Applied Humanities Summer Fellows – Application Instructions

Deadline: Monday, March 23, 2026 11:59pm

OVERVIEW

The Hall Center's Applied Humanities Summer Fellows program supports PhD or MA students who would like to explore ways they can apply the research skills they have acquired as graduate students to projects that collaborate with community organizations and/or career paths other than academic research or teaching. 

The Hall Center is partnering with local non-profit organizations, a range of units at KU, and non-humanities organizations and units that would value input from a humanities scholar to appoint Applied Humanities Summer Fellows. Fellows will work either with a community organization on a project that incorporates humanities-oriented research skills, or with a unit at KU on a project that will give them experience in programming development, grant development, or other university administrative activities. 

Fellows will receive a $3,000 stipend for the summer. Travel expenses may be added to the stipend, based on the fellow's home address and the host location. Fellowships lasts approximately 10 weeks (late-May through July). The fellow and the host or unit will determine specific schedules on a case-by-case basis. Progress reports and status updates will be required to confirm that you are meeting the stated goals of the fellowship.

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Black Archives of Mid America

Duties: (include but are not limited to)

  • Digitization of Photographs and assistance with photograph database
  • Assistance with Library Catalog
  • Creation of study guides based on MO state curriculum standards
  • Research related to the Community Remembrance Project Exhibit
  • Creation of TheClio.com entries
  • Participation in regular team meetings and creation of monthly report of activities

Skills:

  • Experience with Microsoft programs including Word, Excel, and Access and ability to learn other programs
  • Familiarity with Chicago Manual style citations
  • Ability to communicate clearly (spoken and in writing)
  • Ability to work independently
  • Must be able to work in office
  • Previous experience in a museum or archive welcome but not required
  • Pursuing degree in History; African Studies; Race, Ethics, and Gender Studies; Sociology or Anthropology; Art History; Or English or Library Science preferred.

Chicano Movement of Kansas History Project

Digital History Media Intern for Chicano Movement of Kansas History Project

This position offers a creative, self-starter the opportunity to work on one component of a larger project titled, "The Chicano Movement in Kansas." The summer intern will collaborate with the project director, Valerie Mendoza, to create content for social media for educational purposes using oral histories. Topics include the founding of the Topeka League of United Latin American Citizens council in the 1970s, military service during the Vietnam conflict, memories related to the Oakland neighborhood in Topeka and volunteering for Topeka's Mexican fiesta. The expectation is to curate content for 20-40 social media posts. Hours are flexible and work can be done remotely.

Duties include 

  • Copy editing oral history transcripts for clarity
  • Selecting quotes from each oral history interview for 1-3 posts per interview
  • Selecting photos to accompany posts
  • Writing content for posts 
  • Placing edited content on Youtube, Instagram and Facebook

Preferred Skills/Qualifications

  • Experience in copy editing
  • Excellent writing skills
  • Experience creating and posting content on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube
  • Ability to work independently
  • Ability to work remotely 
  • Familiarity with Canva or similar
  • Interest in Chicano history, culture, and issues

Kansas City Public Library

Kansas City Public Library (14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO 64105). The Library is seeking a graduate student from the department of History; African and African American Studies; American Studies; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; or related fields. The student will support a new website project, "An Era of Rights: Kansas City's Struggle for Equality," which will document historical advocacy for civil rights from the mid- to late twentieth century. The project supports original research, digitization of archival materials, and expanded access to new and existing oral histories. The local history of civil rights will be considered broadly to encompass advocacy for historically marginalized communities, including but not limited to women, African Americans, Latino/a, LGBTQ, and disabled persons. Successful applicants will be prepared to utilize an engaging writing style geared toward public audiences; the ability to work both independently and collaboratively on a public history project with teams inside and beyond the Library; and the ability to learn digital humanities skillsets, including metadata capture, audio-visual support, or digitization.

Examples of the Library's existing digital history projects can be found on this webpage: https://kclibrary.org/digital-history.

