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Working the Humanities: Humanities Graduate Students Share Their Internship Experiences

Photos of student internship projects

While internships are an established part of professional and science graduate programs, they have been a less common opportunity for humanities graduate students. Now, departments and universities are realizing the many benefits for encouraging humanities graduate students to participate in workplace learning. These experiences provide students with a chance to apply their skills, ranging from archival research to critical analysis, to workplaces outside of the academy. Internships bolster students’ confidence and widen their interest in careers beyond faculty roles. In some cases, an internship helps a student to fine tune their research focus or reenergizes them for the dissertation process. Least of all, these collaborative experiences give workplace partners a keener sense of the advantages offered by workers with advanced degrees.

The University of Iowa is at the vanguard of internship experiences for humanities graduate students, first via its Humanities for the Public Good (HPG) Summer Internship program and now with the Iowa Digital Internships in the Humanities (IDIH) program. HPG just completed its third summer and has 27 alumni, while the IDIH completed its first summer, with 4 student participants.  

We invite you to learn more about the work of the students in these two programs, first through a digital poster session and then via two panels.

This virtual event is free and open to the public, but registration is required: REGISTER.

Agenda & Participants

  • 4:00 to 4:15 pm — Digital poster sessionCome into the space and look at students’ presentations of their work.
  • 4:15-4:45 pm — Student FishbowlHear from a group of Summer ’21 interns about their work and the benefits they’ve experienced:
    • Tyler Snelling (Communication Studies), National Czech & Slovak Museum
    • Patrick Johnson (Journalism & Mass Communication) UI Special Collections
    • Bronwyn Stewart (English) The Englert and FilmScene
    • Luke Borland (History) Library of Congress
  • 4:45-5:15 pm — Community Partners’ Experiences:
    • Kate Moreland, Director, Iowa City Area Development, and Aja Witt (Journalism & Mass Communication)
    • Robin Clark Bennett (UI Labor Center) and Ashley Dorn (History)

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact in advance at