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Applications are due Monday, March 2, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
Before applying, thoroughly read the position descriptions below.
Paid 8-week summer internships with area nonprofits
The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies invites UI graduate students in humanities and humanities-adjacent programs to apply for paid summer internships with Iowa City nonprofit organizations Public Space One, Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, and the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation. Six positions are available (two at each site).
This eight-week summer program will give UI graduate students the chance to gain hands-on professional experience outside the classroom while building skills that translate across many career paths. Interns will apply humanities training such as research, writing, critical thinking, and ethical analysis in real world, public-facing settings.
The program also offers structured support for career exploration and professional growth. Through cohort meetings and workshops, students will develop practical tools for the job market while connecting with peers and mentors.
Program Benefits
- Eight-week summer internship in June and July 2026 with $5,000 taxable stipend
- Professional experience with a local nonprofit organization
- Cohort meetings and workshops focused on resumes, CVs, cover letters, informational interviews, career exploration, and ethical community engaged work
- Mentorship from nonprofit professionals and Obermann Center staff
- A supportive cohort of fellow humanities graduate students
Interns will take part in a late spring orientation and meet regularly as a cohort throughout the summer to reflect on their experiences, share insights, and build confidence navigating diverse career pathways.
Who Should Apply
This opportunity is open to current humanities and humanities-adjacent graduate students (MFA or PhD) not graduating in Summer or Fall 2026 who are interested in exploring careers beyond the traditional tenure track.
Please note that these are in-person internships; interns will need to be on site during the entire internship period. Students who already have summer fellowships are ineligible for this program.
Position Descriptions
Grant Administration and Research Intern
Public Space One (PS1), an artist-led, community-driven, contemporary art center, seeks a student intern to support grant administration, research, documentation, and publication development and design for its multi-year Alongside/Banned but Not Silenced project, developed in collaboration with the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. Summer 2026 marks the midpoint of this two-year initiative. The intern will assist with organizing and synthesizing materials from the project’s first year, supporting grant reporting requirements, and contributing to the design and development of a small publication that documents project activities and outcomes.
Responsibilities
- Assist with grant administration tasks, including organizing materials for reporting to funders
- Research, summarize, and synthesize project activities, programs, and participant feedback
- Support documentation and archiving of materials generated from grant activities
- Contribute written content for internal reports and public-facing materials
- Assist with publication development (zine or serial format) in collaboration with PS1 staff and artists
- Communicate as needed with project partners
Qualifications
- Strong writing, research, and organizational skills
- Basic graphic design or digital publication skills
- Interest in nonprofit work, arts administration, public humanities, or cultural organizations
- Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources
Learning Outcomes
- Practical experience in grant administration and reporting
- Exposure to evaluation and documentation practices in nonprofit arts organizations
- Experience working with artists, arts administrators, and community partners
- Insight into how cultural organizations manage collaborative, multi-year projects
Media Arts Co-op Archive & Storytelling Intern
Public Space One (PS1) seeks a student intern to support research, storytelling, and public engagement related to the Media Arts Co-op’s (MAC) public access television archives. This internship focuses on activating and interpreting archival materials from Iowa City’s former public access television channel (PATV) and sharing stories drawn from this collection with a broad public audience.
PS1’s Media Arts Co-op program grew out of the closure of Iowa City’s public access television station and its subsequent merger with PS1. As part of PS1’s ongoing commitment to the legacy of PATV, this internship centers on telling the story of public access media in Iowa City and its broader cultural impact. The PATV archives include over 700 VHS tapes, thousands of hours of digital video, photographs, and paper materials documenting decades of community-produced media. These materials capture local arts and culture, community journalism, experimental video, public conversations, and everyday life in Iowa City, while also connecting to a national movement for public access media. The intern will build on prior archival work and community programs to develop several publicly accessible stories drawn from the archives and new research.
