International Experience Grants

Funding for undergraduate students wishing to intern or conduct research abroad.

International Experience Grants offer funding opportunities to undergraduate students wishing to intern or conduct research abroad. In the past, students have been funded for professional experiences in China, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Peru, and Vietnam.

Students are selected based on their submitted proposal, which must include a budget, a back-up plan, and an offer letter from the hiring organization. Students will also need to demonstrate how the experience will enhance their professional goals. Regional and thematic diversity of projects will also be taken into account.

Please make sure you read the Detailed Application Guide before you start preparing your application material. To access the Detailed Application Guide tab, you must log into the Career Advancement website.

Application Process: 

All application materials must be submitted via UChicago Handshake, Career Advancement’s online job search system.  For more information about the process of submitting your application using UChicago Handshake, please review the UChicago Handshake information and instructions page. Students may only apply to the grant once per year.

To quickly find the grant on UChicago Handshake, search for “international experience grant” (with the quotes) in the keyword search. Applicants must be “activated” to use on-campus recruiting in order to apply. To be activated for on-campus recruiting, please make an appointment to have your resume reviewed by a Career Advancement adviser.

Eligible Destinations

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. Prior to submitting your petition form, they must meet with Chiara Montanari, Associate Director of External Relations or Eric Benjaminson, Assistant Director of Study Abroad, to discuss your plans in light of the Advisory. You must complete your meeting before you submit your grant application. Since this conversation may affect your plans, please schedule your appointment well in advance of the grant application deadline. Contact Chiara Montanari at chiaram@uchicago.edu to schedule a meeting.

For student reference, the CDC website can be found at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices and the International SOS ratings can be found at http://internationalsos.com where one can log in with UChicago’s membership number: 11BCAS084635. This will provide students access to further country-specific information.

Application Material

Please note: the selection committee will evaluate applications based exclusively on the required material, which must be submitted by the deadline and through Handshake. Any additional information, updates, or documentation submitted via email and/or after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.

Your application should include the following:

  • Cover sheet – form provided
  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • Budget – form provided
  • Unofficial transcript
  • Offer letter from the hiring organization
  • Email confirmation of SARSAC appointment (only for applicants travelling to countries or regions bearing a Level 3 or 4 State Department Travel Advisory)

Make sure you read the Detailed Application Guide before you start preparing your application material.

Please note: incomplete applications or applications not formatted according to instructions will not be considered. For details on how to submit and format your application see the Detailed Application Guide.

Faculty Contact

Faculty Name: 
Chiara Montanari