{{Short description|Private university}} {{For|schools of thought associated with the University of Chicago|Chicago school (disambiguation){{!}}Chicago school}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{infobox university | name = The Chicago School | image = Chicago-school-building.JPG | president = Michele Nealon | established = {{start date and age|1979}} | type = Private university | accreditation = WSCUC | students = 6,000 (Fall 2021)<ref name="Fast Facts">{{cite web |url= https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/why-us/about-the-chicago-school/at-a-glance/ |title= At a Glance |publisher= The Chicago School |access-date= January 4, 2020 |date= 2021 |archive-date= September 9, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180909085804/https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/why-us/about-the-chicago-school/at-a-glance/ |url-status= live }}</ref> | city = Chicago | state = Illinois | country = United States | campus = Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Anaheim, California; Washington, D.C. | free = | website = {{URL|thechicagoschool.edu}} }}
'''The Chicago School''' is a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois, United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Final arguments unfold as Sweet v. Cardona settlement nears conclusion |url=https://www.highereddive.com/news/sweet-v-cardona-settlement-outcome-borrower-defense-higher-ed/636313/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Higher Ed Dive |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206042651/https://www.highereddive.com/news/sweet-v-cardona-settlement-outcome-borrower-defense-higher-ed/636313/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Established in 1979, The Chicago School was primarily focused on the professional application of psychology. It has about 6,000 students {{as of|2022|lc=y}} across all campuses and online.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graduate and professional students at now-closed Argosy University campuses struggle to find new education options |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/03/22/graduate-and-professional-students-now-closed-argosy-university-campuses-struggle |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=www.insidehighered.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207174647/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/03/22/graduate-and-professional-students-now-closed-argosy-university-campuses-struggle |url-status=live }}</ref> The university offers more than 30 academic programs in professional fields such as psychology, business, behavioral sciences, medicine, and counseling.
==History== The Chicago School was established in 1979.<ref name="newcampus" /><ref name=":3" /> Initial plans for the school were made in 1977 and realized in January 1979 by the nonprofit Midwestern Psychology Development Foundation. The first classes were held in 1979 at 30 West Chicago Avenue, before moving in 1980 to the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue. In 1986, it moved to Dearborn Station in Chicago's South Loop. In 2004, the school moved to a location on the Chicago River at 325 N. Wells Street.
The school expanded to the West Coast, adding three campuses in Southern California. The first out-of-state location was opened in downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 2008.<ref name="newcampus">{{cite web | url = http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/psychology-campus-coming-downtown/article_780d4394-785d-5a5f-8763-b1d0f760f7de.html | title = Psychology Campus Coming Downtown | date = 2008-03-31 | work = Los Angeles Downtown News | access-date = 2022-07-10 | archive-date = 2022-07-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220710073245/http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/psychology-campus-coming-downtown/article_780d4394-785d-5a5f-8763-b1d0f760f7de.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
===2012 Los Angeles Campus lawsuit, settlement, and accreditation===
In 2012, a group of 40 students who had enrolled in the inaugural 2008 clinical psychology doctoral cohort at the Los Angeles campus sued the school alleging that they were misled and deceived by the school into attending a doctoral program that was not accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).<ref>{{cite news |last1=DeSantis |first1=Nick |title=Students Sue Chicago School of Psychology Over Alleged Fraud |url=https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/students-sue-chicago-school-of-psychology-over-alleged-fraud |access-date=24 August 2022 |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education |date=Dec 16, 2012 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824220242/https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/students-sue-chicago-school-of-psychology-over-alleged-fraud |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Grenoble |first1=Ryan |title=Students Suing School Over Useless Psych Degrees |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chicago-school-of-professional-psychology_n_2140757 |website=HuffPost |publisher=The Huffington Post |access-date=24 August 2022 |language=en |date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824221747/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chicago-school-of-professional-psychology_n_2140757 |url-status=live }}</ref> Students stated that they were offered admission to the Los Angeles campus after applying to the APA-accredited Chicago campus doctoral program, while the school knowingly "downplayed" the fact that the Los Angeles campus had no clear path towards accreditation at the time that admission was offered.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-school-of-psychology-accreditation-20140723-story.html |title=Chicago School of Professional Psychology sued over its LA campus |last1=St. Clair |first1=Stacy |last2=Cohen |first2=Jodi S. |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=1 June 2019 |archive-date=1 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601153349/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-school-of-psychology-accreditation-20140723-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A group of 26 students subsequently filed a class-action lawsuit in 2014. In September 2016, the court found that students were not properly apprised as to the accreditation differences between the Chicago and the Los Angeles campus programs. The Chicago School settled the lawsuit for $11.2 million.