Humanities@Work

A public humanities summer internship program for humanities graduate students

About Humanities@Work

In spring 2025, the Center for the Humanities launched Humanities@Work, a summer internship program initially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The program is designed to support humanities PhD students pursuing work and internships in mission-driven organizations locally. These internships facilitate enriching work experiences and strengthen community engagement for graduate students while bolstering the local ecosystem of nonprofits. (See below for more details about the sponsoring organizations and the work involved.) 

Each spring, all students in Humanities@Work receive coaching and mentorship from center staff in conjunction with WashU’s Center for Career Engagement’s PhD and Postdoc Career Community as they prepare for April interviews with the partner organizations themselves. Though not every student in the program ultimately lands an internship, all students receive crucial guidance on how to position themselves for work beyond the professoriate and how to leverage existing career preparedness resources on campus that are particularly useful to humanists. Each student hired for one of the internship positions is paid $3000 for their work with the respective organization at an expected weekly commitment of 20 hours per week for 8 weeks of summer. All students hired for these internships are expected to work in person in St. Louis.

PhD students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences are all eligible to apply, including F-1 visa students. Please contact our staff with any questions about eligibility.

Required application materials

Applications are due Friday, February 27, 2026.

1. A resume that articulates your skills and experience for a non-scholarly position. (Note: this is different from a scholarly CV. It is perfectly acceptable to submit a resume in “draft mode” — we’ll work with you on the materials over the spring.)

2. A cover letter for each position for which you are interested in applying (limit 2). Position descriptions will be available in mid February 2026.

3. A completed application form. Click here for the downloadable form.

Please email your application in a single PDF attachment to Meredith Kelling.

Interns @ Work

Bailey Willden, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures @ Forest ReLeaf

“My internship was with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. I created educational and outreach materials for the organization, including an environmental justice curriculum to be implemented by high school teachers in their classrooms and seed collection guides for use by the organization’s citizen science group, the Forestkeepers Network. I learned so many leadership skills both through the incredible people at the organization and also through their extensive network of local changemakers and community leaders. This experience was a highlight of my WashU education.”

Sewasew Haileselassie Assefa, Department of Anthropology @ Griot Museum of Black History

“During the Humanities@Work internship I had the honor of joining the Griot Museum of Black History. I participated in organizing and implementing its annual Juneteenth celebration and its first counter-July 4th event reflecting on what freedom means to the African American community. Additionally, I initiated a program for public participation in cataloguing the museum’s archival collections. I was exposed to new experiences, networking opportunities and learned new skills while applying my education in completely new contexts. My mentor invited me to community events and partner meetings, facilitating my integration into community organizations and associations that I previously did not know about. In the process of organizing the events, I was exposed to the city permit processes, vendor and volunteer solicitation and event promotion. I learned to break down large events into small tasks and to delegate work among co-organizers. Furthermore, I was encouraged to develop new programs and program segments that allowed me to leverage my education and experience while working in a new environment.”

Programming schedule

Spring 2026

1. Attend the “Crafting Your Humanities Resume” session on Thursday, Feb. 12, 12 pm (on Zoom). Details and registration.

2. Attend at least one of the following sessions offered by the Center for Career Engagement. Please click this link to access registration for any of these events. You will need to create a Handshake account to register.

  • Thurs., Jan. 22, 4-5:30 pm
    Fully Leverage LinkedIn for PhDs & Postdocs
    TBD, Medical Campus
  • Wed., Feb. 25, 4-5:30 pm
    Application Essentials: Resume/CV and Cover Letter for PhDs & Postdocs
    The Women’s Building, Suite 005
    TGC Commons, Danforth Campus
  • Thurs., March 26, 4-5:30 pm
    Ace the Interview: Strategies for PhDs & Postdocs
    TBD, Medical Campus

4. Schedule a one-on-one coaching session at the Center for Career Engagement to conduct a mock interview, mid to late March. Click here to schedule.

5. Follow up regularly with Meredith Kelling and/or Laura Perry to tailor all insights to the particulars of each internship application.

6. Internship interview with selected organizations in April (by invitation only).

7. Hiring decisions by early May.

Program administrators

At the Center for the Humanities, we support students as they forge connections between their scholarship and the broader applications of their work and expertise. We can help you navigate resources for professional development and career planning, both at WashU and in the broader humanities community.

Stephanie Kirk

Stephanie Kirk

Director of the Center for the Humanities

Professor Kirk's main teaching and research interests include the literature and culture of colonial Latin America with a focus on gender studies and religion, as well as translation studies and contemporary Latin American feminisms.