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Since 1926, our school has been a close-knit community of students, faculty, and staff committed to improving lives. See what makes us special.
SESP students, faculty, and alumni spark broad and meaningful change for individuals and systems alike. See how our people are making a difference in SESP and beyond, through their work and service.
At SESP, we partner with the community to maximize the impact of our research findings. These collaborations allow us to test new ideas, develop better practices, and share discoveries to benefit as many people as possible.
The Morton Schapiro Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools enhances access and successful matriculation for academically motivated students. Thanks to the Academy, these talented individuals are on track to attend top-tier colleges and universities. To date, graduates have enrolled in more than 115 institutions, including Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
STEAMbassadors trains college-bound 18 to 24-year-olds from under-resourced communities to work with youth in neighborhoods lacking learning opportunities and role models in computer science, engineering, and the arts. They are assigned to local organizations partnering with the Chicago Department of Family Support Services in parks, libraries, and schools to create an out-of-school learning ecosystem across the city.
Humans have a habit of dividing life into stages, but are these categories really useful or meaningful? In a recent New Yorker piece, SESP psychologist Dan P. McAdams tells writer Shayla Love that traditional life stages are limiting.
Mississippi spends less than half of what New Jersey does on education. Yet its fourth-graders perform better on standardized reading and math tests. Kirabo Jackson explains why.
Northwestern University professor Sally Nuamah has been selected as a 2026 Bellagio Center resident by the Rockefeller Foundation — a prestigious 26-day residency on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.
Humans have a habit of dividing life into stages, but are these categories really useful or meaningful? In a recent New Yorker piece, SESP psychologist Dan P. McAdams tells writer Shayla Love that traditional life stages are limiting.
They call it work for a reason: It’s drudgery, something to slog through until payday. Or maybe you love your job—work is your passion, your identity and nearly all you do. Alumna Bree Groff (MSLOC14) offers a third way to think about how we spend five-sevenths of our week: What if work were simply more fun?
Professor Lauren Tighe’s Child and Family Policy class took one of Dilla’s Mahogany Tours through Bronzeville on the South Side, connecting the policy they learned in the classroom with the communities those ideas shape.