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Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant for Internships: AY 2023-2024

University of Chicago – Career Advancement
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Career Advancement will offer a limited number of grants to undergraduates who plan to intern during the 2023-2024 academic year with off-campus employers in any industry. 

 

All currently enrolled students in good standing with the University are eligible to apply. Opportunities can be:

  • Remote, hybrid, or in-person
  • Based in the U.S. or abroad
  • Part-time opportunities under 20hrs/week during the academic year

Students are ambassadors of the University at all times and in all interactions. Receiving internship funding through the Metcalf Program means upholding this commitment. Students are instrumental to fostering a strong UChicago community on campus and beyond.

 

Key elements to a complete Metcalf grant application include:

  1. A formal offer letter
  2. Access to a direct supervisor
  3. Completed application form
  4. Where applicable, fulfillment of international on-site internship requirements

 

For a comprehensive list of requirements, reference the Eligibility section below. Students are not required to have accepted an offer and are welcome to inform their potential employer that acceptance of the role may be contingent on receiving grant funding.

 

Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed. The decisions regarding acceptance and funding made by the reviewing committee are definitive and cannot be appealed. Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the materials submitted through grant application form. No new materials or updates will be accepted and/or taken into consideration.

Eligibility

The proposed professional experience must meet the following

  1. Occurs either during the 2023-2024 academic year. According to your class schedule and commitments, summer experiences may start/finish earlier or later. Please refer to the Undergraduate Student Recruiting Guidelines.
  2. Takes place in the current or upcoming quarter(s) at the time of submission. Funding cannot be applied retroactively.
  3. One application per quarter. If you secure an additional opportunity with a different employer, submit a separate grant application.
  4. Provides a direct supervisor who serves as a mentor throughout the internship. In the case of supervised research, the supervisor does not need to be a UChicago professor but must be affiliated with another research institution. Independent research projects or freelance experiences are not eligible.
  5. Offers a substantive professional experience.
  6. Is unpaid or offers very little compensation.
  7. Is NOT requiring a fee or deposit for participation. The grant only funds internships that students arrange directly with employers.
  8. Is NOT with 1) an organization on the State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations or otherwise sanctioned or monitored by the U.S. Government; 2) an organization formed for the purpose of supporting a candidate for political office. Because the University is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the tax code, it is prohibited from participating in political campaign activities. All other organizations are eligible for funding under this grant, including government agencies and for-profit organizations.

Important Considerations for Internships Abroad

Review University guidelines for international travel. If a student is awarded a Metcalf stipend for an onsite internship outside the US, they may need to petition the University to receive funding.

 

The University of Chicago’s working assumption is that travel to countries or regions with a US Department of State Level 3 or Level 4 Advisory is not permitted for undergraduate participants. The University also also uses as indicators the advisory levels published by the Centers for Disease Control and our emergency provider, International SOS. Thus, if the country or region to which travel is contemplated is listed as Level 3 or 4 in the State Department’s travel advisories OR has a warning level 3 from the Centers for Disease Control OR has an International SOS risk rating of High or Extreme, travel is assumed to be prohibited.

Students who wish to travel to one of these countries must petition the University.

For questions regarding the petition process, please contact Chiara Montanari, at chiaram@uchicago.edu. 

 

For country-specific information, reference:

 

For International Students Only

If you are an international student, please make sure to visit the OIA website to familiarize yourself with your work authorization eligibility and requirements as soon as possible. If you’d like to make an appointment with your international adviser, please visit this page.

International students who plan to graduate during the 2023-2024 academic year will need to apply and obtain OPT in order to work in a job or internship in the U.S. that starts or extends past their graduation date. Please note that it may take up to 5 months for students to receive their OPT. Career Advancement highly encourages you to connect with your employer and discuss your internship start and end date as the OPT process may impact your timeline. For further questions on OPT work authorization please reach out to OIA.

 

Timeline

To give students maximum flexibility, applications will be accepted throughout the 2023-2024 academic year. Each quarter will have 1-2 application cycles. Students can request funding for academic-year internships during any of these cycles. Preview the cycle deadlines here.

 

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 15 for an Autumn Quarter 2023 internship, January 2 for a Winter Quarter 2024 internship and March 16 for a Spring Quarter 2024 internship.

Internship Duration 

Academic year internships:

During the academic year, students may work for a maximum of 20 hours a week per quarter.

 

Students working more than 20 hours a week during the academic year must submit a petition to the Dean of Students in the College. If you expect to exceed 20 hours a week, please contact Richard Morales at rmorales1@uchicago.edu.  

Application

Step 1: Fill out the application form

Step 2: (For on-site international internships):  All students with on-site international internships are required to review and submit the Student Responsibilities and Available Resources document. This outline provides a basic overview of additional resources and considerations for students who could be traveling internationally for their position.

 

The form requires you to upload an offer letter or email from your employer. The letter/email MUST include all the following information:

  • Supervisor name and contact information (email must be a company domain)
  • Physical location of the office and if your internship will be remote
  • Number of work hours per week
  • Total number of work hours for the quarter(s)
  • Start and end date
  • Indicate if this is an unpaid or partially paid opportunity
  • Offer letters should be on company letterhead
  • Emails should be sent from a company email address with the employer’s domain

Funding

Metcalf grants 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.

 

For a complete look at the award scale, please visit the internship grants webpage.

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).