Academics

Academics

DePaul looks good on paper — solid rankings, impressive outcomes — but it’s your experience that matters. Here, you’ll be challenged by professors to analyze and solve real-world problems.

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Undergraduate Majors

Take all the basic classes you expected. Add real-world experiences you didn’t.

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Graduate Programs

Tie theory to practice. Refine your skills. Advance your career.

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Prepare

You’ll be challenged from day one, with support and guidance along the way.

Check out student resources

Succeed

You’ll be ready to graduate on a timeline that you help set. Learn more about how to translate your DePaul education into a successful career.

Read our steps to success

Thrive

90 percent of DePaul undergraduates and 92 percent of graduate students are employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation.​​

Learn about career outcomes

Colleges and Schools

Whether you’re just beginning college or seeking an advanced degree, DePaul’s schools and colleges adhere to the highest standard of academic rigor and innovation. Visit each site for information on its departments, faculty, research and vision.

Established in 1912, the Driehaus College of Business is the nation's 10th-oldest business school and serves individuals and organizations seeking access to the highest-quality business education as a means for achieving intellectual and professional goals. The college also encompasses our highly respected graduate programs in business.

The Kellstadt Graduate School of Business prepares students to be leaders by frequently updating its programs to keep pace with the dynamics of global business.

The College of Communication provides students with a combination of timeless principles and up-to-the-minute tools, whether they're pursuing communication studies including media and cinema studies, multicultural, organizational, and relational communication; digital communication; health communication; sports communication; journalism; or public relations and advertising.

The Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM) offers students a collaborative education where technology, artistry and business intersect. CDM is organized into three schools:

  • The School of Cinematic Arts is home to our animation and cinema programs, which merge creativity, technology, imagination, technique, vision and execution.
  • The School of Computing houses programs across the technology spectrum and combines theoretical fundamentals with hands-on practice.
  • The School of Design — CDM's newest school — is home to programs in graphic design, user experience design, game development, human-computer interaction, and digital communication and media arts.

The College of Education prepares educators, counselors and leaders who are committed to creating compassionate, intellectually rich and socially just environments.

The college offers degree programs in bilingual/bicultural education; counseling; curriculum studies; early childhood education; educational leadership; elementary education; exercise science; middle grades education; middle school mathematics education; physical education; reading specialist education; secondary education; social and cultural foundations of education; special education; sport, fitness and recreation leadership; and world language education.

The DePaul College of Law was one of the first law schools in the country to introduce educational innovations like the study of negotiation techniques, courses in international criminal law and pre-trial courses in skills techniques. Today, our health law and intellectual property programs are among the best in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The oldest college at DePaul, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (LAS) offers more than 31 undergraduate and 30 graduate degree programs. Courses meet during the day, evenings and on weekends, primarily on the Lincoln Park Campus.

Currently the largest graduate program in LAS, the School of Public Service was established in 1970 and became its own school within LAS in 2007. Faculty members teach leaders of nonprofit and government organizations critical thinking and policy analysis, as well as current management skills and techniques.

Launched in 2019, the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy aims to reconceptualize the practice of diplomacy where diverse people work as artists, policy makers, sustainability experts, peacemakers and scholars. The School offers 16 concentrations in undergraduate and graduate programs of study.

Newly established in 2020, The Art School offers studio art programs open to all DePaul students who are interested in exploring the history and future of visual culture. The School’s curriculum includes three undergraduate majors and seven minors.

The College of Science and Health (CSH) was established in 2011 to help its students meet the demands of the growing fields of science and health. CSH offers multiple undergraduate majors and graduate programs in the areas of biology, chemistry and biochemistry, environmental science, health sciences, mathematics, neuroscience, nursing, physics and psychology.

The college also provides streamlined programs in medicine, pharmacy, podiatry, physical therapy, physician assistant practice and pathologists’ assistant practice in partnership with Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

The School of Nursing was established in 2011, but nursing at DePaul has a 70-year history of innovative program design. Faculty scholarship focuses on vulnerable populations and quality and safety in nursing practice.

DePaul's School of Music was founded in 1912 and is dedicated to excellence in both music teaching and performance. When they're not working with DePaul students, many of the school's faculty serve as members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago or the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra — or as some of the city's most prominent freelance, chamber and jazz musicians.

Formerly the School for New Learning, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) launched on July 1, 2019. SCPS offers a comprehensive, innovative approach to continuing and professional education, making available programs and delivery modalities to provide access to a broad range of students within SCPS and other DePaul colleges and schools.

Founded in 1925 as the Goodman School of Drama, The Theatre School at DePaul is the Midwest's oldest theatre training conservatory. Known for its highly structured program and set in a world-renowned theatre city, the school has earned a reputation as a standard of excellence in American professional theatre training.