The BU Center for the Humanities is pleased to announce the ninth year of summer internships aimed at introducing PhD students in humanities fields to career opportunities at institutions beyond academia.
The PhD Internships in the Humanities program is sponsored by the BU Center for the Humanities, the Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs, and the Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
More About PhD Internships in the Humanities
Interns will bring to their roles the array of skills developed during their PhD training, including research and writing and area-based expertise. Internships run for eight weeks. Interns will serve in their roles for twenty hours per week. All internships will have a significant in-person component. Partner institutions will provide the intern with career-relevant experience outside academia and ensure that interns receive appropriate mentoring and supervision; challenging tasks; and a productive work environment. Interns will also receive a written evaluation from their mentor at their host institution.
Visit the PhD Internships FAQ page for more information
Visit the PhD Interns Reflect page to view reflections by previous interns
GRS Service Requirement & Compensation
Eligibility
BU PhD humanities students in any year of their program are eligible to apply. Please write to the Center staff at buch@bu.edu with questions regarding eligibility.
Intern Expectations
Interns are required to furnish a final report and give a public presentation about their experience. Reports will be published to the BUCH website. In addition there may be scheduled suggested separate group activities for all the interns to further develop their organizational and professional skills and to prepare for a public presentation in September.
Application
Deadline: Friday, February 20, 2026
- CV
- A personal statement explaining how the skills and knowledge the applicant is developing in their humanities PhD programs relate both to their interest in this internship and to possible careers outside academia
- One letter of recommendation that foregrounds the applicant’s writing, research, analytical, speaking, and organizational skills; note the applicant’s ability to communicate ideas and arguments without jargon; and, importantly, highlight the student’s interest in exploring career opportunities outside of higher education.
- Please note that in the application you will identify your first through fourth choice internship institutions. You will be asked to explain all choices and identify any site(s) at which you are unwilling to work. Be aware that the application review committee may consider you for any of the eight sites unless you indicate otherwise
Additional Information
All materials are processed through the InfoReady Review portal. Applicants should request the recommendation through the InfoReady portal; please allow adequate time for your recommender.
Applicants will be evaluated in terms of their academic accomplishments (including degree progress) and the appropriateness of their professional goals for this program.
Recipients are announced by early April.