Career Advancement Treks

Take a Career Trip, Find a Lifelong Career

Treks are career exploration experiences that bring groups of 15-25 students to meet with potential employers throughout the United States and around the world.

Career Advancement organizes treks around the world during summer, winter, and spring break periods. Students have visited over 70 cities - check out the trek map of past destinations here!

Treks are designed to give students a practical understanding of both daily life in their field of interest and the best way to successfully find a career in that field. Participating students have the opportunity to expand their professional network, learn more about potential jobs and internships, and find out whether a particular career field matches their interests, skills, and values.

Career Advancement encourages students at all stages of their career development process to attend treks. Previous trek attendees have reported that their trek helped them:

  • Clarify their career goals

  • Feel more confident in networking situations

  • Identify concrete ways to secure a career in their field of interest

To find out more about the program, please browse the program FAQ. You can view trek destinations and learn how to apply on the trek application procedures page.

Questions? Please send any questions to Claire Silcox at catreks@uchicago.edu.

Faculty and Staff Partners

If you are a faculty or staff member interested in co-leading a trek, please contact Erwin Paderanga at erwinp@uchicago.edu.

Share Your Trek Success Story!

Did a previous trek open the door to a job, internship, research project, or new professional mentor? Share your experience with us using this quick form.


Upcoming Trek Destinations: Winter Break 2025

Career Advancement will be traveling to the following destinations in December 2025. Visit this page to learn more about how to apply!

  • Beijing & Shanghai - Climate & Innovation - December 15 - 19

    • Example Visits: Shanghai Electric Bright Source Solar Energy Co, Hitachi Energy, Beijing Environment Exchange

  • Berlin & Frankfurt, Germany - STEM & Startups - December 15 - 18

    • Example Visits: C3 Venture Capital, Antler, Lignopure

  • London, U.K. - International Financial Markets - December 15 - 17

    • Example Visits: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, The Boston Consulting Group

  • Santiago, Chile - Global Health - December 15 - 17

    • Example Visits: Public Health Institute of Chile, Ministry of Health, University of Chile- School of Public Health

  • Seoul, South Korea - Business - December 15 - 17

    • Example Visits: Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan

  • Chicago, IL - Business (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • Chicago, IL - Business (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Nuveen, BMO, McDonald's, Peak6, Houlihan Lokey

  • Los Angeles, CA - Game Design - December 15 - 17

    • Example Visits: Naughty Dog, Riot Games, PlayStation Productions

  • Los Angeles, CA - Law (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • Los Angeles, CA - Law (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: UCLA Law School, Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, TMK Attorneys

  • Los Angeles, CA - Quantum & Engineering (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • Los Angeles, CA - Quantum & Engineering (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: HRL Laboratories, Varda Space, AeroVironment

  • New York, NY - Business (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • New York, NY - Business (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Bloomingdale's, Scotiabank, Simon-Kucher, Red Associates

  • New York, NY - Capital Markets (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • New York, NY - Capital Markets (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Mizuho Bank Ltd., Voya Investment Management, JP Morgan Chase & Co

  • New York, NY - FinTech - December 15 - 16

    • Example Visits: Forge, Glenbrook Partners, Synchrony Ventures, Black Ore

  • New York, NY - Finance (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • New York, NY - Finance (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo

  • New York, NY - Restructuring Finance - December 15 - 17

    • Example Visits: Houlihan Lokey, FTI Consulting, Lazard

  • New York, NY - Humanities: Publishing & Creative Writing (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • New York, NY - Humanities: Publishing & Creative Writing (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, The Observer

  • New York, NY - Sports Business - December 15 - 17

    • Example Visits: NBA, NFL, ESPN

  • New York, NY - STEM (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • New York, NY - STEM (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: SeatGeek, PatronusAI, NewLab

  • San Francisco - Business (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • San Francisco - Business (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Twitch, Apple, Github

  • San Francisco Bay Area - Tech & Startups (Group 1) - December 15 - 16

  • San Francisco Bay Area - Tech & Startups (Group 2) - December 17 - 18

    • Example Visits: Twitch, Apple, Github

Please note, the employers shown above are examples of the types of companies/organizations you can expect to visit. The finalized itinerary will be shared a few weeks before the trek.