
Even before your student arrives on campus, Career Advancement is here to support their success. We work closely with students throughout their time at UChicago to help them secure their top-choice jobs, graduate programs, and other post-grad opportunities.
Explore this page to learn more about how UChicago prepares your student for a fulfilling career!
Your Student's Roadmap to Success
To help your student achieve their goals, UChicago uses a four-part roadmap:
1. Get A Head Start
Starting career planning early leads to the best outcomes. Starting early gives students four full years to explore their interests, get experience, and build employer relationships.
At UChicago, career support begins before students arrive on campus:
- First-Year Career Adviser: During the summer between high school college, your student is matched with an assigned career adviser who will provide personalized support and help them build a plan for their next four years.
- Early Engagement Programs: Career Advancement's early engagement programs help students get on the fast track to success! These programs span six different industries and offer intensive programming that includes professional development workshops, support from industry experts, and funded internship opportunities. Students apply for these programs during the summer of matriculation, and programming begins during the first year. Programs include:
- Career Exploration Week: Career Exploration Week programs are an opportunity for incoming students to do a deep dive into their career field of interest before arriving on campus. These programs connect students with UChicago alumni, employer partners, and Career Advancement staff in a particular city, and help build community among incoming students through fun group activities – all while safely exploring a new, exciting city! Programs will run September 5 - 8, 2023, with employer visits taking place September 6 - 8.
- Business & Finance - New York, NY
- Legal Professions - New York, NY
- Business & Finance (Trott Emerging Business Leaders) - New York, NY
- Behavioral Economics & Human Data Explorer - New York, NY
- Journalism, Media, & Publishing - Washington, D.C.
- Policy & Social Impact - Washington, D.C.
- Healthcare - Philadelphia, PA
- Computer Science & Data Science - San Francisco, CA
- Computer Science & Data Science (Odyssey) - San Francisco, CA
- Business (Transfer Students) - San Francisco, CA
- Cinematic Arts, Media, & Entertainment - Los Angeles, CA
- Engineering - Los Angeles, CA
- Climate & Energy - Denver, Co
- Quantum - Chicago, IL
- Biological Sciences - Seattle, WA
- Taking the Next Step: In Autumn Quarter of the first year, your student will hit the ground running at Taking the Next Step, an event that will introduce them to the many exciting summer opportunities UChicago offers.
2. Explore and Get Experience
Prior experience is the #1 factor in employer hiring decisions. Your student can get hands-on professional experience by taking advantage of the following programs.
All of these programs help your student explore their interests, build their resume, and get their foot in the door. They put students in a very competitive position for future job opportunities. Students can take advantage of these programs even if they have no prior experience!
- Job Shadowing: opportunities for students to experience a “day in the life” of their dream job by shadowing successful alumni (and parents!). The program is noncompetitive and a great first stop for students.
- Jeff Metcalf Internship Program: provides 4,200+ paid, substantive internships over the summer and throughout the academic year. Opportunities are available in a wide variety of industries and locations.
- "Build Your Own Internship" Grants: students can apply for funding to pursue internships with their preferred employer.
- Career Treks: networking experiences where student travel to cities throughout the U.S. and around the world to visit employers in their field of interest. Applications for Summer Treks are due by Noon on Thursday, June 8!
- August 22 - 24
- September 11 - 13
- Los Angeles, CA - Quantum
- Los Angeles, CA - Gaming
- New York, NY - Consulting
3. Specialize with Industry Experts
UChicago makes it easy for your student to break into their target industry with our specialized "Careers in" preprofessional programs. Led by industry experts, these programs offer specialized advising, trainings in both technical and soft skills, and networking opportunities. "Careers in" programs prepare students for careers in more than 13 different industries, including:
- Arts, Culture, and Entertainment
- Behavioral Sciences
- Biological Sciences
- Business
- Computer Science
- Education Professions
- Engineering
- Entrepreneurship
- Healthcare
- Journalism and Creative Writing
- Law
- Physical Sciences
- Policy and Social Impact
4. Secure Top-Choice Job or Graduate Program
- Recruiting Timelines: our expert advisers help your students at every stage of their search. This page maps out application timelines by industry.
- UChicago Advanced Scholars “4+1” Dual Degree Programs: opportunity for students to graduate with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, typically within 5 years, while receiving scholarships and enhanced career support.
Parent Resources
Newsletters and Social Media
- Follow Career Advancement on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear about student opportunities and success stories
- Sign up for parent newsletters for information on UChicago resources and programs
- Sign up for student newsletters for jobs, internships, and events you can share with your student
Upcoming Student Events
Students can log in to UChicago Handshake to view all upcoming events!
- L.E.K. Consulting Case Workshop | June 7
- 1:1 Networking with Capital One Recruiters & Associates | June 14
- CASS Med Student Panel: Secondaries | June 15
- Peace Corps Coffee Chats | June 30
Parent Volunteer Opportunities
- Hire a Maroon: contact Nadia Casperson at ncasperson@uchicago.edu
- Host students at your workplace for a career trek: contact Erwin Paderanga at erwinp@uchicago.edu
- Host a job shadowing experience
- Create a profile on UChicago Wisr to mentor students interested in your career field. Wisr allows students to request short coaching calls with you
- Visit this page to explore all volunteer opportunities
Questions?
To learn more about Career Advancement, parents are welcome to contact Ruthie Robinson at rrobinson5@uchicago.edu.