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During their first semester, DePaul students take excursions into the city of Chicago to learn more about its history, people, art and culture.
Keeton Holder/DePaul University
The first-year seminar is one means to introduce students to the university and instill a sense of connection and belonging among the campus community. At DePaul University in Illinois, students can expect that connection to reach beyond campus grounds to the city of Chicago.
DePaul’s Chicago Quarter has been a required course for all incoming first-year students since 1995, involving multiple experiential learning excursions in and around Chicago. The class teaches students about the history, culture and people of the city and gives them the confidence to navigate the region on their own.
How it works: All first-quarter students enroll in one Chicago Quarter course, which has two tracks: Discover Chicago and Explore Chicago. Discover Chicago begins a week before the official start of class, with students spending one week immersed in the city, and Explore Chicago involves three field excursions throughout the academic year.
“We figure if they’ve chosen DePaul, it was in part because of Chicago,” says Doug Long, director of the first-year program. “Maybe they have excitement, maybe they’ve got a little anxiety about it, but it gets them out talking with people, and they’ve got 100 topics to choose from within that.”
All classes focus on a theme related to the Windy City, which could be related to art and architecture, literature and science, food, sports, social justice, spirituality, ethnic identity, music and theater, business and industry, or politics. Some courses are designated for groups of learners such as honors students, student athletes or music and theater students, primarily to navigate scheduling conflicts that may arise for these groups, Long says.
The course is required for first-year students, and transfers can elect to enroll with permission from the first-year programs staff. Chicago Quarter is paid for with students’ tuition, so there are no additional fees to the student, regardless of the course they select. One way the university does this is by utilizing public transportation, which all students can ride for free with a U-Pass.
Chicago Quarter even has some online sections, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and remote instruction, which allow students who are learning entirely online or away from campus to get educated about Chicago and explore their own neighborhoods.
Similar to many first-year seminars, each course is co-led by a faculty instructor, staff member and peer Chicago Quarter Mentor. Faculty members lead the academic elements of the class, and the staff member and mentor deliver Common Hour, a supplemental curriculum that discusses three key ideas: transitioning to college, connecting to the university mission and finding self-belief. Common Hour includes information session, discussions, activities and workshops.
What’s different: All sections of Chicago Quarter are intentionally crafted by a faculty member, with experiential learning embedded in creative and thoughtful ways. Some staff members are paired with faculty to lead the Common Hour, while others are co-collaborators.
Each course requires a lot of planning and coordination, particularly the Explore Chicago courses, which are jam-packed with a week of learning. After completing an activity or day of activities in the city, students write a reflection to connect the learning, Long adds.
“I use the example of when I was in Spanish club in high school—we went to the Cincinnati Zoo and ice skating,” Long says. “They were fun and we didn’t have to speak Spanish or even talk about Spanish club at either one. That’s not what we’re looking for.”
The university also offers a Chicago Quarter Service Day, which allows students to volunteer alongside their peers. The day is led by the Office of Mission and Ministry, which ties in to DePaul’s mission as a Catholic university, Long says. Participating classes volunteer for a few hours with a local organization related to their topic—a biking class that restores bicycles for people in need, for example.
One of the benefits of the model is how it allows for a different kind of relationship building within the setting of an academic course. Class sections are intentionally kept small—up to 22 students in Discover Chicago classes and 28 in Explore Chicago.
“As much as I love being in the classroom with the students, I love being on the trains with them, because we kind of mix and match,” Long says. Getting outside the class also allows for richer conversations, more personal connections and opportunities for students to break out of their shell, he says.
The impact: In fall 2024, DePaul offered 120 sections of Chicago Quarter, involving hundreds of faculty, staff and peer leaders.
Seniors, in student feedback, say Chicago Quarter was one of their most memorable classes and where they met some of their close friends from across academic programs, Long says.
Organizers hope to continue to keep diversity at the center of this work, in course topics and among the instructors and faculty teaching in the program, as well as the staff and student mentors, to ensure offerings are representative of the student body.
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