Our Approach
The Chicago
School Approach
EDUCATION
INNOVATION
COMMUNITY
IMPACT
Combining four core elements—education, innovation, community, and impact—The Chicago School Approach goes beyond academic theory to equip graduates with the practical and solutions-oriented training they’ll need to address current challenges and anticipate future needs in their respective fields.
Unlike much of traditional graduate education, The Chicago School Approach is not an intellectual pursuit for the sake of intellectual pursuit. What matters most to us is equipping graduates with the theory, practice, and cultural competence to have a positive impact on individuals, organizations, and communities throughout the world.
Education
Preparing tomorrow’s integrated health professionals
The Chicago School has been a leading nonprofit university for more than 40 years. Our curriculum expands the application of psychology to an array of professional careers across health, business, counseling, and behavioral sciences.
Guided by practitioner-scholar faculty who are leaders in their respective fields, students gain real-world training early in their education, giving them an unparalleled range of opportunities to implement their learning and hone their skills with experienced professionals.
Students can focus their coursework on a particular expertise that suits their individual interests and career goals through specific concentrations and specializations.
Our approach transforms diverse classrooms into dynamic learning environments where students develop cultural humility skills that help them better understand and respect the cultural nuances of the individuals and communities they will support. This work is integral to molding change makers who can effectively communicate and foster meaningful relationships with people of various backgrounds, empowering them to make an impact in their own communities.
Accreditation
The Chicago School has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) since 2011. In addition, many of our programs hold accreditation from the following agencies:
· American Psychological Association (APA)
· Council of Accreditation and Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
· Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation (MPCAC)
· Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE)
· Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)
bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and certificate programs
in scholarships awarded in 2021
partner organizations offering students practicum, internship, and community service
international students from 31 different countries
Innovation
Embracing next-gen learning and practice
The Chicago School Approach is both responsive to and proactive in identifying the evolving needs of society. We strive to be on the leading edge of educational innovation and are proud to offer adaptable learning modalities, structures, and schedules.
Our innovative learning environments extend to digital spaces as well. Remote students can enjoy the convenience of didactic online learning while still receiving in-person networking opportunities and practice-based experiences during their program’s Immersive Residency, an unforgettable experience of face-to-face skill-building, personal feedback, and professional guidance.
Thousands of hours of pro bono psychological services
Global experience in education
Cultural intelligence is essential to working with individuals, organizations, and communities in an increasingly interconnected world. To prepare students for this reality, The Chicago School provides extensive short-term international study abroad opportunities in 44 countries. The ability to connect graduate-level study with immersive international experiences that fit a demanding work and family schedule is rare in graduate school. Embracing this distinct aspect of our educational approach since 2008, our students have contributed to more than 7,200 hours of service learning around the world.
Community
Creating connection, inclusion, and belonging
At The Chicago School, students form a tight-knit community by establishing close cohorts with their peers that stay together as they learn from, and alongside, one another. Guiding that learning are our expert faculty who directly engage with students to share their real-world experiences. From top to bottom, our support system of dedicated staff amplifies a sense of welcome and belonging that so many of our alumni cherish long after graduation.
Community informs our entire approach. The academic and business partnerships we’ve formed with local agencies and organizations around the world provide an international community for our students to explore and learn from different cultural experiences. Students don’t just earn a degree; they join a professional network of more than 20,000 alumni that will be with them throughout their careers.
Professional network of more than 20,000 alumni
Our community extends beyond classrooms and cohorts. We are proud to support the active duty service members and military veterans in our community; clubs and associations offer students multiple opportunities to get involved in causes outside their curriculum; our IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) program fosters a community of mutual respect where diversity and human rights are valued and where the learning environment is enhanced by each community member.
Impact
Supporting individuals, organizations, and communities
Our primary goal is to have a positive impact on and around the world. Each of the elements above support this goal. Our education model with early real-world experience has an impact on both our students and the people they serve; an innovative learning environment impacts the future of our field by
fostering creative and thoughtful students who continue to think outside the box throughout their careers; our community of expert faculty, compassionate students, and supportive alumni impact the world around them by providing more than one million hours of service work every year.
The Chicago School Approach is successful because its impact can be applied across a wide variety of industries and careers. Here are just a few examples of how our alumni have been impacted and how they impact others:
hours of service work in local and
international communities every year
global university partnerships
study abroad sites