Photography - Student Opportunities
This page is a space with opportunities for students to pursue internships, attend professional conferences, or submit work for exhibitions. Photography majors and minors are encouraged to disseminate their production and make professional connections in order to achieve professional success after graduation. You need to build a network.
The photography program often makes field trips to the Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. This popular excursion enables students to see the latest innovations in the field as well as original historic prints first hand. It's also a wonderful opportunity to bond with fellow students and get some great photos as well.
Society for Photographic Education
The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) holds an annual national conference in the spring and an annual regional conference in the fall. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow photographers, industry professionals, teachers and students from all over the country to share and learn about what everyone is doing. It's a great place to make friends, test out the latest equipment, discuss career opportunities and take pictures.
Filter Photo Festival
Ready for your portfolio to be given a hard look? Filter Photo in Chicago is for you. It's a multi-day celebration of photography that includes workshops, lectures, exhibition receptions, artist talks, and other diverse programming. A primary component of the Festival is the portfolio reviews, through which photographers are able to connect with national and international curators, gallery directors, editors, and other elite professionals.
Photography majors are encouraged to do an internship. There are many local studios, photographers, agencies and businesses that have provided experiences for our students. A list of successfully completed internships whose employers are looking for more interns can be found here: Internship Archive updated Fall 2019