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 undergraduates are eligible to apply for the Metcalf Fellowship Grant, and 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.
Application Timeline
To give students maximum flexibility, applications for internship funding will be accepted throughout the 2020-2021 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 December 4 for a Winter Quarter 2021 internship and March 12 for a Spring Quarter 2021 internship. Students are also welcome to apply after the quarter has started.
Fall 2020 Schedule:
- Cycle 1
- Open: September 18th
- Deadline: October 2nd
- Decisions released: October 16th
- Cycle 2
- Open: October 19th
- Deadline: November 6th
- Decisions released: November 20th
- Cycle 3
- Open: November 23rd
- Deadline: December 4th
- Decisions released: December 18th
Winter 2021 Schedule:
- Cycle 1
- Open: January 4th
- Deadline: January 15th
- Decisions released: January 29th
- Cycle 2
- Open: February 1st
- Deadline: February 12th
- Decisions released: February 26th
- Cycle 3
- Open: March 1st
- Deadline: March 12th
- Decisions released: March 26th
Spring 2021 Schedule:
- Cycle 1
- Open: March 29th
- Deadline: April 9th
- Decisions released: April 21st
- Cycle 2
- Open: April 22nd
- Deadline: May 5th
- Decisions released: May 14th
- Cycle 3
- Open: May 17th
- Deadline: May 28th
- Decisions released: June 9th
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. Career Advancement advisers can help students create a strategy for multi-quarter opportunities.
Questions?
Contact Melissa Ross at mahross@uchicago.edu for questions about the Metcalf Fellowship Grant.
Contact Nelida Garcia at nelidagarcia@uchicago.edu for questions about the Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant.