Finding Chicago: Global Perspectives

Students in the Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program (AEPP) participate in classes as well as structured out-of-class activities, in which they experience Chicago as a classroom. As they explore the city’s many diverse neighborhoods, students engage with local Chicagoans as they learn about the history, people, and cultural institutions of Chicago from various perspectives. For their final project, students select a unique Chicago topic to research, and their findings are compiled into Finding Chicago: Global Perspectives™, a not-for-tourists guide featuring topics ranging from navigating the city’s underground pedway system to the influence of the White Sox baseball team in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.

Starting in 2019, the AEPP was separated into two tracks: Speaking and Writing. Speaking students create a Finding Chicago podcast, while Writing students, an extensive blog post. 

Take a look at past issues of Finding Chicago: Global Perspectives™, created entirely by AEPP students.

Note: Click on an image to open a new tab

“In the Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program (AEPP), the most important takeaway for me was meeting my friends of the “Hyde Park Gang”. The Hyde Park Gang is a group of friends that we made during the AEPP. Although we are from different divisions, since that summer, we have met each other at least two times a week. We adopted that name because we all live close in Hyde Park, and we founded our group influenced by stories of gangs in Chicago. But do not take me wrong, the most dangerous characteristic of our gang is that we hope maybe to win a Nobel Prize in the future!”

Luis

MPP'19

“I took the Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program as a requirement for my graduate program. However, I not only found it useful, but also very interesting in regards to what you can learn about Chicago and its neighborhoods. Christine is a very fun instructor! Classes were both open discussions on social issues, such as segregation in Chicago, and tips on English grammar and pronunciation. Some other important aspects covered were learning about health system in US and how to navigate in UChicago. I think that the AEPP has an interesting feature for everyone from networking to history.”

Jonathan

PhD student

Socialize with us:

Instagram

 

 

 

Facebook

 

 

 

ELI Social Media Blog

 

 

 

Join our Listserv