As a graduate student in film and media, internships were a formative experience for Lauren Burrell Cox, associate director at the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies. They helped her define her values and identify meaningful professional roles where her skills could be put to use across the humanities ecosystem.
Now, she’s received a grant from Humanities Without Walls (HWW) to provide six paid internship opportunities with local nonprofits for UI humanities graduate students this summer.
“My goal is to make sure that humanities graduate students are equipped with robust, transferrable skills and access to pathways that lead to secure and fulfilling work,” says Cox.
The three selected nonprofits have hosted successful internships and externships in the past, through the Obermann Center’s Mellon-funded Humanities for the Public Good initiative and the Obermann Humanities Without Walls Faculty Externship. Each site will host two HWW interns this June and July:
Public Space One, a nonprofit arts organization,
Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, a community-based, family-centered human services agency, and
Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation, a fundraiser and advocate for the library.
“Humanities students have access to a wide range of career possibilities. The work is varied, impactful, and extends beyond the academy,” says Cox. “What matters is articulating clear models for how the humanities live and work in the world.”
The interns will work on important projects that directly serve each nonprofit’s mission while building skills that will serve them no matter what career trajectory they select. Each will receive a taxable stipend of $5,000 for eight weeks of onsite work. In addition, interns will participate in cohort meetings that will foster professional development and shared exploration of diverse career pathways.
“The ideal student is motivated, wants to give back to the community, and is curious about working in the world beyond academia,” says Cox.
Faculty and staff who know humanities and humanities-adjacent graduate students with these traits should encourage them to learn more about the internships.
The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on Monday, March 2.
This program builds on partnerships established through the Obermann Center's Mellon-funded Humanities for the Public Good program and the HWW-funded Faculty Externship on Graduate Career Diversity, as well as the Obermann Center’s long history of community engagement.
About the Obermann Center
The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies supports the work of University of Iowa artists and researchers at all stages of their careers, fostering imaginative, interdisciplinary collaborations within and beyond our campus. It also connects the University with local, state, and global communities by offering public programs and supporting academic networks.
About Humanities Without Walls (HWW)
HWW is a consortium of humanities centers at sixteen research universities throughout the Midwest and beyond. It's based at the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and aims to create new avenues for collaborative and interdisciplinary research, publicly engaged scholarship, and professional opportunities for faculty and graduate students.