<ref name=settlement>{{cite news |url=https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/lawsuit/students-win-11-2m-settlement-in-chicago-school-of.html |date=Sep 22, 2016 |first=Lucy |last=Campbell |title=Students Win $11.2M Settlement in Chicago School of Psychology Fraud Lawsuit |work=LawyersandSettlements.com |publisher=Online Legal Media |access-date=1 June 2019 |archive-date=1 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601153351/https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/lawsuit/students-win-11-2m-settlement-in-chicago-school-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Los Angeles campus Clinical Psychology PsyD program obtained APA accreditation in 2018, two years after the fraud payout.<ref name="accredited">{{cite press release |author=The Chicago School of Professional Psychology |title=Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Earns APA Accreditation |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clinical-psychology-doctoral-program-at-the-chicago-school-of-professional-psychology-earns-apa-accreditation-300700557.html |access-date=24 August 2022 |work=PR Newswire |publisher=Cision |date=2018 |language=en |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824220602/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clinical-psychology-doctoral-program-at-the-chicago-school-of-professional-psychology-earns-apa-accreditation-300700557.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Rankings==
Based on a survey of academic programs, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Chicago School's Clinical Psychology program #206th of its 2025 ranking of graduate psychology programs and its Psychology program #244th of social science & humanities programs.
==Accreditation== All branches of the Chicago School are accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/why-us/accreditation/|title=Accreditation and State Licensure - TCS|date=6 October 2015|website=The Chicago School |access-date=1 June 2019|archive-date=1 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301133602/https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/why-us/accreditation/|url-status=live}}</ref> The School Psychology doctoral (Ed.S.) program in Chicago, Illinois, is approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Illinois Programs |url=https://www.ilispa.org/graduate-programs |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=www.ilispa.org |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207175937/https://www.ilispa.org/graduate-programs |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ibhe.org/board/2021/September/approved/Item_E-1_Independents.pdf |title=New Operating and/or Degree-Granting Authority for Independent Institutions |access-date=2022-12-07 |archive-date=2021-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211044919/https://www.ibhe.org/board/2021/September/approved/Item_E-1_Independents.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The Clinical Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Chicago, Illinois, is accredited by the American Psychological Association<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leingang |first=Rachel |title=Latest victims of Argosy University meltdown: Staff and faculty don't get final paycheck |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/03/15/argosy-university-delays-final-paychecks-employees/3177328002/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502055446/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/03/15/argosy-university-delays-final-paychecks-employees/3177328002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2" /> until 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.apa.org/accredsearch/?_ga=1.261985861.991551327.1488385205 |title=APA-Accredited Programs |website=Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation |publisher=American Psychological Association |access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="APA">[https://irp.cdn-website.com/a14f9462/files/uploaded/2024_APA_Accredited_Doctoral_Programs-f64c182f.pdf "APA Accredited Doctoral Programs"] American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2025-11-03.</ref> The Clinical Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Washington, D.C., is accredited by the American Psychological Association until 2034.<ref name="APA"/> The Clinical Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Los Angeles, California, is accredited by the American Psychological Association until 2028.<ref name="APA"/> The Clinical Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Anaheim, California, is accredited by the American Psychological Association until 2031.<ref name="APA"/> The Clinical Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program at The Chicago School at Xavier University of Louisiana is accredited by the American Psychological Association until 2033.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=TimesAdmin |date=2019-10-09 |title=Chicago School at Xavier Earns APA Accreditation for Its PsyD Program |url=https://thepsychologytimes.com/2019/10/09/chicago-school-at-xavier-earns-apa-accreditation-for-its-psyd-programlouisiana-is-10th-fastest-growing-economy-in-the-nation-says-gov-in-july-25-statement-2/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=The Psychology Times |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207020105/https://thepsychologytimes.com/2019/10/09/chicago-school-at-xavier-earns-apa-accreditation-for-its-psyd-programlouisiana-is-10th-fastest-growing-economy-in-the-nation-says-gov-in-july-25-statement-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="APA"/> The Clinical Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Dallas, TX, is accredited, on contingency, by the American Psychological Association until 2027.<ref name="APA"/> The School Psychology doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Chicago, Illinois is accredited by the American Psychological Association until 2034. <ref name="APA"/>
The school is also an affiliate of the nonprofit The Community Solution Education System.
==Awards and Recognition== The Chicago School earned the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, one of the highest national designations in higher education, honoring institutions where community impact is core to its mission.
