Apply to Upcoming Treks

Our Summer 2025 Destinations will be posted during the Spring Quarter. To receive the most up-to-date information about our upcoming treks, be sure to sign up for our trek newsletter.

Summer Break 2025 Treks

Our Summer Break treks will take place in late-August and mid-September. We are now accepting applications via Handshake. Applications are due by Monday, May 12 at 9:00 a.m.

Program Costs

Students are responsible for the following costs associated with the trek:

  • A program fee that will be charged to your student account by the Office of the Bursar upon completion of the trek. These fees support program benefits such as hotel accommodations and ground transportation. Please visit each Handshake application page for more information, as a different fee will be assessed for each trek.

  • Airfare to and from the trek destination

  • Transportation to and from the airport and between the airport and hotel

  • Lunches and dinners during the trek

Financial Assistance

Career Advancement’s trek financial assistance fund is designed to ensure that students with demonstrated financial need can participate in treks.

For treks outside of the Chicago area, undergraduate students who qualify for need-based financial aid are eligible to have their program fee waived and may receive funding for airfare to and from the trek destination. These funds are not loans and do not need to be repaid.

To request funding, select “Yes” in the Financial Assistance section of the trek application on Handshake.

Please note that all trek acceptance decisions are made independently of funding requests.

If you believe you may qualify for assistance but haven’t completed the necessary paperwork to apply for need-based financial aid, please review the required list of materials and reach out to the Office of College Aid at 773-702-8666 or college-aid@uchicago.edu with any questions.

If you have any questions about the trek financial assistance fund, please contact Claire Silcox at CATreks@uchicago.edu.

2024 - 2025 Treks

Career Advancement offered treks during the 2024 – 2025 academic year to the following locations and industries:

  • Atlanta, GA – Civil Rights

  • Beijing & Shanghai, China – Business

  • Berlin & Hamburg, Germany – STEM & Startups

  • Cape Town, South Africa – Public Policy Leaders Program

  • Houston, TX – Healthcare

  • Hong Kong – Finance; International Markets

  • Lansing, MI – Legislation & Policy

  • London, UK – Trott Business Program – Finance; Humanities Study Abroad

  • Los Angeles, CA – Aerospace Engineering; Cinematic Arts, Media & Entertainment; Trott Emerging Business Leaders

  • Nairobi, Kenya – Global Health

  • New Delhi, India – Climate & Energy; Languages & Humanities

  • New York, NY & Greenwich, CT – Financial Markets

  • New York, NY – Business; Consulting; Finance; Humanities: Publishing, Creative Writing & Arts; Private Equity; Real Estate; Theater & Performance; Wall Street

  • Paris, France – Humanities Study Abroad

  • Philadelphia, PA – Education

  • Prague, Czech Republic – Humanities

  • San Francisco, CA – Finance; Game Design; Tech

  • Santa Clara & San Jose, CA – Computer Science & Biotech

  • Seattle, WA – Biological Sciences

  • Singapore – Business & Innovation

  • Washington, D.C. – Public Policy Leaders Program; Energy & Climate Policy; Climate Policy (in collaboration with the Institute for Climate & Sustainable Growth)

  • Zurich & Basel, Switzerland – Business & Healthcare

If you have any questions about the program, please contact Erwin Paderanga at CATreks@uchicago.edu.