For Students

Our passionate, dedicated students reach beyond our campus to take part in the life of our city and use their talents to support our neighboring communities.

Each year, thousands of our students work and volunteer in local schools and community organizations in Chicago. On campus and off, our students are empowered to challenge conventional thinking as they confront some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Working alongside neighborhood partners, our students engage with the broader community, build lasting relationships, and expand their horizons as they bring their energy, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas to classrooms, community centers, and civic institutions across the city.

By becoming active participants in civic life, students make a valuable and lasting contribution to Chicago during their college years. Through these activities, they also hone their skills, broaden their worldviews, and develop a commitment to civic engagement that will shape and enrich the rest of their lives.

Civic Advising

University Community Service Center staff are available to meet with students for one-on-one or small group advising on a variety of topics related to social change and community engagement. Some topics include how to start a program with a community partner, RSO development or support, postgraduate service opportunities, community-engaged research opportunities, devising effective methods for program assessment and evaluation, job skills and professionalism in the nonprofit sector, and many others.

To identify interesting service and civic engagement experiences, individuals may meet with the Civic Match team, a peer-to-peer conversational resource available to all undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Chicago. The team will meet with you to learn about your interests and help you create a path into the kind of civic engagement work that is most appealing to you. Email civicmatch.ucsc@gmail.com. To discuss partnership development and other kinds of organizational support for RSOs and other student-led organizations, individuals may connect with the Student Organizations team. Email csrso.ucsc@gmail.com.

Pathfinder

Find paid and volunteer opportunities with Office of Civic Engagement programs: Civic Knowledge Project, Collegiate Scholars Program, Community Programs Accelerator, Neighborhood Schools Program, Office of Special Programs-College Prep, and University Community Service Center.

Neighborhood Schools Program

The Neighborhood Schools Program is a community outreach program creating pathways of engagement between the University and local schools.

Community Programs Accelerator

Through partnerships with industry practitioners and connections to University resources, the Community Programs Accelerator provides technical assistance to help develop and strengthen community-based organizations on the South Side.

First-year students at the UChicago Engage event

Short and Long-Term Civic Engagement Opportunities

The UCSC organizes civic engagement opportunities throughout the year, in both short- and long-term formats.

Summer Links

Summer Links is a 10-week summer internship program in which students are hired by a community program or organization to work as a summer intern

Alternative Spring Break

A cohort of 15 undergraduates live, learn, and work together at an organization that is based within Chicago’s Woodlawn community.

Chicago Bound

Chicago Bound is a 7-day pre-orientation program sponsored by UCSC and the Institute of Politics for 40 incoming first-year students to promote community awareness and civic engagement. Housing and meals will be provided.

Profiles

Akanksha Shah
Maroon Tutor Match

“Maroon Tutor Match helped me learn to work with people — not just students and families, but tutors as well — who were very different from me and had different priorities and struggles. Getting a better understanding of where people are coming from is invaluable.” -Akanksha Shah '17

Vivek Ramakrishnan
MAPSCorps

"I think there is a future where data can be used to genuinely connect people with services who need it the most, and who are currently disconnected from support."

More profiles

Yevanit Reschechtko, AB'15, Neighborhood Schools Program

“I felt that the Neighborhood Schools Program was an important stepping stone for me to become more informed about educational policies and gaps that children face in these neighborhoods.”

Jonah Benning-Shorb, SB’20, Chicago Bound

“Chicago Bound has really inspired me and taught me and given me the tools to go forward to not only work on political campaigns, but work on social justice initiatives in the community."

Will Davis, AB'17, Summer Links

"One of the reasons I wanted to join Summer Links was to understand what I had been learning in my classes in a new way, from new perspectives, from community perspectives."

Claire Sampson, AB'19, Neighborhood Schools Program

“As a Neighborhood Schools Program volunteer, I felt that I was in classrooms to build relationships with students and teachers and schools. It’s all about those 35 kids and what they need, whether that means helping a teacher prep curriculum work, grading papers, or working with a student one-on-one.”

Student Civic Engagement Center

Home to the University’s two largest student civic engagement programs – the Neighborhood Schools Program (NSP) and University Community Service Center (UCSC) -- the Student Civic Engagement Center is a central hub for student civic engagement activities on campus.

Edelstone Center
6030 S. Ellis Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637