We encourage students at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering to get to know their surroundings and to discover all the learning opportunities the University, its neighborhood, and the city have to offer.
Our campus and Hyde Park
Pritzker Molecular Engineering is housed at the William Eckhardt Research Center, in the north sector of the campus of the University of Chicago. The University's main campus is in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, seven miles from downtown, near Lake Michigan.
UChicago’s Architecture page features maps, photos, and videos about the historic buildings and spaces on campus designed by architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, and Jeanne Gang.
Once an independent town, Hyde Park has a rich history of social activism, political leadership, and community life. It’s also the site of prominent museums, architectural landmarks, and the recently revitalized 53rd Street community, close to campus. The Office of Campus and Student Life offers transportation links and other resources to help you explore the University, Hyde Park, and beyond.
Consistently ranked in the U.S. News 10 Best Colleges in America, UChicago is also home to a safe campus. UChicago’s Department of Safety & Security provides services for the convenience and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community.
- Transportation: UGo Daytime and NightRide are free shuttles that offer pick-up and drop-off services within one or two blocks of most campus buildings, near all on-campus residence halls, and travel to other areas of the Hyde Park neighborhood.
- Residence security: Many undergraduate students, including all first-year students, live on-campus in residence halls. Access to residence halls is carefully monitored and guests must sign-in with housing staff at the front desk.
- 24/7 support: Call 773.702.8181, or 123 from a campus phone, to reach the University of Chicago Police Department, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for assistance ranging from lost and found to safety escorts. Students seeking support and guidance can also contact an on-call University administrator at any time, by calling 773.834.HELP (4357), or 4.HELP (4357) from a campus phone. Students can also receive assistance from their resident assistants, resident heads, and resident masters.
Chicago
Situated near the southern tip of Lake Michigan, Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States. Chicago is famous for its modern architecture, green spaces, thriving commercial center, and flourishing arts community.
To learn more about the city we call home, explore the City of Chicago website, the Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago, and our recommended reading list with fiction and nonfiction works set in Chicago, many by writers who studied or taught at the University.
- Nelson Algren, Chicago: City on the Make (1951)
- Saul Bellow (X’39), Humboldt's Gift (1975) and The Dean's December (1982)
- Gwendolyn Brooks, A Street in Bronzeville (1945) and Annie Allen (1949)
- William Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis (1991)
- Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie (1900)
- Stuart Dybek, I Sailed with Magellan (2003)
- James T. Farrell, Studs Lonigan trilogy (1932-1935)
- Aleksandar Hemon, Question of Bruno (2000)
- Erik Larson, Devil in the White City (2003)
- Achy Obejas, Memory Mambo (1996)
- Bayo Ojikutu, 47th Street Black (2003)
- Sara Paretsky (AM'69, MBA'77, PhD'77), V. I. Warshawski detective novels (1982-present)
- Studs Terkel (Ph.B., '32, J.D., '34), Division Street America (1967)
- Richard Wright, Native Son (1940)