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. The Metcalf Grant is currently closed for this academic year, and we look forward to offering new grant opportunities with the 2022-2023 academic year.
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 to supplement their paid summer internships.
The goal of the fund is to help students close the gap between their base stipend and the costs that are required to move forward with the opportunity. These grants fund expenses that would otherwise prevent students from taking the opportunity – they are not intended to provide an hourly wage or cover all costs during the internship period. Students who need additional funding to make their internship viable are encouraged to apply.
Given that there is limited funding, and to ensure that as many students as possible can move forward with their internships, Career Advancement asks applicants to help their peers by only requesting funding for essential costs. In the application, students will have the opportunity to explain their financial need and demonstrate why these additional funds are required.
Internships in all industries and locations are eligible for top-off funds, and the internship does not have to be a University-sponsored opportunity. All top-off grant recipients will be included in the Jeff Metcalf Internship Program.
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).
Career Advancement offers three cycles for the top-off grant:
Cycle One
- Application opens: November 2021
- Application closes: March 30, 2022
- Decisions released: April 11, 2022
Cycle Two
- Applications open: April 11
- Applications close: May 2
- Decisions released: May 16
Cycle Three
- Applications open: May 9
- Applications close: May 30
- Decisions released: June 10
Apply for the Top-Off Grant here.
Questions?
Contact Siarra Williams at siarranw@uchicago.edu for questions about the Top-off or Metcalf Fellowship Grant.