We encourage work-study and non-work-study students to apply. This internship is only open to undergraduate students with a declared or proposed major or minor in the Humanities Division and requires work authorization.
Application Deadline: Friday, November 28th, 2025, at 8:59 PM Pacific Time (11:59 PM Eastern Time)
Fellowship Term: January 2026 to May 2026
The UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division and The Humanities Institute are excited to announce an experiential learning opportunity for undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz to work with The American Prospect. The Humanities EXCEL Program connects undergraduate Humanities majors and minors with community partners for paid internships. Fellows gain valuable professional experience while exploring potential career paths.
Internship Details
Location: FULLY REMOTE
Hours: Fellows will work 20 hours/week remotely – all work will be conducted online. Fellows will be expected to attend weekly virtual meetings and complete some synchronous work during working hours, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Compensation: $20/hour
Mentorship: The UCSC fellow will be supervised by a TAP senior editor and UCSC journalism professor, Jody K. Biehl, who will also provide additional journalism mentorship. The fellow will also be part of the Humanities EXCEL Program cohort, which provides support and professional development during the internship.
About The American Prospect
The American Prospect (TAP) magazine and website promote informed discourse on public policy matters from a progressive perspective through a narrative interpretation of complex issues. TAP’s value lies in explaining the power dynamics behind the story and how that power might be shifted to the public’s benefit. American Prospect, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The Prospect is dedicated to fostering new talent through its writing fellowship and internship programs. TAP’s alumni list reflects their success, starting with UC Santa Cruz alumnus Ezra Klein, who co-founded Vox with TAP alumnus Matt Yglesias. Other notable TAP alumni include Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times; Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo; Adam Serwer (The Atlantic); Tara Zahra, a 2015 MacArthur Fellowship recipient; Dana Goldstein and Nick Confessore (both of The New York Times); Kate Sheppard (HuffPost); Nathalie Baptiste (Mother Jones); Richard Just (Washington Post Magazine); Annabelle Williams (The New York Times Fellow); Shera S. Avi-Yonah (Rhodes Scholarship); Alex Rouhandeh (Newsweek); Amelia Pollard (Bloomberg); and many more journalists currently leading in the field.
What You’ll Do – Editorial Intern
Editorial interns support research, fact-checking, social media, data entry, and library services for the print magazine and the daily website. Interns are encouraged to contribute editorially, write briefs and articles as assigned, generate story ideas, and pursue their own projects with guidance from Prospect staff.
Check out The Humanities Institute’s Undergraduate Profiles on the 2024 Fellow Tommy Balmat and 2025 Fellow Brock Hrehor to gain insight into their experience working with the Prospect.
- Fact-checking is your primary responsibility. You will help with research and fact-checking for content, both for the print magazine and the daily website. (30%)
- Social media posting and monitoring channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and more). (25%)
- Editorial contributions include writing articles and briefs as assigned (30%)
- Handling data entry and library service assignments; working on marketing and event projects; participating in staff meetings and Slack chats to share updates on current tasks and generate story ideas (15%)
- Humanities EXCEL Programming (5%): Attend two cohort meetings each quarter when possible and participate in asynchronous Canvas experiential learning reflection.
Fellows are expected to complete assignments promptly and efficiently, work 20 hours per week, post findings regularly to shared online documents or the project’s research database, meet all assignment-specific deadlines, and contribute in other ways as required.
“My internship at The American Prospect bridged the gap between my academic work and professional goals. I gained hands-on experience in every step of the editorial process—from pitching and interviewing to editing and publishing—and the mentorship I received helped clarify the kind of journalist I want to become.”
– Brock Hrehor, Philosophy Major & 2025 UCSC Humanities EXCEL Fellow with The Prospect
Eligibility & Qualifications
- You must be a declared or proposed major or minor in a Humanities Division department and have good academic standing. If proposed, declare by June.
- Eligible majors: Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism, Classical Studies, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Feminist Studies, History, Jewish Studies, Language Studies, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy, Spanish Studies
- Eligible minors: Black Studies, Classical Studies, East Asian Studies, History of Consciousness, History, Italian Studies, Jewish Studies, Language Studies, Linguistics, Literature, Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Philosophy, Spanish Studies
- You have work authorization (required).
- You have excellent writing skills (required).
- You are a self-starter, meaning you’re proactive about figuring out the steps to initiate tasks and take action. (required)
- You can work independently and collaboratively (required)
- You have satisfied the UC Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements (required).
- You have strong attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy.
- You’re highly organized, ready to work with a professional office, and able to meet deadlines (required).
- You have experience with social media and/or an interest in learning new platforms.
- You have taken LIT 160F – How to Write like a Journalist or have previous journalism experience (bonus).
- You are passionate about political issues and consistently check the news (bonus)
How To Apply
- Your updated resume – be sure to highlight any journalism-related work
- 1-page cover letter, addressed to the American Prospect team, sharing:
- Why are you interested in this role?
- How do your background and skills apply?
- What do you hope to gain from the experience?
- Writing samples (no more than 3): ideally published journalistic work, but short class assignments or communications work you’ve done will be acceptable.
Review the resume and cover letter resources to ensure you are a strong candidate! For application help, see Humanities Career Engagement.
NOTE: This “Apply Now” button will take you to the Handshake listing, but you will submit your application through an external “Submittable” portal, which is run by The Prospect.
Questions? Email Kylie Rachwalski at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu.
Thanks to the generosity of Michael Stern, TAP Board Member and UC Santa Cruz volunteer, The Humanities Institute (THI) and UCSC Humanities can offer this annual Humanities EXCEL fellowship. The Humanities EXCEL Program is led by the UCSC Humanities Division with strategic support from The Humanities Institute.
Misconduct Disclosure Requirement
As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.
- “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC’s policies addressing some forms of misconduct: