There are two types of internship opportunities for undergraduates: (1) to do research on the built environment, whether within or outside the university, and (2) to intern in work positions outside the university. Because of the coronavirus epidemic, both types may be available as remote internships, performed online from home.
(1) In research associate positions, a student performs mentored research and writing – for example, on a project at the Department of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute of Chicago. Information about those is available from the College Center for Research and Fellowships.
(2) To help you find workplace internships outside the university, especially but not only in Chicago, download the PDF to the right, which gives suggestions of firms and organizations to consider. It describes some specific places – and some general types of places – where students have found and/or could seek internship opportunities, either during the summer or during the academic year. They include: community organizations with socially-oriented architecture projects, art museums with architecture departments or architectural exhibitions and events, historic building museums that care for landmark buildings and give public tours, and nonprofit organizations that fund architectural projects, nonprofits that work to identify and protect historically significant buildings from demolition or severe alteration, as well as architectural firms. It’s not a comprehensive list and it focuses on Chicago organizations, but it should give you ideas about where to look for internship opportunities in other places.
Examples of good web-search keywords: “internship” + the city name + the name of an organization or type of organization.
Funding for internships: The College has funds to support otherwise unpaid student internships during the summer or during the academic year, because many organizations do not offer paid internships. Students may visit Career Advancement and sign up for an advising appointment to discuss finding internships and possible grant opportunities to fund them with Ben Waltzer or Nely Rentas.
You are also welcome to contact the Architectural Studies faculty advisor to discuss internship ideas.