Summer Links

The application for Summer Links 2025 is OPEN through Monday, January 27! Apply Now!

Summer Links is a 10-week cohort program that pairs undergraduate students with internships at local community-based organizations and explores social issues impacting the city of Chicago. Participating students complete internships in a variety of topic areas, including but not limited to education, non-profits, advocacy, arts and culture, public health, social justice, and environmental justice. Rising 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students in the College from any major who are committed to public service, community engagement, and interested in exploring social change issues are eligible for this opportunity, as are those with existing summer internship funding, including but not limited to Odyssey Scholars, Luther Foster Program participants, and merit-award recipients. 

Interested participants must first apply and interview for the Summer Links program; once they are accepted into the cohort, UCSC staff match students to internship placements based on student interests as articulated in the application and interview process, as well as the needs of community organizations. Some community partner organizations who have hosted interns in the past include:

• Arts Alliance Illinois
• The Black Star Project
• Chicago Center for Arts and Technology (CHICAT)
• Chicago Commission on Human Relations
• Chicago Hopes for Kids
• Chicago Learning Exchange (CLX)
• Chicago Public Schools Department of STEM
• Chicago United
• Future Ties
• The Honeycomb Project
• LUV Institute
• LVEJO
• Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
• Media Burn Archive
• My Block, My Hood, My City
• Neighborhood Network Alliance
• One on One
• Project Exploration
• Project SYNCERE
• ReVive Center for Housing and Healing
• SitStayRead
• SkyArt
• Southside Together Organizing for Power
• Sunshine Enterprises
• Taller de Jose
• Teamwork Englewood
• United African Organization
• Urban Junctures

In the first week of the program, students meet daily to discuss various social issues, learn about Chicago, prepare for their internships, and reflect upon their experiences while building community amongst the cohort. For the remaining nine weeks of the program, students work full-time at their internship four days a week, meeting as a cohort on the fifth day to learn more about Chicago’s cultures, history, and social justice concerns. 

“To say that [Summer Links] was a great social justice program doesn't begin to cover it, and it's impossible to quantify just how much I learned. I believe it really changed the trajectory of my life — it helped me choose my major, and I now know that social justice work will always be a part of, if not the entirety, of what I hope to find in a career post-graduation.” — Emma Calkins, Summer Links 2020 Participant

PROGRAM TIMEFRAME
June 16 - 20: Immersion Week
June 23 - August 21: Internships
August 22: Closing Event

COMPENSATION:
Interns receive a $5,000 stipend for their work and participation. Those with summer Metcalf funding, such as Odyssey Scholars, Luther Foster Program participants, and merit-award recipients will have their funding applied to this experience.  

ELIGIBILITY:
-open to rising 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students of all majors
-interest or background in community and civic engagement

TIMELINE:
Application Deadline: 11:59pm, Monday, January 27 (Week 4)
Interviews: Wednesday, January 29 - February 7
Offers and Opportunity to Rank Internship Sites: Friday, February 14 
Internship Matches: Friday, February 28

“To say that [Summer Links] was a great social justice program doesn't begin to cover it, and it's impossible to quantify just how much I learned. I believe it really changed the trajectory of my life — it helped me choose my major, and I now know that social justice work will always be a part of, if not the entirety, of what I hope to find in a career post-graduation.” — Emma Calkins, Summer Links 2020 Participant

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