Call for Applications: Humanities EXCEL Fellowship with The American Prospect, Winter 2025

We encourage work-study and non-work-study students to apply. This role is only open to undergraduate students with a declared or proposed Humanities major or minor and requires work authorization. 

Application Deadline: November 22, 2024 at 11:59 Pacific Time.

Fellowship Term: January, 2025 to May 2025

The 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 Experiential Career Exploration and Learning (EXCEL) Program connects Humanities majors and minors to organizations in the community for paid internships. In this cohort program, EXCEL Fellows gain practical experience and professional training while learning about positions outside of the university that build on their studies in the humanities. At the same time, community partner organizations benefit from students’ assistance and academic expertise. EXCEL Fellowships carry on the success of THI’s Public Fellows program, and they foster positive collaborations between the campus and community, demonstrating the value of a Humanities degree for a range of careers.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN PROSPECT

The American Prospect (TAP) magazine and website promotes 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 committed to nurturing new talent through its writing fellowship and internship programs. TAP’s alumni list speaks to their success, leading off with UC Santa Cruz alumnus Ezra Klein, who founded Vox with TAP alumnus Matt Yglesias. Other notable TAP alumni are Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times; Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo; Adam Serwer (The Atlantic); Tara Zahra, a 2015 MacArthur award winner; Dana Goldstein and Nick Confessore (both, 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 dozens more journalists currently at the top of the field.

The THI-TAP Public Fellow will join one of three TAP classes of interns to coincide with UCSC’s winter quarter from January to March. 

Check out The Humanities Institute’s Undergraduate Profile on the 2023-2024 Fellow, Tommy Balmat, to gain insight into his experience working with TAP. Recent interns also include Annabelle Williams (The New York Times Fellow), Shera S. Avi-Yonah (Rhodes Scholarship), Alex Rouhandeh (Newsweek), and Amelia Pollard (Bloomberg).

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Position Title: Editorial Fellow

Editorial interns assist with research, fact-checking, social media, and data entry. Interns are encouraged to contribute editorially, write briefs and articles as assigned, generate story ideas, and pursue their own projects under the guidance of Prospect staff.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS 

• Fact-checking is your top responsibility. You will assist with research and fact-checking for content for both 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%)
• Data entry; marketing and event-related projects; and participation in staff meetings and Slack chats to share information on current assignments and generate story ideas (15%)

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. 

WHO YOU ARE

• You are a declared or proposed major or minor in a department in the Humanities Division and are in good academic standing. If your major or minor is proposed, you can declare by the end of the academic year in June. [strict eligibility requirement] 

               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. 
• You have excellent writing skills (required). 
• You are a self-starter, meaning you’re proactive about figuring out the steps to get tasks going, and you 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 in 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).

Internship Term: January 6, 2025 to March 21, 2025

Hours: Fellows will work 20 hours/week remotely – all work will be conducted online. Fellows will be expected to attend weekly meetings virtually and do some synchronous work during working hours, 10 am-6 pm 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. 

APPLY BY SUBMITTING:

1. Your updated resume - be sure to highlight any journalism-related work

2. A short cover letter (no more than one page) answering these questions: 

• Why are you interested in this position?
• How does your academic expertise and skillset prepare you for this role?
• What are you hoping to gain from this opportunity? 

Address your cover letter to The American Prospect team.

3. Writing samples (no more than 3): Ideally published journalistic work, but short class assignments or communications work you’ve done will be acceptable.

REVIEW these resume and cover letter resources to ensure you are a strong candidate! 

All applications should be submitted via Submittable.  

Once the application window closes, there will be an interview process with top candidates. An intern will be selected by Friday, December 13, 2024. This job is expected to start in early Winter Quarter 2025. 

Please contact the EXCEL Program coordinator, Kylie Rachwalski, at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu with any questions.

Thanks to the generosity of Michael Stern, TAP Board Member and UC Santa Cruz volunteer, The Humanities Institute (THI) and UCSC Humanities are able to offer this annual EXCEL fellowship.