The Careers in Arts, Culture, and Entertainment program empowers students to channel their creativity into successful careers in these interdisciplinary and fast-changing fields. The program prepares students for the many diverse career paths in the arts, including artistic practice, arts administration, cultural institutions, museums, and both business and creative roles in the entertainment industry.
Undergraduates of all majors and artistic interests are welcome! Students whose primary interest is writing are also encouraged to get involved with the Careers in Journalism and Creative Writing program.
Resources to Pursue Your Artistic Vision
Careers in Arts, Culture, and Entertainment provides a diverse range of resources – including advising, internships, and hands-on experiences – that allow students to grow as artists, develop as professionals, and pursue opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines. The program also sponsors collaborative experiences that give students the opportunity to learn and work with leading practitioners on projects that advance their creative and professional goals.
Personalized Advising
Program Director Benjamin Waltzer brings a wide range of professional experience to the role, and works closely with colleagues across the University, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, and institutions and practitioners worldwide to build a network of opportunities for students.
In advising appointments, students may receive help with developing a portfolio, preparing resumes, composing effective cover letters, and discussing how to use program resources to achieve their unique pre-professional goals. The program can also help students find and secure internships, grants, and employment opportunities.
Learn Your Craft and Find Collaborators
Careers in Arts, Culture, and Entertainment hosts a variety of skill-building workshops throughout the year. Programs include panel discussions, lecture-demonstrations, and hands-on workshops with professionals in the fields of music, filmmaking, fine arts, arts entrepreneurship and beyond. Panelists include practicing artists, arts administrators, critics, curators, art historians, and entrepreneurs. Recent guests have included President and COO of FX Networks, Chuck Saftler, jazz drummer Matt Wilson, artist Simone Leigh, poet and journalist Ted Genoways and many more.
Get Experience
The Jeff Metcalf Internship Program is unique to the University of Chicago. It offers paid, substantive internships during the summer and the academic year exclusively to UChicago undergraduates.
Each year, the program offers internships with a highly diverse range of arts, culture, and entertainment organizations around the world. Past Metcalf recipients have interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Second City, and Paramount Pictures.
Grants
Careers in Arts, Culture, and Entertainment offers grants that are part of the Metcalf Program which fund hands-on opportunities for students. These grants can support student work with professionals and organizations that administer on-the-job mentoring and training. These grants are available for both academic year and summer opportunities.
Previous grant recipients have worked at Warner Brothers Records, LA Review of Books, the Guggenheim Museum, as well as opportunities to work with filmmakers, composers, graphic novelists and others.
Career Treks
Treks give students an opportunity to meet potential employers in cities throughout the U.S. and around the world. Careers in Arts, Culture, and Entertainment organizes career treks in major arts and culture hubs, including an annual entertainment industry trek to Los Angeles.
Recent treks have taken students to leading organizations including Industrial Toys Gaming, Paramount Pictures, Disney, A24 Pictures, FX, Showtime, and 20thCentury Fox Studios.
Learn More
For more information, please contact program director Ben Waltzer at waltzer@uchicago.edu.