Get a Head Start on Your Summer - Apply for Internship Funding!
Career Advancement is pleased to help students reach their career goals with the Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant and the Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant. Both programs provide funding for summer internships in any industry. Remote internships, as well as short-term and small-scale projects are also eligible for grant funding.
As an added bonus, limited funds are also available to support academic-year internships and supervised research internships, either in person or remote. Examples of supervised research include laboratory internships with Pritzker School of Medicine faculty members, policy internships at the Harris School of Public Policy’s UChicago Urban Labs, legal internships at the Law School’s clinics, and curatorial internships at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum.
For additional grant programs across the University, please consult Career Advancement's funding opportunities guide.
Eligible Students
All currently enrolled, active undergraduates are eligible to apply for the Metcalf Fellowship Grant. Odyssey Scholars are eligible to apply for the Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant.
Award Amount
Metcalf and Odyssey Metcalf awards are fellowships designed to help students offset their living expenses rather than provide an hourly wage or salary. Award amounts are determined using a sliding scale in which all students working a given range of hours will receive a standardized fellowship amount.
Below are some common internship lengths and the accompanying award range. The maximum grant for the Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant Program is $4,000 for remote internships and in-person U.S. internships and $5,000 for in-person internships abroad. The maximum grant for the Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant is $5,000 for all types of internships.
For hybrid opportunities during the academic year that require students to be on-site once a week or more, please reference the “In-Person U.S. Internships” column to determine award range. For hybrid structures where students are working on-site less than once a week, please reference the “Remote Internships” column.
Metcalf Fellowship Grant: Sample Internship Lengths and Award Ranges
| Hours per Quarter | In-Person U.S. Internships | In-Person Internships Abroad | Remote Internships |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 120 | $400 - $1,200 | $400 - $1,100 | $350 - $950 |
| 121 - 200 | $1,200 - $1,700 | $1,300 - $1,800 | $1,000 - $1,500 |
| 201 - 300 | $2,200 - $2,900 | $2,300 - $3,200 | $2,000 - $2,800 |
| 301 - 350 | $3,400 - $3,700 | $4,000 - $4,500 | $3,000 - $3,300 |
Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship: Sample Internship Lengths and Award Ranges
| Hours per Quarter | In-Person U.S. Internships | In-Person Internships Abroad | Remote Internships |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 120 | $700 - $1,500 | $700 - $1,800 | $450 - $1,000 |
| 121 - 200 | $1,800 - $2,300 | $2,100 - $2,700 | $1,450 - $1,900 |
| 201 - 300 | $2,600 - $3,400 | $3,000 - $3,800 | $2,250 - $3,500 |
| 301 - 350 | $4,000 - $4,500 | $4,300 - $4,800 | $3,800 - $4,000 |
Application Timeline
To give students maximum flexibility, applications for internship funding will be accepted throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. Each quarter will have 3 application cycles. Students can request funding for summer or academic-year internships during any of these cycles.
For academic-year internships, if you’d like to know whether you’ll receive a grant in advance of the quarter you’ll be working, Career Advancement recommends applying by September 13 for an Autumn Quarter 2021 internship, December 7 for a Winter Quarter 2022 internship and March 14 for a Spring Quarter 2022 internship. Students are also welcome to apply after the quarter has started.
Autumn Quarter 2021
| Cycle Number | Applications Open | Application Deadline | Decisions Released |
| Cycle 1 | August 30 | September 13 | September 27 |
| Cycle 2 | September 20 | October 4 | October 18 |
| Cycle 3 | October 25 | November 8 | November 22 |
| Cycle 4 | November 22 | December 7 | December 20 |
Winter Quarter 2022
| Cycle Number | Applications Open | Application Deadline | Decisions Released |
| Cycle 1 | January 3 | January 18 | January 31 |
| Cycle 2 | January 31 | February 14 | February 28 |
| Cycle 3 | February 28 | March 14 | March 28 |
Spring Quarter 2022
| Cycle Number | Applications Open | Application Deadline | Decisions Released |
| Cycle 1 | March 28 | April 11 | April 25 |
| Cycle 2 | April 25 | May 9 | May 23 |
| Cycle 3 | May 16 | May 27 | June 3 |
Application Process
To apply for unpaid internship funding, students will submit a resume and application form for the Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant.
Second through fourth year Odyssey Scholars seeking funding for unpaid internships should apply for the Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant.
Eligible Internship Experiences
To qualify for funding, proposed opportunities must meet the standards of the Jeff Metcalf Internship Program. Detailed eligibility criteria are available on the Handshake listing.
Evaluation Criteria
Student grant applications are reviewed holistically. The criteria below may be used as a guideline for the application review process:
- Substance of the opportunity; internships and research opportunities should fulfill the requirements of the Jeff Metcalf Internship Program.
- Mission of the organization, and goals and responsibilities of the internship or research position should be clearly outlined and demonstrate the quality and depth of the experience.
- Alignment of the internship or research opportunity to the student’s professional and academic goals. Materials should clearly convey how the internship will advance the student’s skills, experience, and knowledge and/or is relevant to the student’s post-graduation success.
- Students must have access to a direct supervisor or faculty member, whether in-person or virtually, who will provide ongoing support and mentorship.
- Consideration will be given to student’s resume, class year, major, and past professional experiences and extracurricular activities as it relates to the opportunity.
- Coherence, accuracy, and organization of the student’s resume, application form, and other supporting materials.
In reviewing submitted applications, we consider:
- The degree to which each application meets or exceeds the requirements and/or the above listed criteria.
- Each application’s strength relative to the other applications as this is a competitive process.
Note that receiving funding for one quarter of a multi-quarter experience does not guarantee that you will receive funding for the same opportunity in subsequent quarters.
Top-Off Grant Funding
A dedicated pool of limited funding is available for students with paid summer internships who need additional resources for their living expenses. Students who have secured a summer internship in areas with a high cost of living may apply for additional funding to supplement their base stipend.
To apply, you will be asked to submit a resume, internship details, explanation of financial need and budget form (including living expenses and travel costs). The application will open in November 2021, and the deadlines are March 30, 2022 (decisions April 11) and June 6, 2022 (decisions June 10).
Note: If you have already acquired funding for this role and/or have applied for funding through other sources, please disclose this in your application as we make every effort to provide equitable access for students. This includes any research scholarships, fellowships, and/or grants offered through Career Advancement, the College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF) and the Institute of Politics (IOP).
Questions?
Contact Meghan Poljak at mpoljak@uchicago.edu for questions about the Metcalf Fellowship or Top-Off Grant.
Contact Siarra Williams at siarranw@uchicago.edu for questions about the Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant.