BA Fundamentals: Issues and Texts at University of Chicago

Programme overview

The Fundamentals program enables students to concentrate on questions and issues that intrigue them by reading texts that articulate and speak to these questions. It seeks to foster precise and thoughtful pursuit of these questions by means of (1) rigorous training in the interpretation of texts, supported by (2) extensive training in at least one foreign language, and by (3) the acquisition of the knowledge, approaches, and skills of various disciplines: historical, religious, literary, scientific, political, and philosophical.

Faculty: The College | Department: Fundamentals: Issues and Texts | Study mode: full-time | Intake: Autumn | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

Genuine questions cannot be assigned to a student; they must arise from within. For this reason, a set curriculum is not imposed upon students.

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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