First-Year Odyssey Career Program

Eligibility Criteria for Self-Secured Internships

If you decided to secure an internship outside of the UChicago Metcalf opportunities in Handshake, please make sure you connect with your career adviser who can support you in identifying internship opportunities that meet the eligibility criteria for funding. Career Advancement has a template that you can use to e-mail potential employers as you reach out to potentially self-secure a summer internship experience.

To ensure that you have a high-quality internship experience that will support your professional growth, the proposed internship must meet the following criteria to qualify for Odyssey internship grant funding:

1. Your professional experience must take place during summer 2025. According to your class schedule and commitments, your summer experience may start/finish earlier or later. For the College policy on summer internship start dates, please refer to the Undergraduate Student Recruiting Guidelines.

2. Your professional experience may be located in the U.S. or abroad.

3. You must have a direct supervisor.

4. You must perform work that provides you with a substantive professional experience (defined below).

5. Your experience must be unpaid or receive very little compensation.

6. The grant only funds internship opportunities that students arrange directly with employers. Internships that require participants to pay a fee or deposit to the host organization are not eligible for funding.

7. All organizations are eligible for funding under this grant, including government agencies and for-profit organizations. There are two exceptions: 1) the organization is on the State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations or otherwise sanctioned or monitored by the U.S. Government; 2) the organization was formed for the purpose of supporting a candidate for political office. Because the University is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the tax code, it is prohibited from participating in political campaign activities.

Substantive Experience Criteria

Substantive opportunities engage students in meaningful projects, expose them to rigorous concepts, and encourage students to regularly exercise their intellectual, organizational, and/or technical skills. Substantive positions should not be purely administrative or clerical. A substantive internship also provides a direct supervisor/mentor that can coach and guide the student throughout the internship.