Academics

At Lake Forest, you’ll receive an education that encourages practice as much as theory. You’ll work closely with faculty scholars and use nearby Chicago as an extended classroom.

You won’t find any teaching assistants at Lake Forest - faculty do all the teaching and advising. The student-faculty ratio is 13 to 1 and most classes top out at 20 students. Lake Forest professors are accessible, often serve as mentors, and offer motivated students research opportunities that are rarely found at the undergraduate level.

Opportunities for hands-on experience are abundant here. You can study abroad, get an internship in nearby Chicago, or conduct original research with a professor (and possibly get published in academic journals, as some of our students do).

student symposium

 

Each year, our students spend a day presenting their research and learning about what others are up to in the classroom.

Presentations range from theater performances, science demonstrations and political discussions to psychology posters, jazz concerts and poetry readings.

With many academic departments and interdisciplinary programs in the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, you can explore the subjects that interest you. Students can declare up to two majors and one minor or one major and two minors. Others chart their own curriculum through the Independent Scholar Program. 

The College draws on the tremendous resources of nearby Chicago, its numerous institutions, ethnic neighborhoods, and outdoor spaces, to enhance the academic experience.