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2024-2025 Academic Year Odyssey Metcalf Fellowship Grant for Internships

University of Chicago – Career Advancement
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A completed application includes:

  1. Resume on Handshake
  2. Completed External Application Form 

Career Advancement will offer a limited number of grants to Odyssey Scholars who plan to intern during the 2024-2025 academic year with on-campus and off-campus employers in any industry. 

All actively enrolled Odyssey Scholars 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.

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.

 

ELIGIBILITY

The proposed professional experience must meet the following

  1. Occurs during the 2024-2025 academic year.
  2. Takes place in the current at the time of submission. Funding cannot be applied retroactively.
  3. One application per quarter.
  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.

TIMELINE

Each quarter will have 1 application cycle. Students can request funding for academic-year internships only for the corresponding cycle. Preview the application cycles here.

Internship Duration 

Academic year internships:

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

Application

Step 1: Submit your resume on Handshake 

Step 2: Fill out the application form

Step 3 (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 where the internship is based out of
  • 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

As part of the University’s financial aid support of Odyssey Scholars, limited funding is available for academic year, unpaid internships.

Funding is limited to $500 per quarter (maximum of $1,500 for the academic year) and not guaranteed.
- Off-campus, in-person experiences are prioritized.
- Priority will be given to students who have never received an academic year grant.
- No late applications will be accepted or considered.

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). 

 

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT GUIDELINES 

For Internships Abroad

Review University guidelines for international travel. If a student is awarded a Metcalf stipend for an onsite internship outside the U.S., 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 2024-2025 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.

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.

Contact erd@uchicago.edu with any questions.