Hughes studied at the University of Chicago under Robert Ezra Park, Ernest W. Burgess, Ellsworth Faris, Robert Redfield, Ruth Shonle Cavan, Nels Anderson, and other noted scholars, of whom he considered Park as his primary mentor (Chapoulie 1996). He defended his thesis, entitled "The Growth of an Institution: The Chicago Real Estate Board" in 1928. After his graduation he took a job at McGill University, where he, together with Carl Dawson, had the task to develop the sociology department at a time when it still was in its infancy. In Canada Hughes is recognized as one of the central figures of early Canadian sociology (Helmes-Hayes 2000).