Lawrence Public Library

The Lawrence Public Library seeks a motivated graduate student with an interest in public history and digital humanities to assist with the ongoing development of Digital Douglas County History, our online history portal. The selected candidate will have the opportunity to digitize and create descriptive metadata for materials from our local history collection, and to create a social media campaign to highlight local history resources. This fellowship will also involve assisting with the planning and implementation of the library's public programming in observance of the nation's 250th anniversary. The library seeks an individual who is a self-starter with exceptional research and writing skills, a strong interest in Lawrence history,  attention to detail, great interpersonal skills, and an ability to manage their time to ensure completion of the project by the conclusion of the 10-week fellowship. The position reports to the Library's Information Services Supervisor.

Watkins Museum of History

Reports to: Curator of Exhibitions  

The Hall Center Applied Humanities Summer Fellow will assist the Watkins Museum of History with developing an exhibition about the Reuter Organ company, scheduled to open in February 2027. The Summer Fellow will gather and explore research material, identify stories, items, photographs, and documents for display, and draft text for the exhibition. Activities will include collaboration with the museum's Curator of Exhibitions and Executive Director. Smaller projects related to summer and fall 2026 exhibitions will likely also be part of this applied learning experience.

Responsibilities

  • Use the Watkins Museum's research collection and other primary/secondary sources to build a biographical and historical overview of the Reuter Organ company.
  • Contact community organizations (churches, musical groups, etc.) about their connections to the company and their organs, likely culminating in a museum-produced booklet identifying Reuter Organs found throughout Douglas County.
  • Use curatorial skills to propose and select exhibition content, including photographs, documents, and artifacts, in conjunction with the museum's Curator of Exhibitions and Curator of Collections and Research.
  • Draft between 6-8 exhibition panels (roughly 250 words apiece), crafting a compelling narrative about the organ company, its relationship to the community, and connections to themes of architecture and music.
  • Other exhibition-related duties as assigned by Curator of Exhibitions, possibly including assistance with installation/deinstallation of museum exhibitions, and planning/designing/writing summer & fall 2026 exhibition content.

Skills/Qualifications

  • Skills in collaboration and organization
  • Ability to work independently
  • Strong writing and research skills
  • Interested in developing historical stories for a mass audience
  • Ability and desire to form and implement creative ideas and solutions
  • Experience or interest in museum work is desirable

DEADLINE: Monday, March 23, 2026 at 11:59PM

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible applicants will:

1. Be currently enrolled KU graduate students in any humanities, arts, or social science discipline who have successfully completed at least one semester of full-time coursework toward an MA or PhD degree;

2. Demonstrate a high level of motivation, including the ability to work independently and establish and achieve goals; and

3. Have the ability to do humanities research and to write cogently and with economy.

REQUIREMENTS

Applied Humanities Summer Fellows are required to:

1. Fulfill the terms of their agreement with the community partner.

2. Submit a brief report to the Hall Center detailing the work they completed and explaining how this experience will further their research and/or career aspirations in the humanities. The report is due within 30 days of completion of the fellowship work.

APPLICATION PROCESS

All application materials must be submitted through the Hall Center Competitions Portal.  Paper submissions will not be accepted.  For an application to be verified as complete, and thus forwarded for committee review, applicants must:

1. Create an account or log in to an existing account.

2. Select the Apply Now button next to this competition. 

3. Complete the Applicant Information form in the Portal.

NOTE: The demographic questions in the application form are optional. We would appreciate your responses as they allow us to chart demographic data and better comprehend the communities we reach and serve through this competition and award program. This information will not be used for determining awards. 

4. Upload a ranked list of your top three fellowship opportunities as a PDF file.

5. Upload a one-page Cover Letter explaining your interest in the applied summer fellowships program, relevant skills and experience, and your ability to work in a non-academic environment. Please do not list specific fellowship organizations in your cover letter.

6. Upload a Curriculum Vitae as a PDF file.

No extraneous materials will be considered.

REVIEW PROCESS

Community partners review applications and select candidates for interview, in consultation with the Hall Center Director.  

CRITERIA

The criteria for selection is determined by each community partner and is dependent upon the particular work required during the internship period.

QUESTIONS

Applicants should direct questions about the Applied Humanities Summer Fellows Competition to Hall Center Assistant Director Andrew Hodgson (ahodgson@ku.edu).