"Big problems" are characteristically matters of global or universal concern that intersect with several disciplines and affect a variety of interest groups. They are problems for which solutions are crucially important but not obviously available.

Big Problems courses emphasize process as well as content: learning how to creatively confront difficult intellectual and pragmatic problems wider than one's area or expertise and to consider how to deal with the uncertainty that results. This often points to the importance of working in groups. If the core curriculum provides a basis for learning and the majors develop more specialized knowledge, the Big Problems experience leads to the development of skills for thinking about and dealing with the important but unyielding issues of our time.

Big Problems courses use interdisciplinary team teaching, seeking to cross disciplines and divisions and to transcend familiar models of content, organization, and instruction.

Web Archive: Energy and Energy Policy Course
We are featuring an archive of papers and presentations by the student teams of the Big Problems course Energy and Energy Policy. This course is taught by R. Stephen Berry and George Tolley. Click here for more >>

Community Info for HIV/AIDS and Darfur Lecture Series
This lecture series invited experts to give public lectures on campus regarding the connection between health care and human rights, medical issues in HIV prevention and care, the experiences of individuals living with AIDS, and the history of domestic and global AIDS policy. To support this series, we created a local resource page listing student and Chicago-area community groups.
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