==Campuses== thumb|Downtown Chicago location
Each campus is equipped with event spaces, at least one classroom, and a library. Locations can be found in the following cities:
* Chicago: The original location of The Chicago School, since 2004, has been housed at 325 North Wells St, in Chicago's River North neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dahlman |first=Steven |title=Chicago School grant will help disadvantaged psychology students become doctors |url=https://www.loopnorth.com/news/grant0811.htm |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=Loop North News |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207173830/https://www.loopnorth.com/news/grant0811.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The building itself opened in 1914 as a Chase and Sanborn Coffee warehouse, a former industrial era building. In 2007, the school expanded across the street to additional space in the Merchandise Mart building.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Leingang |first=Rachel |title=Argosy University closes Phoenix campus as students wonder what to do next |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/03/08/argosy-university-closes-phoenix-campus-after-tumultuous-few-months/3105572002/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502055453/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/03/08/argosy-university-closes-phoenix-campus-after-tumultuous-few-months/3105572002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Washington, D.C.: This location opened in the summer of 2010,<ref name=":0" /> and was relocated in 2025 to 1101 K St NW, Washington, DC 20005. * Dallas: Located at 6275 W. Plano Parkway Suite 130 Plano, Texas.<ref name=":0" /> * Los Angeles: Located at 707 Wilshire Blvd., the L.A. Campus occupies space in the Aon Center.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maio |first=Pat |date=2018-11-06 |title=Chicago School of Professional Psychology Relocates L.A. Campus in Downtown L.A. |url=https://labusinessjournal.com/real-estate/chicago-school-professional-psychology-relocates-l/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=Los Angeles Business Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207030022/https://labusinessjournal.com/real-estate/chicago-school-professional-psychology-relocates-l/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Anaheim: Located in Suite 1200 at 2400 E. Katella Ave in Anaheim.<ref name=":0" />
==The Community Solution Education System== In 2009, The Chicago School created the non-profit university system The Community Solution Education System (originally named TCS Education System).<ref name="TCS">[https://www.tcsedsystem.edu/colleges-and-universities/the-chicago-school/ "The Chicago School"] The Community Solution. Retrieved 2023-11-13.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rivard |first1=Ry |title=When a Majority Isn't a Majority |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/08/regulators-grapple-questions-about-independence-private-colleges-nonprofit-system |access-date=3 July 2023 |work=Inside Higher Ed |date=7 April 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=TCS Education System |title=Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law Enter into Affiliation with TCS Education System |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/santa-barbara-and-ventura-colleges-of-law-enter-into-affiliation-with-tcs-education-system-103453854.html |website=www.prnewswire.com |access-date=3 July 2023 |language=en |date=21 Sep 2010}}</ref> In subsequent years, several institutions joined The Community Solution in addition to The Chicago School itself: * Pacific Oaks College * Pacific Oaks Children's School * The Colleges of Law * Saybrook University * Kansas Health Science Center–Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine * University of Western States * Dallas Nursing Institute (subsequently closed) * Santa Barbara Graduate Institute (subsequently closed)
==Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine (IllinoisCOM)==
In 2025, The Chicago School launched the proposed Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine with pre-accreditation approval from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and is set to start enrolling students in fall 2026.<ref>Kennedy, Mike (June 4, 20205). [https://www.asumag.com/facility-planning/article/55294768/osteopathic-medical-school-plans-to-open-in-chicago "Osteopathic medical school plans campus in downtown Chicago"] ''American School & University''. Retrieved 2025-10-17.</ref>
==Alumni== * Anjhula Mya Bais, psychologist, trauma specialist, human rights activist, and model * David Castain, entrepreneur and philanthropist * Patric Gagne, writer, former therapist, and expert on sociopathy * Steven Kaufman, entrepreneur and philanthropist * Alicia Kozakiewicz, television personality, motivational speaker, and Internet safety and missing persons advocate * James P. Liautaud, American industrialist, inventor, and business theorist. * Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray, Sierra Leonean politician, psychologist, and leader and chairman of the Alliance Democratic Party * Maurice West, member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 67th district
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/ Official website]
{{Colleges and universities in metropolitan Chicago}} {{coord|41.888302|-87.633767|type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-IL|display=title}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago School, The}} Category:1979 establishments in Illinois Category:Educational institutions established in 1979 Category:Psychology research institutes Category:Graduate schools in the United States Category:Universities and colleges in Chicago Category:Psychology organizations based in the United States Category:Private universities and colleges in Illinois Category:Education fraud in the United States