Entrepreneurship
UChicago is a premier destination for young entrepreneurs and their future ventures. Positioned in Chicago, a city recognized as one of the best for entrepreneurship, Career Advancement’s Careers In Entrepreneurship engages with hundreds of students every year. Students have access to role models and success stories, including founders from over 200 startups, leading investors in innovation, and companies with more than $13 billion in mergers and exits, including household names such as Grubhub, Braintree/Venmo, and Simple Mills. Our students benefit from the great partnership with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Booth School of Business. The Center, ranked as a top university incubator provides access to a wide range of coaches, programming and pitch competitions.
Resources to Get Started
Sign up for the Careers in Entrepreneurship e-mail listhost!
Entrepreneurship Program Advising
Students have access to personalized advising from experienced professionals who can help students articulate and refine their innovative ideas, identify career fields and industries that match their entrepreneurial interests, find job and internship opportunities, and prepare application materials.
Stay updated on entrepreneurship events and opportunities by joining the program listhost.
OakNorth Young Entrepreneurs Program
UChicago’s OakNorth Young Entrepreneurs is a one-year immersive program focused on fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs. The program prepares students who are passionate about entrepreneurship with the skills, frameworks, and connections needed to fast track their potential ventures into concrete ideas. Students will engage in a year-long startup development project, culminating in a pitch competition. The cohort will also participate in regular workshops and events to learn the foundations of entrepreneurship and develop their founder’s toolkit.
Experiential Learning From Experts
Since the program’s inception, Careers in Entrepreneurship has been focused on giving students opportunities to explore the entrepreneurial experience. Speakers, workshops and other training sessions offer opportunities to speak directly to entrepreneurs and investors, while experiential opportunities like competitions, treks and internships create opportunities to create first-hand knowledge. One-on-one counseling is available for students who want to discuss or expand business ideas and connections.
Experiential Learning Through Hands-on Experience
Careers in Entrepreneurship offers a subsidized internship program for students working with startup companies during the academic year. In addition to creating internship opportunities, the program also builds relationships with up and coming new companies and the local entrepreneurship community.
Experiential Learning Through Competitions
Business planning and venture launch competitions are unparalleled opportunities for students to experience entrepreneurship in real life settings. Unlike internships, where students are employees, during competitions, students work on their own ideas and plan and launch real businesses giving them unique experiences, which benefit them regardless of future career path. In addition to the annual College New Venture Challenge run by Careers in Entrepreneurship and the Polsky Center, UChicago students are encouraged to participate in local, regional and national competitions.
Alumni: Support the Entrepreneurship Program
Entrepreneurship at UChicago could not succeed without the support of alumni and experienced professionals. If you are an entrepreneur or working in any innovative field, consider getting involved with Careers in Entrepreneurship by participating in a workshop, trek, job shadowing, internship, or participating in the College New Venture Challenge.
If you are interested in any of these options or have ideas of your own, please contact Brittany Wisniewski at bwisniewski@uchicago.edu.
Entrepreneurship Essentials
A comprehensive collection of essential resources for an entrepreneurship program, tailored to support aspiring entrepreneurs through college career guidance. Get started
College New Venture Challenge
Run by Careers in Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the CNVC is offered as a class in the Winter quarter. Learn more