BA Environment, Geography, and Urbanization at University of Chicago

Programme overview

The transdisciplinary major in Environment, Geography, and Urbanization is housed in the Committee on Environment, Geography, and Urbanization ( CEGU ). The CEGU undergraduate major prepares students to understand and confront the wide-ranging societal, historical, and spatial dimensions of contemporary planetary environmental crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and other forms of large-scale socio-environmental transformation. Such issues are explored in diverse spaces, including cities and metropolitan regions; zones of extraction, agriculture, energy production, and waste;

Faculty: The College | Department: Environment, Geography, and Urbanization | Study mode: full-time | Intake: Autumn | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

Students have the option to complete the CEGU general major, which offers an expansive set of courses in broad fields. Students also have the option to select one of the following specializations: Urban Environmental Studies, Energy Histories and Geographies, or Environmental Humanities.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission is to the College, not to the major (university-level requirement): first-year applicants apply through the Common Application or Apply Coalition with the UChicago supplement essays and submit the secondary school report and transcript, two teacher evaluations and a mid-year report; testing follows the University's No Harm Testing Policy. Majors are declared after enrolment and must satisfy the College general education Core plus the major requirements listed in the catalogue.

USD 75,960 a year (2026-27). College tuition for the 2026-27 academic year (cost of attendance table); excludes student services fee, U-Pass fee, class fee, housing, food and books. Source

First-year admission is offered for entrance in the Autumn Quarter only (except prospective students-at-large).

First-year application plans (as published for the 2025-26 cycle): Early Decision I and Early Action deadline 3 November 2025; Early Decision II and Regular Decision deadline 5 January 2026. Applications are accepted through the Common Application and Apply Coalition, Powered by Scoir. An application fee or automatic fee waiver is required, SAT/ACT scores are covered by the No Harm Testing Policy.

Apply through the official page: https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/application/

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