Experiential Learning for Humanities Students
In the humanities, we are thinkers and doers. Our paid undergraduate research and internship opportunities are intentionally designed to integrate relevant hands-on training with focused reflection in order to help you take your learning off the page and into practice. You’ll apply your humanistic skills in real-world contexts and develop career-readiness skills that broadly prepare you for success in the workplace and life beyond graduation.
How It Works
For internships and undergraduate research opportunities, you apply on Handshake. Then, you may interview with a faculty or community partner supervisor. If selected, you’ll receive weekly mentorship from a supervisor to not only learn about the job, but also what it’s like to work in that field. You’ll also meet with the Humanities Experiential Learning Coordinator, who will support you with professional development and other resources to help you make the most of this experience.
- 📅 Length: 10-Week Academic Quarter (with options to extend)
- 🕐 Hours: 10-20 hours/week
- 💰 Paid: $18-22/hour depending on experience. You will be compensated through student employment, or scholarship award, by UCSC.
- 💻 Hybrid or Remote Internships Are Possible
Benefits of Participating in Experiential Learning
When you participate in experiential opportunities, you’ll gain:
- 🎯Practical skills that are relevant to future careers, when applying what you have learned in the classroom to real-world situations.
- 🎯A better understanding of the realities of a particular field, helping you better understand the industry, its challenges, and its opportunities.
- 🎯A broader view of the world and an appreciation of community.
- 🎯An enhanced resume and a competitive edge when entering the job market.
- 🎯The gratification of assisting in meeting community needs.
- 🎯Opportunities to collaborate with diverse organizations and people.
- 🎯Interactions with professionals and academics in the field, which can lead to valuable networking opportunities that may be beneficial for future job prospects.
- 🎯Positive professional practices and skill sets.
- 🎯Insight into your own expertise, interests, passions, and values.
- 🎯Self-confidence and leadership skills.
Student Profiles & News Stories
- UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division secures $1 million grant for Employing Humanities initiative
- Social Justice in action at UC Santa Cruz – Prison Journalism Project (PJP)
- Paid Fellowship Opens Doors And Opportunities For Humanities Students
- Rebecca Snyder and Sara Sotelo, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
- Maddison Hwang, Open Campus
- Elina Juvonen, Okinawa Memories Initiative
- Lo Klauer and Theresa Bostic, Santa Cruz Community Foundation
- Atlas Martinez and Maxinne Virtue-Hill, Prison Journalism Project (PJP)
- Mikayla Falk and Yatziri Arias Torres, Senderos
- Mary “Miki” Arlen and Diana Leon Garcia, Davenport Jail Museum/MAH
Examples of Experiential Learning Programs
- 🔷 Undergraduate Public Fellowships and Internships - Students are placed at community partner organizations for up to an academic year to hold paid positions that contribute to research, programming, communications, and other public humanities activities at non-profit organizations, companies, and cultural institutions. Internships may be project-based.
- 🔷 Okinawa Memories Initiative Scholars Program - This public history project explores the postwar history of Okinawa, Japan, from a global perspective through collaborative storytelling. By learning in the field, students participate in global historical understanding in ways they could never achieve in the classroom.
- 🔷 Watsonville is in the Heart - This digital archive preserves and uplifts the stories of the “manong” generation (Ilokano/Tagalog for "older brother"), the first wave of Filipino migrant farmworkers to arrive in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Focused on the pioneering families of Watsonville and the greater Pajaro Valley, the archive enshrines the manong, the women who married the manong, and their descendents’ memories of migration, labor, leisure, and community formation.
- 🔷 Undergraduate Research - Individual or teams of student researchers are funded to assist faculty-led research projects in the Division, which provides a valuable opportunity for them to apply their knowledge and develop skills to make an impactful intellectual or creative contribution to their field.
- 🔷 Undergraduate Research Fellows in Linguistics and Language Science - A three-quarter program that includes a sequenced proseminar for course credit to orient students to research in Linguistics, a paid research internship, and an original research project.
2023-2024 Employing Humanities Undergraduate Public Fellows and Interns
- Liliana Barajas (Literature, Anthropology) - Open Campus
- Sebastian Zamora (History) - The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
- Coury Jones (History) - The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
- Ruby Jung (Literature) - Lookout Santa Cruz
- Eetai Shwartz (History, Philosophy) - Lookout Santa Cruz
- Serena Ramirez (Critical Race & Ethnic Studies, Psychology, and Politics) - Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
- Tommy Balmat (Anthropology, Literature) - The American Prospect
- Callie Bobell (History, History of Art & Visual Culture) - WILDR Santa Cruz
- Jaye Santos (Psychology, Feminist Studies) - WILDR Santa Cruz
- Liana Stevenson (Literature) - Santa Cruz Public Libraries
- Skyla Tomine (Feminist Studies, Politics) - Housing Santa Cruz County
- Stevie Beerbower (Business Management Economics, Spanish Studies) - Black Surf Santa Cruz
- Grace Mccarty (History) - KSQD Community Radio
- Roberto Osorio (Literature) - Santa Cruz Youth Poet Laureate Program
- Andrea Mazon (Literature) - The Hive Poetry Collective
2023-2024 Employing Humanities Undergraduate Researchers
- America Damaris Garcia (Legal Studies and Spanish Studies)
- Ben Sommer (Sociology and Linguistics)
- Benjamin Fredericks (Linguistics)
- Cassidy Hatfield (Linguistics)
- Cassidy Ponce Ventura (Spanish Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies)
- Claire Skelly (Politics and Spanish Studies)
- Claire Wellwood (Linguistics and Psychology)
- Dacia Van Wormer (Cognitive Science and Linguistics)
- Gabby Manzoni (History and Politics)
- Geneva Samuelson (History)
- Ian Doyle (History)
- Isabel De Blois (History)
- Jacob Press (History)
- James Leyton (History and Politics)
- Janeth Pérez-Quirke (History)
- Jennacess Carreon (Literature)
- Jennifer Goi (Linguistics)
- Jaxon Chester (Film & Digital Media and Global Economics)
- Joscelyn Osorio (Spanish Studies and Psychology)
- Junebug Sonnenberg (Film & Digital Media and Black Studies)
- Karen Hinojosa (Psychology and Spanish Studies)
- Katie Arnold (Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism and Linguistics)
- Lorelei Howe (Linguistics)
- Madeleine Powell (Spanish Studies)
- Maia Michelle Mislang (History)
- Marissa Omaque (Anthropology and Literature)
- Nixie Young (History and Classical Studies)
- Rae Williams (Theater Arts, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, and Black Studies)
- Rosario Mendez (Spanish Studies)
- Samuel Almer (Linguistics)
- Sharan Sethi (Literature, Philosophy, History)
- Siliva Iniguez (Environmental Science and Spanish Studies)
- Sunny Jiang (Language Studies and East Asian Studies)
- Tony Butorovich (Language Studies)
- Walter Barnaby (History and East Asian Studies)
Apply Now
All paid experiential learning opportunities for Humanities students are posted on Handshake and are promoted around campus and virtually through email.
Visit our Student Opportunities page to see currently open job postings and browse past offerings.
Need help preparing for applications and interviews?
Check out these Career Success resources:
Email our Experiential Learning Coordinator Kylie Rachwalski at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu with questions.