Responsibilities
- Review and assess materials within the PATV archives
- Build on previous archival projects and recent PS1 programming
- Research comparable public access and community media archive projects nationally
- Conduct short interviews with local PATV participants and Media Arts Co-op members
- Develop 3–5 multimedia narratives (text, images, video, or hybrid formats)
- Publish completed stories on the Public Space One website
Desired Skills & Interests
- Interest in archives, storytelling, media arts, or public humanities
- Strong research and organizational skills
- Ability to synthesize archival materials into accessible narratives
- Comfort engaging with community members and creative practitioners
- Experience with media production or digital storytelling is welcome but not required
Learning Outcomes
- Hands-on experience working with a community-based media archive
- Practice interpreting historical materials for a non-academic public audience
- Experience producing public-facing humanities or media content
- Insight into public access media, community storytelling, and arts organizations
Community Outreach & Program Development Support
Location: Towncrest Neighborhood, Iowa City
Purpose: To assist in the introduction and development of new program ideas and resources aimed at engaging families and increasing enrollment in childcare programs, enrichment activities for children, and adult education classes.
Key Responsibilities
- Community Outreach
- Connect with families through door-to-door visits, phone calls, and social media.
- Distribute flyers and promotional materials to local businesses, schools, and community centers.
- Program Development
- Provide input on new program ideas based on community needs.
- Help organize focus groups or feedback sessions with residents.
- Enrollment Assistance
- Support families in registering for childcare, enrichment programs, and adult education classes.
- Offer guidance and translation support for non-English-speaking families (if applicable).
- Event Support
- Assist in planning and hosting informational sessions and family engagement events.
- Help with event setup, sign-in, and hospitality.
- Resource Creation
- Develop simple guides, FAQs, and digital content to explain program benefits and schedules.
Skills & Qualifications
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively with diverse community members.
- Organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Multilingual abilities are a plus.
Time Commitment
Flexible; typically 25-30 hours per week depending on events and outreach needs.
Impact
This individual will play a vital role in building stronger community connections, increasing access to childcare and educational opportunities, and fostering an inclusive environment for families in the Towncrest neighborhood.
Storytelling & Documentary Development Assistant
Location: Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County
Purpose: To assist in creating a storytelling platform that captures and shares the experiences of current and former volunteers, individuals, families, and employees. These stories will be developed into a documentary-style format and shared across multiple platforms to highlight the impact of community programs.
Key Responsibilities
- Research & Outreach
- Identify and compile a list of potential participants (volunteers, families, staff).
- Contact individuals to explain the project and invite participants.
- Interview Support
- Conduct interviews alongside the Executive Director and Community Developer.
- Prepare interview questions and ensure a comfortable environment for participants.
- Record and document stories accurately for future use.
- Content Development
- Organize and summarize collected stories for inclusion in the storytelling platform.
- Assist in planning the documentary structure and themes.
- Collaboration
- Work closely with leadership and creative teams to ensure stories reflect the mission and values of the organization.
- Provide input on multimedia formats (video, audio, and written narratives).
Skills & Qualifications
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills are important.
- Ability to listen actively and capture authentic narratives.
- Organizational skills for managing outreach and scheduling.
- Experience with interviewing or media production is a plus (but not required).
- Comfortable working with diverse populations.
Time Commitment
Flexible; approximately 25-30 hours per week depending on outreach and interview schedules.
Impact
This volunteer will play a key role in preserving and sharing the rich history and personal stories of the Neighborhood Centers community, helping to inspire future engagement and support.
Community Feedback Framework Intern
The Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation seeks a motivated intern to design and document a sustainable framework for ongoing community feedback and engagement to inform future planning. This internship will focus on identifying community partners and affinity groups, designing inclusive feedback events, and developing standardized tools for gathering and analyzing community input. The result of this internship will be a repeatable feedback model that library staff can use to inform services, spaces, and programs well beyond the internship period.
This role is ideal for a student interested in community engagement, public libraries, social research, nonprofit management, or public administration.
