

Courses are three weeks long. Students will be class from 9am – 3pm CST with a lunch break Monday through Friday. Read each course listing carefully.

Once you choose the course(s) for which you would like to apply, make a note of the department code and course number (ex. ANTH 21501).

See individual course descriptions for prerequisites, if any.

Courses in Program

Biology and Its Modern Applications

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Biotechnology for the 21st Century (Session 1)

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session I

Biotechnology for the 21st Century (Session 2)

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Cinema, Media and Society: A Global Survey

This course will introduce you to what the academic study of film and media looks like at the undergraduate level. It will expose you to a wide range of industries, cinemas, and formats (including documentaries and other non-fiction forms, the commercial cinemas of Hollywood and Bollywood, experimental art films, and East Asian animation), and how to discuss these forms in relation to one another.

Session(s)

Session I

Collegiate Writing: What is Truth (Session 1)

Today more than ever we are confronted with the urgent question of what is true. From stories about supposedly stolen elections to conspiracy theories about vaccines and 5G, how we decide what counts as the truth is constantly up for debate – and the debates have potentially serious consequences.

Session(s)

Session I

Collegiate Writing: What is Truth (Session 2)

Today more than ever we are confronted with the urgent question of what is true. From stories about supposedly stolen elections to conspiracy theories about vaccines and 5G, how we decide what counts as the truth is constantly up for debate – and the debates have potentially serious consequences. With politically polarized information in the news and new technologies like generative AI to circulate falsehoods on social media, it has never been more important to examine how we know what is true and to consider how we can argue and debate about our beliefs responsibly and effectively.

Session(s)

Session II

Contagion: Infectious Agents & Diseases (Session 1)

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session I

Contagion: Infectious Agents & Diseases (Session 2)

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Creative Writing

"What is education?" asks the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard: "I suppose that education was the curriculum one had to run through in order to catch up with oneself."  When we speak of "finding your voice" or "writing your story" or "mining your material," we speak of things you already possess but that take work to realize. Creative Writing is that work. 

Session(s)

Session I

Developmental Psychology: Theories and Techniques

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session I

Economics from an Experimental Perspective

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Explorations in Neuroscience: Neurons, Behavior, and Beyond

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Freedom of Expression and the Politics of Social Media

Social media presents a variety of current case studies in which to examine the tensions between freedom expression, private industry, and government regulation. The tensions exhibit in elections, politics, schools, employment, and our personal lives as we and social media companies learn to navigate this new landscape. This course explores the complexities of these issues from a basis in the theory, principles, and practices of free expression and their very tangible manifestations in personal, professional, and civic contexts.

Session(s)

Session II

Fundamentals of Psychology: Theory & Research

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Gravitation to Levitation: Physics from Supernova to Superconductor (Session 1)

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts of fundamental interactions and its varied applications, such as gravity, electromagnetism, light, particle physics, and quantum mechanics. Students will see how the laws of physics are universal and how the principles of physics can help us understand a range of phenomena from black holes to biology, superconductors to supernovas.

Session(s)

Session I

Gravitation to Levitation: Physics from Supernova to Superconductor (Session 2)

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts of fundamental interactions and its varied applications, such as gravity, electromagnetism, light, particle physics, and quantum mechanics. Students will see how the laws of physics are universal and how the principles of physics can help us understand a range of phenomena from black holes to biology, superconductors to supernovas.

Session(s)

Session II

Introduction to Creative Coding

This course is an introduction to programming, using exercises in graphic design and digital art to motivate and employ basic tools of computation (such as variables, conditional logic, and procedural abstraction). We will write code in JavaScript and related languages and we will work with a variety of digital media, including vector graphics, raster images, animations, and web applications.

Session(s)

Session I

Introduction to Legal Reasoning and Institutions

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session I

Introduction to Proof-based Discrete Mathematics

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session II

Introduction to the Philosophy of Love

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session II

Life in the Universe & The Laws of Physics

This course treats our current understanding of the role that the laws of physics play in the development, existence, persistence, and prevalence of life in the universe. Starting with the big bang theory, we will explore how the laws of physics guided the evolution of the universe through the processes most likely to have produced life on earth as it exists today.

Session(s)

Session I

Mathematical and Computational Research in Biological Sciences

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session I

Pathways in Data Science

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Pathways in Economics

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session I

Pathways in Molecular Engineering

This course is currently at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We are admitting students to the waitlist only, and students who currently are on the waitlist will be given priority if places become available.

Session(s)

Session II

Pathways in World Politics

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session II

Physics of Stars: An Introduction

Understanding how stars work - what makes them shine - is one of the great accomplishments of 20th-century science. The theory of stellar structure allows us to investigate the interiors of stars, even though what we observe is radiation from their outer atmospheres. This theory also helps us determine how old stars are, how they create heavier nuclei from lighter nuclei in their centers, and how they evolve from birth to death, ending as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

Session(s)

Session II

Quantitative Evaluation for Public Policy (Session 1)

How do we know whether a policy delivers its promised results or falls short? If it delivers, how do we know whether it was by chance or a true result that would replicate in a similar setting? If it is a true result, will it scale if implemented more broadly?

Session(s)

Session I

Quantitative Evaluation for Public Policy (Session 2)

How do we know whether a policy delivers its promised results or falls short? If it delivers, how do we know whether it was by chance or a true result that would replicate in a similar setting? If it is a true result, will it scale if implemented more broadly?

Session(s)

Session II

Religion and Unbelief

What does “spiritual but not religious” mean and in what ways does it overlap (or not) with commitments to religion and secularism? In this course, we unpack the categories of “religion,” “spirituality,” “atheism,” and “secularism” to better understand how they shape allegiances and dividing lines in contemporary social and political life. In the first half of the course, we will critically examine classical and contemporary approaches to these categories.

Session(s)

Session I

The Age of Capital: Freedom and Crisis

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session II

The Circle of Life: Topics in Developmental Biology

Every animal on earth moves through phases over the course of their lifespan. As humans, we start in utero, then go through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and senescence. Many insects and some amphibians undergo metamorphosis, which involves almost complete remodeling of the organism’s body, between the juvenile stages and adulthood. In this course, we will be looking at the developmental biology of these life cycle phases and transitions: how does a single cell grow and transition into an embryo? How does that embryo build organs and grow into a juvenile stage?

Session(s)

Session I

The Politics and Economics of Capitalism

It is impossible to graduate from college without repeatedly encountering the term "capitalism." But what is it, actually? Is it primarily a political or an economic system? What is the difference and why does it matter? Why are economics and politics taught in different departments at modern universities and why is a major in economics so popular? This course will equip students with the basic conceptual tools to think about these questions.

Session(s)

Session I

The World of Greek Philosophy

This course is nearly at capacity for students applying in the Extended round. We strongly recommend you consider at least one alternative course option for your application.

Session(s)

Session II