CHICAGO -- Thirteen students lie in a circle and stretch. They make monkey sounds to warm up their voices. Then they practice being funny.

"A ship," the instructor says -- "the Mayflower."

The students spring into action, morphing into the shape of a ship, one holding out her arms like a maiden figurehead on the bow and two rowing in the galley.

It isn't a typical college classroom.

A new program at Columbia College Chicago allows students to take classes at Second City, the humor mecca that has turned out some of America's best-known improvisational comedians. Students also attend shows, network with artists and present their work in a showcase -- all for college credit.

For aspiring performer Jennifer Ducharme, studying at the Second City "is exactly what I was looking for."

"I really wanted to get into comedy, especially improv; it's really what I need right now," said Ducharme, 20, a theater-arts major at Boston University who took a leave of absence to spend the semester in Chicago.

It's new territory for Second City, where actors usually come to learn improvisation on the job. Among former members are Chris Farley and Gilda Radner -- both of whom became fixtures on Saturday Night Live -- and Steve Carell, star of The Office.

Columbia and Second City officials hope that the school becomes the Juilliard of comedy.

"There's nothing else like it in the country. It's going to be big; it's going to be very big," said Sheldon Patinkin, chairman of the Columbia College Chicago Theater Department and one of the founding members of Second City.

The idea for the program came about two years ago, when Andrew Alexander, Second City's executive producer and a member of the Columbia College Chicago board of trustees, mentioned that a college in Toronto had a program that included courses in improv, Patinkin said.

"I immediately said, 'Oh, what a great idea; let's do that with Second City,' " he recalled.

Students take a full load of six classes, including "Context for Comedy," "History and Analysis of Comedy" and "Creating Scenes Through Improvisation."

Tuition costs $8,164 for the semester plus an additional $230 for student fees. Students from out of town must find housing.

Candidates must be undergraduate juniors with an interest in performance, comedy writing or improvisation.

"Ultimately, yes, you have to be funny," said Anne Libera, executive artistic director of the Second City training center. "In this program, I'm not looking for funny people yet; I'm looking for people who have the desire to do this work and to delve into this work."