Purpose & Goals
The purpose of this internship is to strengthen the library’s planning by engaging intentionally and equitably with the community by:
- Creating a comprehensive map of current and potential community partners
- Identifying and defining key affinity groups within the community
- Designing welcoming events tailored to different audiences
- Developing consistent, accessible questions and data collection tools
- Establishing documentation and processes for long-term use by library staff
Learning Outcomes
The intern will gain experience in:
- Community engagement and stakeholder mapping
- Public library feedback and equity-focused service design
- Event and program planning
- Qualitative research and data collection
- Professional collaboration with library leadership and staff
Time Commitment & Duration
- Estimated commitment: 25-30 hours per week
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Flexible scheduling to accommodate academic commitments
Final Deliverables Summary
- Community partner directory
- Affinity group framework
- feedback event templates
- Engagement question bank
- Data collection tools
- Comprehensive feedback framework guide
Advocacy & Government Affairs Intern
The Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation seeks an intern to assess, strengthen, and document the Iowa Library Association’s advocacy and government affairs work. This internship will focus on understanding Iowa’s current library advocacy ecosystem, identifying opportunities for stronger engagement with local library foundations, Friends groups, and pro-library allies, and developing tools and strategies to support sustained, visible advocacy throughout the year.
The intern’s work will result in practical, data-informed resources that support the ILA Government Affairs Committee (GAC) and member libraries in building long-term relationships with policymakers and expanding Iowa’s pro-library advocacy base.
This internship is ideal for a student interested in public policy, advocacy, nonprofit leadership, civic engagement, or library and information science.
Purpose & Goals
The purpose of this internship is to help ILA:
- Assess the current advocacy landscape for Iowa libraries
- Identify gaps, strengths, and opportunities within ILA’s advocacy efforts
- Strengthen engagement with library foundations, Friends groups, and allied community members
- Support sustained, year-round advocacy beyond legislative sessions
- Develop practical tools that enable clearer, more coordinated advocacy at the state and local levels
Learning Outcomes
The intern will gain experience in:
- Policy analysis and legislative research
- Advocacy strategy development
- Coalition and stakeholder engagement
- Nonprofit governance and association leadership
- Translating research into actionable tools
Time Commitment & Duration
- Estimated commitment: 25-30 hours per week
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Flexible scheduling to accommodate academic requirements
Final Deliverables Summary
- Advocacy ecosystem map or assessment
- Iowa library policy landscape report
- Comparative analysis of other state library associations
- Engagement framework for Friends groups, foundations, and pro-library allies
- Advocacy communications toolkit
- Executive summary and presentation for ILA leadership
P.I.: Lauren Burrell Cox
This grant was awarded to Lauren Burrell Cox, Associate Director of the Obermann Center.
Dr. Cox received her PhD in English from the University of Florida, where she was awarded the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Michael Aschoff Dissertation Fellowship for her hybrid dissertation project “Reactivating the Film Archive.” Before coming to the Obermann Center, she was the Humanities Program Manager at the University of Florida Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (UF CHPS), where she managed the UF Synergies Speaker Series and the Humanities Engagement Scholars program. Prior to that, she served as the program coordinator for UF CHPS and the Public Relations Coordinator for the Andrew W. Mellon Intersections program. With Dr. June Ke, and sponsored by the University of Florida Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere and the University of California Humanities Research Institute, she co-created the podcast series Under Review: Rethinking Humanities Graduate Education. Putting graduate education under review, the podcast examines pressing issues such as the tenure-track jobs crisis, economic outcomes for humanities PhDs, future directions for graduate education, and professional development that takes into account diverse paths and the current realities of the job market. Under Review serves as a resource for helping graduate students in the humanities feel more empowered as they navigate the academy and take the next steps in their careers.
Funding Partner: Humanities Without Walls
This program is funded by a generous grant from Humanities Without Walls, a consortium of humanities centers at sixteen research universities throughout the Midwest and beyond. HWW is 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.