1. Determine you are eligible
Startup City Scholars is open to Grainger College of Engineering undergraduate students of all majors with an interest in entrepreneurship who have at least Junior credit standing.
Requirements:
- 3.2 GPA recommended
- Junior or Senior credit standing
- Required courses:
- CS and CS+X students should have completed CS233 or CS240 by the time they begin the program. Completion of CS241 is highly recommended.
- ECE students: there are no required courses.
- Other Engineering majors: you must be able to make a full course schedule using the City Scholars courses and courses offered online. Your participation will require department approval.
2. Submit Interest Form
Interest forms are reviewed on a rolling basis by a faculty committee. Students will be notified if they are eligible to participate and eligible to receive the scholarship by Nov. 9th. Eligibility does not guarantee selection for the program.
Submissions from the links above can be viewed here:
3. Participate in CNVC events and activities
Stay engaged with events throughout Fall 2021 to find teams/teammates and fine-tune your CNVC project application.
You can also attend any of the Quick Pitch events listed on the Polsky website.
| Date/Time(Central) | Event | Location |
| Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021 5:00-6:30pm | Startup City Scholars Seed Pitches | Online event |
| Wednesday, Sep. 15 | Social Fuse | |
| Thursday, Sep. 30 5:30-7:00pm | CNVC Kickoff ***Roundtrip transportation will be provided to Chicago from campus. RSVP by September 27 if you wish to use the transportation. | Chicago Booth Harper Center 5807 S Woodlawn Ave C-25 Chicago, IL 60637 |
| Wednesday, Oct. 6 5:00-6:00pm | UChicago Virtual Quick Pitch | Online Event |
| Monday, Oct. 11 5:00-6:00pm | Find-a-Team Event ***Participate in the event with other students in-person on campus. Signup to attend on campus.*** | In-person on campus & Online Event |
| Tue, Oct. 12, 2021 5:00-6:00pm | UChicago Virtual Quick Pitch | Online Event |
| Thu, Oct. 14 12:00-1:00pm | UChicago In-Person Quick Pitch | Chicago Booth Harper Center 5807 S Woodlawn Ave C-01 Chicago, IL 60637 |
| Thursday, Oct. 21 5:00-6:00pm | UChicago Virtual Quick Pitch | Online Event |
| Monday, Oct. 25 12:00-1:00pm | UChicago In-Person Quick Pitch | Chicago Booth Harper Center 5807 S Woodlawn Ave C-01 Chicago, IL 60637 |
| Tuesday, Oct. 26 | Social Fuse | |
| Wednesday, Nov. 3 5:00-6:00pm | UChicago Virtual Quick Pitch | Online Event |
| Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 10:00am | Application deadline | |
| Thursday, Dec. 2 from 5:30-7:00pm | College New Venture Challenge Orientation and Teambuilding |
4. How to be selected for the class
Enter my team in CNVC
- Meet with Prof. John Thode to discuss your project idea and team. Contact him to schedule a meeting: jthode@illinois.edu.
- All teams must have a UChicago team member. To recruit UChicago undergrads to your team, attend CNVC events and activities. Also ensure that you have submitted the interest form submitting your team.
- Learn more and submit official proposal for a University of Illinois student-led project on the CNVC website. The application deadline is Nov. 9, 2021.
- Application requirements, questions and FAQ’s found on CNVC website.
- Submitting a project proposal means you intend to join the Startup City Scholars class if accepted.
Find or join a CNVC team
- Attend all CNVC events hosted throughout Fall 2021.
- If you join a team prior to November 9th deadline, that team should list you on their application. If that team is chosen, you will be accepted to the City Scholars class.
- You may also join a team after the November 9th deadline. Attend the CNVC Phase 2 Kickoff (date TBA) to meet teams selected for the program. If an accepted project invites you on to their team you can be admitted into the class and granted a scholarship (as scholarships are still available, first come first served for eligible students and teams).
5. Acceptance into Startup City Scholars Program
TEAM APPLICATIONS will be notified shortly after November 9th if their team has been selected to participate.
INDIVIDUALS LOOKING FOR TEAMS should attempt to identify a team to join by January 6th. An admitted CNVC team should officially request your participation by emailing the UIUC Course Instructor: John Thode at jthode@illinois.edu.