Bringing the Catholic intellectual tradition to the heart of university life.
The University Program enriches the life of the university at all levels.
We enable greater acquaintance with the vigor of Catholic thought by sponsoring lectures and conferences, hosting visiting scholars
We offer intellectual and spiritual enrichment for the academic community at the University of Chicago, including reading groups, non-credit courses, lectures, and conferences. We have different offerings for graduate and undergraduate students.
Lectures & Symposia
Lectures & Symposia
Our lectures, led by leading scholars from around the world, span the disciplines, including theology, philosophy, biotechnology, literature and more, but are united in proposing topics that pursue wisdom and dialogue with the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Master Classes
Master Classes
Master classes provide opportunities for graduate students to engage in rigorous seminar discussion with world-class Catholic scholars on central texts of the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Non-Credit Courses
Non-credit Courses
On Tuesday evenings, university students, faculty and staff are invited to wrestle with the philosophical and theological questions of the Catholic intellectual tradition over lecture, conversation, and dinner with a distinguished scholar. Each quarter presents a new theme.
Registrants are free to attend as many sessions as they choose. Sessions do not presuppose previous attendance or prior knowledge of the subject.
Reading Groups
Reading Groups
Our reading groups are student-driven and student-led seminars centered around texts that are pathways into the existential questions that orient our lives.
Fundamental Questions Seminar
Fundamental Questions Seminar
A quarterly reading group designed for undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. By fostering intellectually rigorous conversation around culturally resonant texts, the seminar inspires students to experience the force of the deep existential concerns which animate our lives.
Nicklin Fellows
Nicklin Fellows
A competitive fellowship that grants undergraduate students exclusive access to research grant funds to pursue their own intellectual projects. The fellowship supports students in the pursuit of their personal academic interests, especially those related to existential questions of being, and cultivates robust intellectual friendships rooted in a common love of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Fundamental Questions
The Fundamental Questions seminar is a quarterly reading group designed for undergraduate students – Catholics and non-Catholics alike – at the University of Chicago. By fostering intellectually rigorous conversation around culturally resonant texts, we aim to allow students to experience the force of the deep existential concerns which animate our lives: “Where do my values come from? What is the good life? How can I become happy?” Our aim is not to answer such fundamental questions, but rather to equip students with the intellectual skills needed to recognize and articulate them for themselves.
This fundamental questions seminar meets three times during the quarter. For each session, we will meet and discuss over dinner. Dinner is served at 6:00pm. Discussion begins at 6:15.
Nicklin Fellows
The Nicklin Fellows are the recipients of a competitive, application based fellowship for undergraduate students. The fellowship is accessible to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Nicklin Fellows are granted exclusive access to research and development grant funds to pursue their intellectual interests.
Grant Uses
- Organize a reading group
- Bring a speaker to campus
- Organize a movie night
- Develop and plan future Fundamental Questions seminars
- Write a paper for a journal
- And more
The purpose of the Nicklin Fellows is to support undergraduate students in the pursuit of their personal academic & intellectual interests, especially those related to existential questions of being. The Nicklin Fellowship cultivates robust intellectual friendships rooted in a common love of truth, beauty, and goodness. Student projects should adhere to the guiding principles (see below) of the Lumen Christi Institute.
Prerequisites
- Attend three sessions of a Fundamental Questions seminar
- Attend one other Lumen Christi event per academic year
- Be an undergraduate student at the University of Chicago
Application Process
Send an email to dstrobach@lumenchristi.org, cc’ing awalker@lumenchristi.org. Include a one-page cover letter that explains:
- Who you are
- What LCI programs you have attended
- Why you want to become a Nicklin Fellow
Also include a CV/resume, and responses to the following questions (a maximum of 150 words per response):
- Which Fundamental Questions seminar did you attend? What did you get out of it?
- What do you think is worth thinking about?
- Give us a couple ideas for how you might spend your Nicklin fellowship money. (This is not a test, nor are you obliged to use these ideas when you receive your fellowship). Please remember to calibrate these suggestions to the guiding principles of the Lumen Christi Institute.
Applications should be submitted by the end of the day on December 15th.
Testimonials
Read the rest of the interviews with our fellows