Career Events

The UIC Design Virtual Career Event is an annual recruitment event that connects current students and recently-graduate alumni to professionals from around the U.S. through interviews via Zoom sessions. This event strictly focuses on organizations actively hiring for internships and career opportunities. 

Other annual events include portfolio workshops, a professional lecture series, and a program of online interviews for internships and design jobs with participating design employers. UIC Design faculty play an important part in these programs by tapping into their established network of professional resources.

This program aims to connect current students with UIC Design alumni through small group meet-ups and one-on-one conversations around portfolios, interviewing, and life as a professional designer. Guided content includes mentorship, mock interviews, verbal/visual language building, and feedback on portfolio presentation and resume content/design. Connect ID open to all undergraduate students who have been accepted to a design degree program. The program additionally offers opportunities for increasing alumni relations with the school. 

Professionalism is embedded in our undergraduate curriculum. Two colloquium courses, one in the first semester of the Foundation program and one in the first semester of the capstone year, are required for BDes and BA students. The Foundation Colloquium introduces students to a range of professional possibilities and addresses surprises that students may have about the rigorous disciplinary study required to enter the field. It also introduces students to school, college, and campus resources. The Senior Colloquium invites professional speakers from different areas of current and emerging forms of design practice who share stories of their professional experiences and pursuits. Students are individually guided on the develop­ment of a professional resume and on the job search and interview process for creative professionals. 

UIC Design is actively involved with the two leading professional associations of design AIGA and IDSA. The school supports Student Groups of each organization with oversight from a dedicated Faculty Advisor. UIC AIGA/IDSA Student Groups produce their own programming, which is sometimes coordinated with student groups at other schools or with regional chapters. Student memberships carry the full benefits offered to professional members including access to local, regional, and national events. These professional organizations offer a sense of community with fellow students as well as with the Chicago design community.