Uncommon Hacks is UChicago's largest hackathon happening May 16-17, 2026 on the University of Chicago campus. Join us along with other students from across the Midwest for 24 hours of building, free food, and a weekend of meeting other people who enjoy making cool stuff. All skill levels welcome, whether it's your first hackathon or your tenth!

All participants must apply, be accepted, register, and check in at the event in person to participate. Apply at https://forms.gle/mfriq3wvrYvnzxu27.

Requirements

Tracks

This year, we have 6 main tracks: AI Safety (XLab), Best Inference (Wafer), Game Design, Social Impact, Agents for Prediction Markets (Sigma Lab), and Best Acceleration (Tensormesh) as well as 3 sponsored awards: Most Uncommon, Best Use of ElevenLabs, and Best Use of Snowflake. For more information, visit https://uncommonhacks.com/. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$6,200+ in prizes
+ other prizes
AI Safety (XLab)
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Inference (Wafer)
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Game Design
$800 in cash
1 winner

Social Impact
$800 in cash
1 winner

Agents for Prediction Markets (Sigma Lab)
$800 in cash
1 winner

Best Acceleration (Tensormesh)
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Most Uncommon
$800 in cash
1 winner

Best Use of ElevenLabs
1 winner

6 months of ElevenLabs Scale Tier ($330/mo)

Best Use of Snowflake
1 winner

6 month access to Snowflake + LinkedIn feature

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Uncommon Hacks Judges

Uncommon Hacks Judges

Judging Criteria

  • ‎Submission to tracks

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

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