Wisconsin 101 provides valuable internship opportunities for undergraduate students throughout the state of Wisconsin. Our internships offer experience for students interested in public humanities, material culture, local history, writing, and educational outreach or editing.
In their own words:
This internship made me fall in love with researching in a way that I never thought possible before. I knew before this internship that I had an affinity for doing research and writing scholarly essays about topics I found interesting, but through this work I really found myself deeply engaged with all of the topics I was able to tackle in a way that made me look forward to working more as the weeks progressed.
Intern, Fall 2020
My internship with Wisconsin 101 has been a wonderful experience in contributing to public history. Through this internship I have learned a lot more about Wisconsin history while also developing my writing and research capabilities. It has been so fulfilling to collaborate with others and develop an exhibit for the Wisconsin 101 site. This internship has helped me gain a greater appreciation and understanding of public history, while challenging me too. I am very grateful for this opportunity and how it has deepened my love for Wisconsin.
Intern, Spring 2023
Fall 2024 Semester Internship
Wisconsin 101, a state-wide public history project that explores Wisconsin’s history through everyday objects, is looking for student authors to research and prepare essays for inclusion in its digital museum. We’re now accepting applications for Fall 2024 semester interns. Student authors may propose their own objects or choose an object from the site’s list, and they will work with our managing editor to prepare a submission for publication on our project’s website. Submissions generally include two or three essays of between 500 and 700 words each, all based on primary and secondary source research.
While Wisconsin 101 always accepts contributions from volunteers, a small number of paid formal internships are available for the fall 2024 semester ($17/hour). We strongly encourage applicants interested in museum studies and/or digital humanities to apply. The internship can be completed remotely, and we’re especially interested in students that have previous experience working with objects and collections throughout the state.
To apply, please submit a PDF of your résumé and a cover letter (not exceeding one page) explaining your experience using archival sources, writing, and working in museum studies or public history and the relevance of an internship with Wisconsin 101 to your academic and professional interests to wi101@history.wisc.edu. Applications will be accepted until September 15, 2024.
Fall 2024 Semester Special Project Internship
In addition to our student author internship, Wisconsin 101 (https://wi101.wisc.edu) is looking to hire a student to help with our current project focused on the history of the lead mining region of the state (mainly Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Counties). This internship, which will run through the fall 2024 semester and may be renewable for the spring 2025 semester, will work to write thematic history essays centering objects from local collections and objects already represented on our site ($17/hour). Topics include, but are not limited to: lead/zinc mining, histories of indigenous peoples, state territorial history, the transition from a mining-based economy to an agricultural economy, environmental history and human effects on the landscape, settlement and immigrant groups, and local goods and services.
Successful applicants will, in their application materials: identify their topic interests and/or interest in the region of study; describe their experience using archival sources, writing, and/or working in museum studies or public history; and explain how this internship with Wisconsin 101 aligns with their academic and professional interests. To apply, please submit a PDF of your résumé and a cover letter that addresses these three points to wi101@history.wisc.edu. If you’re also applying to our student author internship, you do not need to submit duplicate materials, but rather identify in your submission email that you’d like to be considered for both the general student author internship and this focused study. Priority application deadline is September 16, 2024, but applications will be accepted until September 22.
Summer 2024 WI101/WPR Internship
Announcing our Summer 2024 internship, co-sponsored by Wisconsin 101 and Wisconsin Public Radio:
We’re currently looking for a summer intern with journalism experience to work with Maureen McCullum, the host and producer of Wisconsin Public Radio’s Wisconsin Life. The main responsibility will involve reimagining existing essays and developing up to four feature stories to be aired on the program over the coming year. These features will be developed in partnership between Wisconsin Life and Wisconsin 101 and will emphasize telling state history through objects.
This is a paid student hourly position ($17/hour), and those applying for this internship should have either journalism experience or to have taken a class in news writing. To apply, please submit a PDF of your résumé, a news writing sample, and a cover letter of two paragraphs explaining your experience using archival sources, writing, and working in museum studies or public history and the relevance of an internship with Wisconsin 101 to your academic and professional interests to wi101@history.wisc.edu no later than April 22, 2024.
For more information and application instructions, view the full internship description.