The University of Chicago (U of C, UChicago, or simply Chicago) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. The university consists of the College of the University of Chicago, various graduate programs and interdisciplinary committees organized into four divisions, six professional schools, and a school of continuing education. A highly regarded university internationally, beyond the arts and sciences, Chicago is also well known for its professional schools, which include the Pritzker School of Medicine, the Booth School of Business, the Law School, and the Divinity School. The university enrolls approximately 5,000 students in the College and about 15,000 students overall.

University of Chicago scholars have played a major role in the development of various academic disciplines, including: the Chicago school of economics, the Chicago school of sociology, the law and economics movement in legal analysis, the Chicago school of literary criticism, the Chicago school of religion, the school of political science known as behavioralism. The physics leading to the world's first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction took place here. The university is also home to the University of Chicago Press, the largest university press in the United States.